D♭ Harmonic minorScale

Formula

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

D♭ Harmonic minor on the chromatic circle

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

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

Chords in D♭ 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
iD♭m(maj7)D♭ F♭ A♭ C
ii°E♭m7♭5E♭ G♭ B𝄫 D♭
♭III+F♭maj7♯5F♭ A♭ C E♭
ivG♭m7G♭ B𝄫 D♭ F♭
VA♭7A♭ C E♭ G♭
♭VIB𝄫maj7B𝄫 D♭ F♭ A♭
vii°C°7C E♭ G♭ B𝄫
Context

Where D♭ 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.

D♭ 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

D♭ Harmonic minor scale questions

What notes are in the D♭ Harmonic minor scale?

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

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

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

What chords are in the D♭ Harmonic minor scale?

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

When is the D♭ 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.