E Harmonic minorScale

Formula

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

E Harmonic minor on the chromatic circle

E 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 EI Harmonic minor 2 F♯II Locrian ♮6 ♭3 GIII Ionian ♯5 4 AIV Dorian ♯4 5 BV Phrygian dominant ♭6 CVI Lydian ♯2 7 D♯VII Altered 𝄫7 E Harmonic minor
The whole neck

E 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 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 ♭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
Harmony

Chords in E 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
iEm(maj7)E G B D♯
ii°F♯m7♭5F♯ A C E
♭III+Gmaj7♯5G B D♯ F♯
ivAm7A C E G
VB7B D♯ F♯ A
♭VICmaj7C E G B
vii°D♯°7D♯ F♯ A C
Context

Where E 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.

E 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

E Harmonic minor scale questions

What notes are in the E Harmonic minor scale?

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

What is the E 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 E Harmonic minor scale on guitar?

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

What chords are in the E Harmonic minor scale?

Em(maj7) (i), F♯m7♭5 (ii°), Gmaj7♯5 (♭III+), Am7 (iv), B7 (V), Cmaj7 (♭VI), D♯°7 (vii°).

When is the E 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.