When to Play Harmonic Minor - 5

Approaches
It's one thing knowing how to play the harmonic minor scale (e.g. its patterns),
but knowing when to use it is where a lot of guitarists struggle. It can be an
awkward one.

In this lesson I'll reveal five situations in which harmonic minor can play an
effective role in your solos, in both minor and major keys. The focus here will
be on training your ear to identify the chord changes that imply harmonic
minor. That way, you'll know exactly when to make the "scale switch", simply
by hearing the chord progression.

Start by watching the presentation below and then use the supplemental
content on this page to help fully internalize this valuable knowledge...

Harmonic Minor "Switch" Ear Training

Knowing when to change scales is a hell of a lot easier when you know what
to listen out for. In terms of soloing and creating a melody over a sequence of
chords, that's where ear training can be hugely rewarding.

In fact, it can get to the stage where you hear a song for the very first time and
can actually predict which chords (and therefore scales) will come next, based
on the implied harmony. As you can imagine, this does wonders for your
improvisation skills.

Harmonic minor's dominant function in minor keys

As mentioned in the video, the most common application of harmonic minor
in minor keys is over the major V (5) chord.

Use the table below to study this i - V relationship in several common keys.
We basically switch from natural minor to harmonic minor over the V chord,
using the same root. Use the following patterns as a guide (as you can see,
there's only one note difference between the two scales - the 7th)...
Natural minor Harmonic minor

Key Tonic (i) Dominant (V) Audio

Am Emaj or E7
Am Click here
A Natural Minor A Harmonic Minor

Cm Gmaj or G7
Cm Click here
C Natural Minor C Harmonic Minor

Em Bmaj or B7
Em Click here
E Natural Minor E Harmonic Minor

F#m C#maj or C#7

F#m Click here
F# Natural Minor F# Harmonic Minor

Tip: Over the V chord, the emphasis is on harmonic minor's major 7th tone
(7), because this becomes the major 3rd of the V chord - a strong target note
for harmonization. This is the defining note in the switch from natural to
harmonic minor.

Note: If the chord progression only moves back and forth between
the i and V chords like this (as some songs do), you can technically
use any minor scale (e.g. Dorian, natural/harmonic/melodic minor) over
the tonic chord. However, we're specifically looking at the most commonly
used minor key centre - natural minor. So if any other chords are used away
from that V chord, natural minor will be your safest bet.

Example in A minor

Here, I play natural minor over the opening three chords - i VII VI - and then
switch to harmonic minor over the V7chord.

Click the tabs in this lesson to hear examples.

Dominant function in major keys

Using harmonic minor over the V chord in major keys makes a nice change
from the more natural sounding major scale. In fact, this application goes back
to the baroque, classical and romantic periods.

You won't always want the tense sound it offers, but keep it in mind for when
you want to add some variation to your major key solos.

There are two approaches for this function...

The first is to play harmonic minor on the same root as the major scale. So
this is exactly the same approach as the minor key V, just resolving to major
intead of minor...

Major/Ionian Harmonic minor

Key Tonic (i) Dominant (V) Audio

Cmaj Gmaj or G7
C Click here
C Major C Harmonic Minor

Emaj Bmaj or B7
E Click here
E Major E Harmonic Minor

Gmaj Dmaj or D7
G Click here
G Major G Harmonic Minor

Bbmaj Fmaj or F7
Bb Click here
Bb Major Bb Harmonic Minor

Tip: Just like with the minor key V chord, the emphasis is on harmonic minor's
major 7th tone (7), because this becomes the major 3rd of of the V chord.
Example in C major

Playing C major over a I IV ii V progression, with C harmonic minor played

over the V chord.

The second option is to play harmonic minor in the relative minor position of
the major scale over that V chord. All this means is we play our harmonic
minor scale 3 frets down from our major scale root when the progression
changes to V...

Example in C major

Exactly the same C major progression as before, but this time playing A
harmonic minor over the V chord (as A minor is the relative minor of C
major). A rather strange but nevertheless interesting sound...
Mediant function in major keys
Harmonic minor can work nicely over the major III (mediant) chord in major
key progressions.

You could use the same "relative root" method as before if you like - for
example if the progression moved from Cmaj to E7 (I to III) you might play C
major over Cmaj and then A harmonic minor (A being relative to C) over E7.

However, as covered in the video, if you want to keep the same root as the
major scale, use harmonic minor's 3rd mode - major/Ionian #5.

This might seem confusing to you, but all you really need to know is that using
this major #5 scale over the III chord will ensure you don't hit a bum note
(since the major III technically moves us outside the major scale).

Note that this won't work over a natural iii (minor) chord in major keys. You
need to train your ear to hear this major/minor mediant distinction. That's what
the audio below is for!

Major/Ionian Major #5
 Tonic Submediant Subdominant
Key Mediant (III) Audio
(i) (vi) (IV)

Cmaj Emaj or E7 Am Fmaj Click

C
C Major C Major #5 C Major C Major here

G#maj or
Emaj C#m Amaj Click
E G#7
E Major E Major E Major here
E Major #5

Gmaj Bmaj or B7 Em Cmaj Click

G
G Major G Major #5 G Major G Major here

Bbmaj
Dmaj or D7 Gm Ebmaj Click
Bb Bb
Bb Major #5 Bb Major Bb Major here
Major
Tip: try targeting (or emphasising) the #5 of major #5 over the III chord, as
this corresponds to the chord's major 3rd - a strong note for harmonization.

Example in C major

Towards the end of the example I use a major pentatonic pattern (instead of
straight C major) which would, as it happens, overlap with the relative
harmonic minor pattern. Always be looking for these convenient positions
when switching scales.

Pure harmonic minor

Of course, you can also use harmonic minor to colour minor chords on their
own. However, most commonly it works best over the tonic (i) chord in minor
key progressions, as a spicier alternative to natural minor. Use the i - V tracks
from earlier to experiment with this.

Using the major 7th of the scale over a minor chord will give it a very tense
sound, and sometimes this is desirable. Just be aware of the colour it adds to
your minor chords and use it appropriately, based on the sound you want.

Example in A minor
Hopefully, after going through this lesson, you'll see (well, hear!) just how
valuable ear training is. If you want to take this to the next level, I highly
recommend the free 10 day course from Easy Ear Training. These guys will
show you how simple ear training exercises can make you a better musician,
which translates into better guitar playing!