Harmonization of the Harmonic Minor Scale - Guitar Shapes & Theory

What is The Harmonic Minor Scale?

The harmonic minor scale is built with Root (1), second (2), minor third (b3), perfect fourth (4), perfect fifth (5), minor sixth (b6) and major seventh (7). It can be interesting to compare it with the melodic minor scale and the Aeolian mode indeed, they have many commonalities.

Let's start with the Aeolian mode. This is the sixth mode of the major scale, you will see that it is very similar to the harmonic minor scale. The only one difference is the seventh that is minor in the Aeolian mode instead of being major in the harmonic minor mode.

The melodic minor scale  is also very similar to the harmonic mode but it has major sixth (6) instead of a minor sixth (b6) as shown in the chart below.

The harmonic minor scale interval pattern is W - H - W - W - H - W+H - W (W for whole step, H for half-step).
 

Chords of The Harmonic Minor Scale

When stacking thirds on each note of the harmonic minor scale we get seven different tetrad chords that are:

• minMaj7 (1 - b3 - 5 - 7)
• m7b5 aka half-diminished (1 - b3 - b5 - b7)
• Maj7#5 (1 - 3 - #5 - 7)
• min7 (1 - b3 - 5 - b7)
• 7 (1 - 3 - 5 - b7)
• Maj7 (1 - 3 - 5 - 7)
• dim7 (1 - b3 - b5 - bb7)

Harmonic Minor Chord Shapes

The guitar neck diagrams below show the seven chords of the harmonic minor scale previously seen. They allow to understand how they are organized against to each other. For this, a color code has been employed for each chord shape:

• Green Shape : minMaj7
• Brown Shape : m7b5
• Blue Shape : Maj7#5
• Red Shape : min7
• Grey Shape : dom7 
• Orange Shape : Maj7
• Purple Shape : dim7

The first three diagrams represent the drop 2 chord voicing shapes from the harmonic minor scale.

Now let's see the drop 3 chord voicing shapes of the harmonic minor scale.

• 

  40 Mixolydian Jazz Guitar Lick NEW

  This package contains a guitar method available as a PDF with tabs, audio files and theory providing 40 jazz guitar lines for teachers and students.
• 

  40 Minor (Dorian) Jazz Guitar

  This printable guitar method in PDF format contains 40 easy minor jazz guitar lines based on the Dorian mode for building effective improvised solos.
• 

  40 Major Jazz Guitar Licks

  Printable PDF eBook method containing 40 major jazz guitar licks with tab, standard notation and audio files for beginners and intermediates.
• 

  40 II V I Jazz Guitar Licks

  This pdf method for guitar contains 40 II V I jazz guitar lines with tab, standard notation, analysis, scale charts and audio files.
• 

  101 Dominant Arpeggio Patterns

  This printable PDF method provides 101 dominant arpeggio exercises with tab, theory and standard notation for the jazz, blues and rock guitarist.
• 

  49 Essential Jazz Lines

  This printable eBook method in PDF format provides 49 jazz solo transcriptions of the greatest jazz musicians of all times with TABS, standard notation, audio files and analysis both for guitar teachers and students.
• 

  Mastering Pentatonic Scales

  This jazz guitar method is an eBook available as a PDF with standard notation, guitar tabs, diagrams, analysis, audio files and backing tracks. You will find in this booklet 25 easy jazz guitar lines with theory using common and rare pentatonic scales.
• 

  50 II-V-I voicings

  This guitar method is a printable PDF eBook contains 50 exercises with audio files, analysis, tab & standard notation on how to play over II-V-I chord progressions using different kind of voicings.
• 

  11 blues jazz studies

  This PDF method contains 11 guitar lessons with chord studies, tabs, standard notation, analysis & audio files about the main blues progressions used in jazz music.
• 

  Mastering the altered scale

  This PDF eBook method contains 25 altered jazz guitar licks with tabs, patterns, scale charts and audio files to master, apply and develop the altered scale.
• 

  40 Blues Dominant patterns

  This printable method is available as a PDF file containing 40 easy dominant jazz-blues guitar lines with tabs, standard notation, analysis, audio files and scale charts.
• 

  25 Soul Jazz Guitar Licks

  You will find here an eBook available in PDF containing 25 soul jazz and hard bop guitar licks in the style of Grant Green, Melvin Sparks, George Benson. These jazz lines come with tabs, standard notation, guitar neck diagrams, backing track for practice and 25 audio files for each riff.
• 

  25 Diminished Patterns

  This eBook PDF with audio files contains 25 dominant diminished jazz guitar patterns using the half-whole diminished scale and diminished 7th arpeggios.
• 

  6 Tritone substitution licks

  The tritone substitution is explained through 6 jazz guitar licks with tabs/notation, youtube video links. Printable PDF eBook.