B♭ Harmonic minorScale

Formula

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

B♭ Harmonic minor on the chromatic circle

B♭ 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 B♭I Harmonic minor 2 CII Locrian ♮6 ♭3 D♭III Ionian ♯5 4 E♭IV Dorian ♯4 5 FV Phrygian dominant ♭6 G♭VI Lydian ♯2 7 AVII Altered 𝄫7 B♭ Harmonic minor
The whole neck

B♭ 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 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6
Harmony

Chords in B♭ 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
iB♭m(maj7)B♭ D♭ F A
ii°Cm7♭5C E♭ G♭ B♭
♭III+D♭maj7♯5D♭ F A C
ivE♭m7E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭
VF7F A C E♭
♭VIG♭maj7G♭ B♭ D♭ F
vii°A°7A C E♭ G♭
Context

Where B♭ 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.

B♭ 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

B♭ Harmonic minor scale questions

What notes are in the B♭ Harmonic minor scale?

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

What is the B♭ 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 B♭ Harmonic minor scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of B♭ 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 A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape.

What chords are in the B♭ Harmonic minor scale?

B♭m(maj7) (i), Cm7♭5 (ii°), D♭maj7♯5 (♭III+), E♭m7 (iv), F7 (V), G♭maj7 (♭VI), A°7 (vii°).

When is the B♭ 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.