F harmonic minor scale on guitar
F harmonic minor has 7 notes: F G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E. Degrees: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7. Formula: W H W W H W+H H.
What notes are in the F harmonic minor scale?
F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭ and E. It has 7 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is W H W W H W+H H.
What does F harmonic minor sound like, and when do you use it?
Dramatic and classical: the major 7th creates a strong leading tone. Use it over m(maj7) · and its V7♭9, which resolves to the minor chord.
Chords in F harmonic minor
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| i | Fm | Fm(maj7) |
| ii° | G° | Gm7♭5 |
| ♭III+ | A♭+ | A♭maj7♯5 |
| iv | B♭m | B♭m7 |
| V | C | C7 |
| ♭VI | D♭ | D♭maj7 |
| vii° | E° | E°7 |
Chord progressions to improvise with F harmonic minor
In Jam mode (the Jam button above) a band of grand piano, upright bass and drums (recorded instruments) plays these progressions as swing, bossa, groove or ballad, and the fretboard lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in F:
- Minor ii–V–i (iiø7–V7–i): Gm7♭5 | C7 | Fm | Fm. The minor ii–V: the leading tone (E) of the V7 pulls toward the root.
- i–iv–V (i–iv–V7): Fm | B♭m | C7 | Fm. The classical cadence: the major V7 is exactly what this scale asks for.
- Dramatic (i–♭VI–V7): Fm | D♭ | C7 | C7. i–♭VI–V: two bars of V7 so the E rings against the D♭.
F harmonic minor positions on guitar
In standard tuning (E A D G B E), with 3 notes per string, F harmonic minor is played in 7 positions along the neck:
- Position 1: frets 1 to 6 (starts on the root)
- Position 2: frets 3 to 8
- Position 3: frets 4 to 9
- Position 4: frets 6 to 12
- Position 5: frets 8 to 13
- Position 6: frets 9 to 15
- Position 7: frets 11 to 17
Same notes as
Harmonic minor in other keys
On other instruments
F harmonic minor on piano · F harmonic minor on bass · All scales