A harmonic minor scale on drop D guitar

A · B · C · D · E · F · G♯

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 15 · One position.

The notes

  1. A1
  2. B2
  3. C♭3
  4. D4
  5. E5
  6. F♭6
  7. G♯7

The A harmonic minor scale is A, B, C, D, E, F, G♯.

You may also see it called 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7.

On the staff

ABCDEFG♯A

On a treble staff, the A harmonic minor scale is written A B C D E F G♯.

This is one octave of the A harmonic minor scale, written on the treble clef. Guitar and bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds, and the small 8 under the clef is the sign for that.

Why the A harmonic minor scale has this sharp

  1. A1
  2. T
  3. B2
  4. S
  5. C♭3
  6. T
  7. D4
  8. T
  9. E5
  10. S
  11. F♭6
  12. T+S
  13. G♯7
  14. S
  15. A8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is T S T T S T+S S: a tone, a semitone, a tone, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. T+S stands for a tone and a half, which is three semitones. The pattern is what gives A harmonic minor its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

The second rule is that a seven-note scale uses each letter name once, from A to G, so its seven notes take seven different letters. That is why A harmonic minor is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Together, the two rules leave no room for choice. If you walk the pattern up from A, one letter cannot keep up:

  • G♯ — the seventh. The pattern needs a tone and a half from F, but F to G is only a tone, so G has to rise to G♯.

That accidental was not a choice. Once you pick the note to start on, the pattern decides the rest, and a key signature is a record of the result.

The A harmonic minor scale is written with G♯, because the T S T T S T+S S pattern of steps cannot be spelled with plain letters from A.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

♭3C4D5E♭6FG1A2B♭3C4D5E♭6FG1A2B♭3C4D5E♭6FG1A2B♭3C4D5E♭6FG1A2B♭3CC♯D♯F♯7G♯A♯C♯D♯F♯7G♯A♯C♯D♯F♯7G♯A♯C♯D♯F♯7G♯A♯C2C3C4C5C6

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the A harmonic minor scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

A harmonic minor scale on the whole neck

DADGBE123456789101112131415D4E5F♭6G♯7A1B2C♭3D4E5F♭6A1B2C♭3D4E5F♭6G♯7A1B2C♭3D4E5F♭6G♯7A1B2C♭3D4E5F♭6G♯7A1B2C♭3D4E5F♭6G♯7A1B2C♭3D4E5F♭6G♯7A1B2C♭3D4E5F♭6G♯7A1B2C♭3D4E5F♭6

83 notes of the A harmonic minor scale are marked across six strings.

This is every place the notes of the A harmonic minor scale fall on the drop D guitar, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the 5
DADGBE2345675♭672♭345♭6712♭345♭671
Position 2 — starts on the ♭6
DADGBE345678♭671♭345♭6712♭3445♭6712
Position 3 — starts on the 7
DADGBE67891011712♭35♭6712♭345♭6♭6712♭34
Position 4 — starts on the 1
DADGBE78910111212♭35♭6712♭345♭6712♭34
Position 5 — starts on the 2
DADGBE910111213142♭34712♭345♭67712♭345♭6
Position 6 — starts on the ♭3
DADGBE101112131415♭345712♭345♭67112♭345♭6
Position 7 — starts on the 4
DADGBE12131415161745♭612♭345♭67122♭345♭67

The A harmonic minor scale has seven playable positions, at frets 2–6, 3–7, 6–10, 7–11, 9–13, 10–14 and 12–16.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

DADGBE78910111213141516171812♭345♭6712♭345♭6712♭345♭671TAB791012781112910121410131412131517131617

The climb runs from fret 7 to fret 17 and plays 22 notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.