Guitar scale · harmonic & melodic
Bb Harmonic Minor Scale
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Tap any note to hear it.
Bb Harmonic Minor Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|--------------------------------6-8-9-| B|---------------------------7-10-------| G|--------------------6-8-10------------| D|-------------7-8-10-------------------| A|-------6-8-9--------------------------| E|-6-8-9--------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------8-9-11-| B|-------------------------------10-11--------| G|-----------------------8-10-11--------------| D|---------------8-10-11----------------------| A|--------8-9-12------------------------------| E|-8-9-11-------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------11-13-14-| B|----------------------------------11-13-14----------| G|-------------------------10-11-14-------------------| D|----------------10-11-13----------------------------| A|----------12-13-------------------------------------| E|-11-13-14-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------13-14-17-| B|-------------------------------------14-16----------| G|----------------------------14-15-17----------------| D|-------------------13-15-16-------------------------| A|----------13-15-16----------------------------------| E|-13-14-17-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------17-18-| B|----------------------------------16-18-19-------| G|-------------------------15-17-18----------------| D|----------------15-16-19-------------------------| A|-------15-16-18----------------------------------| E|-17-18-------------------------------------------|
How to play Bb Harmonic Minor on guitar
Find the root first: Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Bb on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, 5, 7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 6–10. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bb |
| 2 | C |
| ♭3 | Db |
| 4 | Eb |
| 5 | F |
| ♭6 | Gb |
| 7 | A |
Chords in Bb Harmonic Minor
Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Bb Harmonic Minor; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bbm | Bbm(maj7) | Tonic |
| ii° | Cdim | Cm7b5 | Supertonic |
| ♭III+ | Dbaug | Dbmaj7#5 | Mediant |
| iv | Ebm | Ebm7 | Subdominant |
| V | F | F7 | Dominant |
| ♭VI | Gb | Gbmaj7 | Submediant |
| vii° | Adim | Adim7 | Leading tone / subtonic |
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Questions
- What notes are in the Bb Harmonic Minor Scale?
- The Bb Harmonic Minor Scale has 7 notes: Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, A.
- What chords are in the Bb Harmonic Minor Scale?
- The chords of Bb Harmonic Minor are Bbm (i), Cdim (ii°), Dbaug (♭III+), Ebm (iv), F (V), Gb (♭VI), Adim (vii°).
- What is the formula of the harmonic minor scale?
- 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7, which is the step pattern W H W W H W+H H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Bb Harmonic Minor on the guitar?
- The root Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 6–10, and four more positions connect it up the neck.