How to play the A Harmonic Minor guitar scale

The A Harmonic Minor scale is a harmonic minor scale which means it has the following definition:

R 2 b3 4 5 b6 7

The Harmonic Minor scale has the same notes as the natural minor scale except that the 7th degree is a semitone higher. This means you can build the harmonic minor scale from the major scale by lowering the 3rd and 6th degrees. The 7th degree is only a semitone below the tonic or root note and acts as a leading tone to the tonic, creating a stronger harmonic pull to the root when compared to the natural minor scale.

Which notes are in the A Harmonic Minor guitar scale?

The notes in the A Harmonic Minor scale are:

A B C D E F G# A

There are 7 notes in the scale with no flats and 1 sharp.

What are the intervals in the A Harmonic Minor Guitar Scale?

The scale definition for the A Harmonic Minor guitar scale is R 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 which means that the interval formula for the scale in semitones is:

2 1 2 2 1 3 1

You can also write this as note intervals:

Tone Semitone Tone Tone Semitone Tone and a half Semitone

The A Harmonic Minor Guitar Scale on the fretboard

Let's take a look at A Harmonic Minor on the guitar fretboard. Here is the scale across the entire fretboard:

A Harmonic Minor Guitar Scale Recap

Here is a quick recap of all the information about the A Harmonic Minor covered in this page:

• The A Harmonic Minor Scale is a harmonic minor scale.

• The definition of the A Harmonic Minor scale is: R 2 b3 4 5 b6 7

• The notes in the A Harmonic Minor guitar scale are: A B C D E F G# A

• The interval formula for the A Harmonic Minor scale is: 2 1 2 2 1 3 1

• The note intervals in the A Harmonic Minor scale are: Tone Semitone Tone Tone Semitone Tone and a half Semitone