Part 2 - Melody
The Minor Scales
c) Harmonic Minor Scale
The harmonic minor scale differs from the natural minor scale in that it has a raised 7th note. This gives it a kind of Eastern or Arabic sound. The step pattern is therefore:
So, in the key of A, we get:
On the guitar, we could play it on the G string (3rd string) like this:
Listen
Since it is not entirely functional to play a scale on a single string, we can find the notes of this scale across all strings, as follows:
Fingering for Root Note on 5th String:
This pattern can be used when the root note of the natural minor scale falls anywhere on the 5th string.
Fingering for Root Note on 6th String:
This pattern can be used when the root note of the natural minor scale falls anywhere on the 6th string.