E Harmonic Minor Scale
E harmonic minor runs E, F sharp, G, A, B, C, D sharp and back to E. It is E natural minor with D raised to D sharp. The new note is one piano key below E and changes the fifth chord from B minor to B major.
- Notes: E-F sharp-G-A-B-C-D sharp
- Changed note: D sharp
- Key signature: one sharp
What changed from natural minor?
E natural minor has D natural. Compare D-E and D sharp-E over an E-minor chord. Only the second pair reaches E by a half step. The rest of the scale stays exactly E-F sharp-G-A-B-C.
The leap from C to D sharp is called an augmented second. You do not need the name to hear the unusual two-part ending: a larger gap, then a tiny step.
Why is B major available?
With D natural, the fifth chord is B-D-F sharp, or B minor. With D sharp, it becomes B-D sharp-F sharp, or B major. Add A and you have B7. Play Bm-Em, then B7-Em. The D sharp in B7 can move directly to E.
E minor's key signature still has just F sharp. D sharp is an accidental beside the note in a score. A piece in E minor can alternate D and D sharp; it need not stay inside one scale form for its entire length.
Try one two-bar idea
Play E-G-B, then B-D sharp-F sharp-A, then E-G-B. Now replay the middle chord with D natural. The first version lets you hear how the raised seventh shapes an ending in a minor key.