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 DI Harmonic minor 2 EII Locrian ♮6 ♭3 FIII Ionian ♯5 4 GIV Dorian ♯4 5 AV Phrygian dominant ♭6 B♭VI Lydian ♯2 7 C♯VII 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 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 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 7 1 2 ♭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
iDm(maj7)D F A C♯
ii°Em7♭5E G B♭ D
♭III+Fmaj7♯5F A C♯ E
ivGm7G B♭ D F
VA7A 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?

Dm(maj7) (i), Em7♭5 (ii°), Fmaj7♯5 (♭III+), Gm7 (iv), A7 (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.