Theory · glossary
Harmonic minor
Also called harmonic minor scale
Harmonic minor is the natural minor scale with its seventh note raised a semitone. In A, G becomes G#: A B C D E F G# A. That raised note turns the minor v chord into a major V (E in place of Em in A minor), which pulls hard back to the home chord.
Minor has three common versions, and they differ only in the sixth and seventh notes. In A:
| Scale | Notes | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Natural minor | A B C D E F G A | Nothing, the white keys from A |
| Harmonic minor | A B C D E F G# A | 7th raised |
| Melodic minor | A B C D E F# G# A | 6th and 7th raised |
Natural minor is the plain version. A minor is the relative minor of C major and shares all seven of its notes. Its weak spot is the chord on the fifth note: Em (E G B) sounds soft on the way back to Am, because G sits a whole step below A.
Raising G to G# fixes that. Em becomes E major (E G# B), Em7 becomes E7 (E G# B D), and G# now sits a half step under A, leaning into it. Play Am, Dm, E, Am to hear a minor key land firmly back home. Many songs in A minor use that E chord as the V and keep natural minor everywhere else. The full set of chords in A harmonic minor is Am, Bdim, Caug, Dm, E, F and G#dim.
The raised note also leaves a three-semitone gap between F and G#, called an augmented second. Played as a melody, that gap is the sound many listeners link with Middle Eastern music and flamenco. Start the same notes on E (E F G# A B C D E) and you get Phrygian dominant, a mode of harmonic minor that leans even harder that way.
Melodic minor raises the sixth as well, which closes that gap for singers and melody lines. In classical teaching it goes back to natural minor on the way down; in jazz it stays the same in both directions.
Gelato Synth and Gelato Chord both list harmonic minor as a scale, and Gelato Chord adds melodic minor. The A minor page shows the major V in action, and 12 scales that sound Egyptian, Spanish, spooky or dreamy sorts more scales by mood.
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