Harmonic Minor
Harmonic minor raises degree 7 of natural minor. That one change creates a leading tone, turns the minor v chord into a major V or V7, and creates an augmented second between degrees 6 and 7. Build the scale and follow the changed note through its chords.
- 1-2-flat 3-4-5-flat 6-7
- raised leading tone
- major V chord
which styles use it
- Classical
- Jazz
- Metal
- Popular music
- Film music
How do you build harmonic minor?
Start with natural minor and raise degree 7 by one semitone.
A natural minor is:
A-B-C-D-E-F-G
A harmonic minor is:
A-B-C-D-E-F-G sharp
Its formula is 1-2-flat 3-4-5-flat 6-7.
Why is degree 7 raised?
G natural lies a whole step below A. Raising it to G sharp places the seventh degree one semitone below the tonic.
That leading tone supports a stronger stepwise resolution, G sharp to A.
The change also affects chords. E-G-B is E minor, while E-G sharp-B is E major. Adding D creates E7, the dominant seventh of A minor.
How does V7 resolve to i?
E7 contains E-G sharp-B-D. Am contains A-C-E.
G sharp rises to A. D commonly falls to C. Those two semitone motions define the resolution clearly.
The bass root E can move down a fifth or up a fourth to A. Harmonic minor supplies the notes needed for this dominant-to-tonic cadence.
What is the augmented second?
Degrees 6 and 7 of A harmonic minor are F and G sharp.
They span three semitones but use adjacent letter names, F and G. That makes the interval an augmented second.
It sounds like a minor third on an equal-tempered piano, but its spelling shows two neighboring scale degrees. Do not call it a minor sixth; that is an eight-semitone interval across six letter names.
Which triads occur in harmonic minor?
Stack thirds using only A harmonic minor:
- i: A minor
- ii diminished: B-D-F
- III augmented: C-E-G sharp
- iv: D minor
- V: E major
- VI: F major
- vii diminished: G sharp-B-D
The major V and diminished vii both contain the leading tone G sharp.
Which seventh chords occur?
Adding one more third gives:
- i minor-major 7: A-C-E-G sharp
- ii half-diminished 7: B-D-F-A
- III augmented major 7: C-E-G sharp-B
- iv minor 7: D-F-A-C
- V7: E-G sharp-B-D
- VI major 7: F-A-C-E
- vii diminished 7: G sharp-B-D-F
These chord types help explain why harmonic minor matters in tonal minor harmony and jazz.
Must a minor-key piece use only harmonic minor?
No. Tonal minor commonly combines natural, harmonic and melodic minor forms.
A melody may use G natural while descending and G sharp near a cadence. Harmony may use E7 at one moment and chords from natural minor at another.
Treat the three forms as related resources in one minor key. Follow the actual notes and voice leading instead of forcing an entire piece into one fixed scale.
Is harmonic minor tied to one style?
The scale appears in European tonal harmony whenever minor-key dominant function raises degree 7.
Its interval pattern also appears in metal, jazz, popular music and film scoring. Specific traditions use related scales, tunings and melodic practices that should not be reduced to a single Western label.
Describe the scale formula and musical context directly instead of assigning a broad geographic mood.
How is it different from melodic minor?
Ascending melodic minor raises degrees 6 and 7. A melodic minor ascending is A-B-C-D-E-F sharp-G sharp.
Harmonic minor raises only degree 7, leaving F-G sharp as an augmented second.
Classical melodic minor often lowers both notes when descending. Jazz melodic minor normally uses the raised sixth and seventh in both directions.
How should you practice it?
Play A natural minor and stop on G. Raise only G to G sharp and resolve it to A.
Next, play Em-Am, followed by E7-Am. Identify G natural in the first dominant and G sharp in the second.
Finally, play F-G sharp-A melodically and name the augmented second followed by the minor second.