Guitar scales › Harmonic Minor Scale

F Harmonic Minor Scale – Guitar

A natural minor scale with a raised 7th: the neoclassical, exotic sound of Malmsteen and Gypsy jazz. Here it is in F: the notes, the whole neck, all five boxes with TAB, and a backing track to practise over.

Notes in the F harmonic minor scale

Formula: 1 – 2 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b6 – 7. Use it to solo over songs in F minor, and over F blues and rock progressions.

F harmonic minor scale on the whole neck

EADGBe123456789101112131415EGAbBbCDbEGBbCDbEGAbBbCEGAbBbCDbEGAbBbCDbEGAbBbCDbEGAbBbCDbEGAbBbCDbEG
F Harmonic Minor Scale on the whole neck, frets 0-15. Gold = the root (F).
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The 5 boxes (positions) with TAB

Each box is one hand position. Learn Box 1 first: play it up with the TAB, then back down, then move to the next box – together they cover the whole neck.

Box 1 · frets 1–5

EADGBe12345EGAbBbCDbEGGAbBbCCDbEEGAb
F Harmonic Minor Scale, box 1
e|-------------------------------1-3-4-|
B|-------------------------1-2-5-------|
G|-------------------1-3-5-------------|
D|-------------2-3-5-------------------|
A|-------1-3-4-------------------------|
E|-1-3-4-------------------------------|

Box 2 · frets 2–7

EADGBe234567GAbBbCDbEEGAbBbCDbDbEGAbBb
F Harmonic Minor Scale, box 2
e|---------------------------------3-4-6-|
B|---------------------------2-5-6-------|
G|---------------------3-5-6-------------|
D|-------------2-3-5-6-------------------|
A|-------3-4-7---------------------------|
E|-3-4-6---------------------------------|

Box 3 · frets 4–10

EADGBe45678910AbBbCDbDbEGGAbBbCCDbEEGAbAbBbCDb
F Harmonic Minor Scale, box 3
e|-------------------------------------------------------------4--6--8--9--|
B|-------------------------------------------------5--6--8--9--------------|
G|-------------------------------------5--6--9--10-------------------------|
D|-------------------------5--6--8--10-------------------------------------|
A|-------------4--7--8--10-------------------------------------------------|
E|-4--6--8--9--------------------------------------------------------------|

Box 4 · frets 7–12

EADGBe789101112CDbEEGAbBbCDbEGGAbBbCDbE
F Harmonic Minor Scale, box 4
e|-------------------------------------------------8--9--12-|
B|----------------------------------------8--9--11----------|
G|-------------------------------9--10-12-------------------|
D|----------------------8--10-11----------------------------|
A|----------7--8--10-11-------------------------------------|
E|-8--9--12-------------------------------------------------|

Box 5 · frets 9–14

EADGBe91011121314DbEGAbBbCDbEEGAbAbBbCDbDbE
F Harmonic Minor Scale, box 5
e|----------------------------------------------------9--12-13-|
B|----------------------------------------9--11-13-14----------|
G|----------------------------9--10-12-13----------------------|
D|-------------------10-11-14----------------------------------|
A|----------10-11-13-------------------------------------------|
E|-9--12-13----------------------------------------------------|

F minor backing track

Play the boxes over this, starting and ending phrases on the gold root notes.

Slow Blues Guitar Backing Track F Minor – erto sound

Songs in F minor

These songs are in F minor, so this is a scale that fits for soloing over them:

All songs in F minor →

Other scales in F

Harmonic Minor Scale in other keys

Put it to use: solo with it, step by step, starting with three notes.

FAQ

What notes are in the F harmonic minor scale?

F, G, Ab, Bb, C, Db, E. The formula is 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7.

Where do I start playing the F harmonic minor scale on guitar?

Start with Box 1, frets 1–5. The root note F is on the low E string at fret 1.