5 Things You Didn't Know About the Harmonic Minor Scale

The harmonic minor scale (root, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, natural 7) gives you a minor or major VI chord, many dominant colours such as 7b9, 7#5 and 7sus4, borrowed chords when mixed with natural minor, colourful or mysterious extensions, and four interchangeable diminished seventh chords, all usable for composing on piano.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Intermediate · 38 min

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This piano theory lesson by Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music explores the harmonic minor scale and five composition approaches that many players miss. It suits pianists and songwriters who know basic triads and want their minor-key music to sound richer. Everything is shown in C harmonic minor.

What makes a scale harmonic minor

Every minor scale needs a minor third. The harmonic minor then keeps a flat sixth and a natural (major) seventh. In C that gives C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, B.

The chords of C harmonic minor

• I: C minor. Extend it to C minor-major 7 (C Eb G B), and you can add D on top.
• II: D diminished. Extend it to D half-diminished (D F Ab C) or D diminished 7 (D F Ab B).
• III: Eb augmented (Eb G B). Adding D gives an augmented major 7, a dreamy, mysterious sound to use sparingly.
• IV: F minor. Try F minor 6 (F Ab C D) or F minor 7 (F Ab C Eb).
• V: G major or G7 (G B D F), plus many colours covered below.
• VI: Ab major, and also Ab minor.
• VII: B diminished, extended to B diminished 7 (B D F Ab).

A useful habit: write your scale in a circle rather than a line. Skipping every other note around the circle makes thirds, triads and chords much easier to find.

1. The VI can be major or minor

Going from C minor to Ab major sounds uplifting and epic. Slide the C in the Ab chord down a semitone to B (a scale note) and you get Ab minor. The same move now sounds darker, more painful and unresolved.

2. The many avatars of the dominant

Many dominant colours are already inside the scale, with no outside notes needed:

• G7: G B D F
• G7#5 (augmented 7th): the D is raised to D#, the same key as the scale's Eb
• G7b9: G B D F Ab. B pulls up to C and Ab pulls down to G, a very strong magnet towards C minor.
• G7sus4: G C D F, resolving to G7 and then C minor
• G7sus4 with b9: add Ab

Let the colour shape your melody, for example moving from the b9 to the root before landing on the tonic. Over G7 to C minor you can also sing or play the C minor blues scale, with Bb working as a passing note.

3. The hybrid minor

Treat C natural minor and C harmonic minor as one big scale. The first five notes stay fixed, the sixth stays flat, and the seventh can be B or Bb. Borrowing Bb gives you:

• Eb major in place of the augmented III, or Ebmaj7 (Eb G Bb D) or Eb6 (Eb G Bb C) for a softer, ambient feel
• Bb major, or Bb6 (Bb D F G). Ab to Bb to C minor gives a brave, rising sound.

You can then mix both worlds, for example Ab, G7, Eb and back to C minor.

4. Colour versus mystery

The same scale gives you plain colour and cinematic mystery:

• IV: F minor 7 sounds normal and colourful. F minor 6 sounds mysterious, like a James Bond theme.
• II: D diminished 7 sounds more grounded. D half-diminished brings back the mystery.
• I: C minor 7 is the normal colour (borrowing Bb). C minor-major 7 is the mysterious one.

5. The diminished seventh chord

A diminished 7th is built from stacked minor thirds. It is symmetrical, so D, F, Ab and B diminished 7 all share the same four notes. They are inversions of one another.

To make each one sound distinct:

• Put the bass note low. This gives each inversion its own personality.
• Use the top note as a melody note. The highest note is the catchiest, so each inversion can suggest a new melody as it resolves to C minor.

A diminished 7th can also replace or add to the dominant chord.

How to practise

1. Write C harmonic minor in a circle and build every triad and extension.
2. Play each of the five ideas back to the C minor tonic.
3. Improvise melodies over the coloured chords.
4. Move the ideas into other minor keys.

Questions about this lesson

What are the triads of C harmonic minor?

C minor, D diminished, Eb augmented, F minor, G major, Ab major and B diminished. The augmented III and the major V are what set it apart from natural minor.

Can the VI chord in harmonic minor be minor?

Yes. Lowering the C of an Ab major chord to B, which is in C harmonic minor, gives Ab minor. It has a darker, more unresolved sound than Ab major.

What is a hybrid minor?

It is a way of treating natural minor and harmonic minor as one scale, using either the flat or the natural seventh. In C minor this lets you borrow Bb and play chords such as Eb major, Ebmaj7 and Bb major.

How do I make diminished seventh chords sound different if they share the same notes?

Place the bass note low so each inversion has its own personality. Also treat the top note as your melody note, so each inversion inspires a different melody as it resolves to the tonic.

Practise it

• The Dominant SeventhStudy dominant-seventh harmony through musical examples.
• Master KeyExplore diminished-seventh harmony, its resolutions and sixth-diminished sounds.
• Piano classes at Nathaniel School of MusicLive online or in Bangalore, with a teacher.
• All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.

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