B Harmonic Minor: Notes and the Open B String
B, C#, D, E, F#, G and A# are the notes of the B harmonic minor scale. The open B string rings the root, and the A# a half step below it pulls strongly back to the tonic.
On the neck the root appears at the 2nd fret of the A string and the 7th fret of the low E string. The gap between G and A# is three frets, the widest step in the scale and the source of its exotic sound. A three notes per string exercise is a good way to work through it.
Play the B harmonic minor scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the B harmonic minor scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 1 | Root | 0 |
| C# | 2 | Major 2nd | 2 |
| D | b3 | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| E | 4 | Perfect 4th | 5 |
| F# | 5 | Perfect 5th | 7 |
| G | b6 | Minor 6th | 8 |
| A# | 7 | Major 7th | 11 |
Structure
B harmonic minor scale notes:
How the harmonic minor scale is built:
The harmonic minor scale is built from the degrees 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7, which gives the step pattern W-H-W-W-H-W+H-H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11. That makes it a 7-note scale.
It is the parent scale of its own modal family.
It is also known as Aeolian Maj 7.
B Harmonic Minor Scale Guitar Patterns
Static diagrams of every position shown in the player above.
On one string (B)
Box pattern — position 1
Box pattern — position 2
Box pattern — position 3
Box pattern — position 4
Box pattern — position 5
3 notes per string — position 1
3 notes per string — position 2
3 notes per string — position 3
3 notes per string — position 4
3 notes per string — position 5
Chords in the B harmonic minor scale
Stacking thirds on each degree of the scale gives these chords.
Related modes
These scales share the same notes as the harmonic minor scale, starting from a different degree.
The harmonic minor scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
