Modes Of The Harmonic Minor Scale
The harmonic minor scale has some really interesting modes but they are rarely used or heard. The two most important modes of this scale are the classical sounding harmonic minor and the eastern sounding phrygian dominant scale.
If you’ve ever listened to anything by Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen then you will have a pretty good idea what this scale sounds like. It also crops up frequently in classical music.
Lets look at the chords of the harmonic minor scale. We can see that they are more interesting and unusual than the standard major scale chords. Note the more harmonically rich augmented and diminished type sounds.
The Harmonic minor scale
The harmonic minor scale is a really nice scale with some interesting and exotic modes. You don’t often hear about the other modes of this scale but the harmonic minor and phrygian dominant modes are quite common in classical and rock music. The harmonic minor scale is made up of the intervals
1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, 7
In the key of C this translates as
C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, B
Make sure you learn the chords of this scale as they can be really useful when composing
The chords of the C harmonic minor scale are
Cmin/maj7, Dm7b5, Ebmaj7#5, Fm7, G7b9, Abmaj7, Bdim7
The Locrian natural 6 mode
This dark sounding second mode is made up of the intervals
1, b2, b3, 4, b5, 6, b7
In the key of C this translates as
C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, A, Bb
The Ionian #5 mode
The third mode of the harmonic minor scale is a really nice augmented type sound for playing over Maj7#5 chords and is made up of the intervals
1, 2, 3, 4, #5, 6, 7
In the key of C this translates as
C, D, E, F, G#, A, B
The Dorian #4 mode
The fourth mode of the harmonic minor is made up of the intervals
1, 2, b3, #4, 5 ,6, b7
In the key of C this translates as
C, D, Eb, F#, G, A, Bb
The Phrygian dominant mode
The phrygian dominant mode is a really useful scale for playing over dominant chords particularly a 7b9 chord. It has a really nice exotic sound and it is made up of the intervals
1, b2, 3, 4, 5, b6, b7
In the key of C this translates as
C, Db, E, F, G, Ab, Bb
The Lydian #2 mode
This a really interesting and dreamy sounding mode which is best used over a vamp to really bring out the sound. It can be used over maj7 chords and is made up of the intervals
1, #2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7
In the key of C this translates as
C, D#, E, F#, G, A, B
The Locrian bb7 mode
This dark sounding mode is very unusual and not used very often. It is made up of the intervals
1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, bb7
In the key of C this translates as
C, Db, Eb F, Gb, Ab, A
See if you can make use of these unusual scales. The first and fifth modes of this scale are really useful to know and the other modes can be used to create some interesting sounds for those of you willing to experiment with them. Have fun and good luck.
4 Responses to “Modes Of The Harmonic Minor Scale”
Comments Feed
Hi– First of all, thank you so much for sharing your passion and knowledge of music so freely here on the web. My question is thisK when you say the Lydian #2 is best played over a vamp…what exactly do you mean by vamp? Are you saying to simply record, for example, a Cmaj 7 / Fmaj7 chord progression and loop it and play the Lydian #2 mode over those chords (using the respective tonic for each chord when playing the mode)? I suppose my question is actually quite simple: by “vamp” are you talking about a simple looped chord progression?
One more thing…I believe there is a typo; in the key of C, the fifth interval of the Dorian #4 mode would be a G, not an F. ‘Just a friendly heads up. ;)
Hi Bhakti. Yes by a vamp I mean just a static chord progression. SInce these sounds are quite ‘unusual’ if you play them quickly over a certain chord they might sound like wrong notes to a listener. If you have a longer looped chord progression then it becomes easier to hear the sounds of the scale.
Thanks for the heads up btw. It was a typo. : )
Hi Owen–thanks for answering my question about the vamp now…I totally get what you’re saying (correct me if I’m wrong…hahaha!): You’re saying that if you are playing an instrumental (or solo) and you are playing most of the tune using the Harmonic Minor Scale, but decide just for fun to throw in one or two measures of the Dorian #4–it’s not going to sound too cool, it’s going to sound like, “Oh!!! Ouch! Those notes don’t only not fit over this chord–they actually made my eardrums want to drop dead!” That’s the gist of it, right? You need to play this mode for awhile over a longer vamp to give the ears time to acclimate themselves to the beauty and relationship between the notes and the underlying chords. I can’t wait to try out these Harmonic Minor Modes. I really appreciate when you give examples of which guitarists play which modes…and which chords are derivative of the modes. That’s much more interesting than simply teaching the intervals and showing how the chords are created by the modes, etc. Thanks. BTW–you are a great teacher…you are a good writer and you do have a way of explaining potentially complicated/confusing material with precision and ease.
Leave a Reply