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 BI Harmonic minor 2 C♯II Locrian ♮6 ♭3 DIII Ionian ♯5 4 EIV Dorian ♯4 5 F♯V Phrygian dominant ♭6 GVI Lydian ♯2 7 A♯VII 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 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭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 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
iBm(maj7)B D F♯ A♯
ii°C♯m7♭5C♯ E G B
♭III+Dmaj7♯5D F♯ A♯ C♯
ivEm7E G B D
VF♯7F♯ A♯ C♯ E
♭VIGmaj7G 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?

Bm(maj7) (i), C♯m7♭5 (ii°), Dmaj7♯5 (♭III+), Em7 (iv), F♯7 (V), Gmaj7 (♭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.