A♭ Harmonic minorScale

Formula

W H W W H 1½ H 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7
The family

A♭ Harmonic minor on the chromatic circle

A♭ Harmonic minor is the 1st mode of the Harmonic minor family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

W H W W H 1½ H 1 A♭I Harmonic minor 2 B♭II Locrian ♮6 ♭3 C♭III Ionian ♯5 4 D♭IV Dorian ♯4 5 E♭V Phrygian dominant ♭6 F♭VI Lydian ♯2 7 GVII Altered 𝄫7 A♭ Harmonic minor
The whole neck

A♭ Harmonic minor across the fretboard

Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.

3 5 7 9 12 15 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7
Harmony

Chords in A♭ Harmonic minor

Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.

DegreeChordNotes
iA♭m(maj7)A♭ C♭ E♭ G
ii°B♭m7♭5B♭ D♭ F♭ A♭
♭III+C♭maj7♯5C♭ E♭ G B♭
ivD♭m7D♭ F♭ A♭ C♭
VE♭7E♭ G B♭ D♭
♭VIF♭maj7F♭ A♭ C♭ E♭
vii°G°7G B♭ D♭ F♭
Context

Where A♭ Harmonic minor fits

Minor with a raised 7th, which gives a minor key its V7: classical music, neoclassical metal, and Middle-Eastern and Eastern European folk.

A♭ Harmonic minor is mode 1 of the harmonic minor family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:

Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:

Harmonic minor scale in every key

A♭ Harmonic minor scale questions

What notes are in the A♭ Harmonic minor scale?

A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E♭ F♭ G. As degrees from the root: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7.

What is the A♭ Harmonic minor scale formula?

1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7, or in steps between the notes, W H W W H 1½ H (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).

How do you play the A♭ Harmonic minor scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of A♭ Harmonic minor up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape to the A shape.

What chords are in the A♭ Harmonic minor scale?

A♭m(maj7) (i), B♭m7♭5 (ii°), C♭maj7♯5 (♭III+), D♭m7 (iv), E♭7 (V), F♭maj7 (♭VI), G°7 (vii°).

When is the A♭ Harmonic minor scale used?

Minor with a raised 7th, which gives a minor key its V7: classical music, neoclassical metal, and Middle-Eastern and Eastern European folk.