Scales
Bb Harmonic Minor Scale
Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · A
The natural minor with a raised seventh — a leading tone restored, and an augmented second opened up to pay for it.
Bb Harmonic Minor Scale
Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · A
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 | Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · A · Bb | |
| Left hand | 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 | Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · A · Bb |
One octave ascending; 1 is the thumb. A standard fingering, not the only one.
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Scale degrees
Bb Harmonic Minor is made of the notes Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · A. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern W H W W H W½ H.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale · the three minors
Chords in this key
Stacking thirds on each degree of Bb Harmonic Minor gives the chords of the key; the roman numeral names the degree each is built on.
Related scales
The scales Bb Harmonic Minor shares its notes with: the one it is a rotation of, the relative and parallel keys, the scales inside it and the ones that contain it.
Db MajorDb · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb · C
Relative: the same notes from the other tonic
Bb MajorBb · C · D · Eb · F · G · A
Parallel: the same tonic, the other modality
Scales inside it
Bb Vietnamese 1Bb · Db · Eb · F · Gb
Every note of this scale is in Bb Harmonic Minor.
Bb HirajoshiBb · C · Db · F · Gb
Every note of this scale is in Bb Harmonic Minor.
Bb Minor HexatonicBb · C · Db · Eb · F · A
Every note of this scale is in Bb Harmonic Minor.
Scales that contain it
Bb Minor BebopBb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · A
Contains every note of Bb Harmonic Minor.
Bb Minor Six DiminishedBb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · G · A
Contains every note of Bb Harmonic Minor.
Bb Messiaen's Mode #7Bb · Cb · C · Db · Eb · E · F · Gb · G · A
Contains every note of Bb Harmonic Minor.
Bb ChromaticBb · Cb · C · Db · D · Eb · Fb · F · Gb · G · Ab · A
Contains every note of Bb Harmonic Minor.
Understanding Bb Harmonic Minor
Names and spellings
The harmonic minor is the natural minor with a raised seventh, so the dominant chord of a minor key can be major. Its augmented second between the sixth and seventh degrees is the step that makes it sound the way it does.
How it is built
On Bb the scale is Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · A, following the step pattern W H W W H W½ H. Only one note differs from the natural minor: the seventh is raised a semitone.
That raise does two things at once. It gives the scale a true leading tone, so the V chord becomes major and can resolve properly. It also opens an augmented second between the sixth and seventh degrees — a three-semitone gap inside a scale otherwise made of whole and half steps, and the source of the scale’s distinctive colour.
How it is used
It exists because the natural minor cannot cadence convincingly. Harmonising it produces a major V and a diminished seventh on the raised seventh degree, which are exactly the chords a minor key needs to sound finished.
The augmented second also made it the standard shorthand for "exotic" in Western writing, and its fifth mode — the phrygian dominant — is idiomatic in flamenco, klezmer and Middle Eastern music.
Learn this properly
Chapter 7: Scales: Major and MinorCommon questions
- What notes are in the Bb Harmonic Minor?
- The Bb Harmonic Minor contains Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · A. Find every scale that contains these notes with the scale finder.
- Why does harmonic minor exist?
- The natural minor has no leading tone, so its V chord is minor and cannot cadence strongly. Raising the seventh makes V major and restores the pull to the tonic.
- What is the augmented second in harmonic minor?
- The three-semitone gap between the sixth and seventh degrees, created by raising the seventh. It is what gives the scale its characteristic sound.
- How do I play Bb Harmonic Minor?
- On guitar start with the 1st position, played from the lowest string upward; the instrument panel on this page shows its frets and the positions further up the neck. On the piano the right hand ascends 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What chords are in the key of Bb Harmonic Minor?
- Stacking thirds on each degree of Bb Harmonic Minor gives Bbm (i), Cdim (ii°), Dbaug (III+), Ebm (iv), F (V), Gb (VI), Adim (vii°). These are the diatonic chords of the key, the ones a song in this key uses most; the harmony band on this page lists them with the seventh chords built the same way.