A Harmonic Minor (Right Hand)

Raise the seventh to G# and the scale gains its distinctive step and a half.

Level:
4 of 6
Hands:
Right hand
Key:
A harmonic minor
Notes:
15
Range:
A4 to A5
One run:
about 12 seconds at 80 bpm

The notes, in order

15 notes, one at a time.

  1. A4
  2. B4
  3. C5
  4. D5
  5. E5
  6. F5
  7. G#5
  8. A5
  9. G#5
  10. F5
  11. E5
  12. D5
  13. C5
  14. B4
  15. A4

How to practise it

  1. Only the seventh note changes: G becomes G#
  2. The gap between F and G# is the sound people call exotic
  3. Finger 4 plays the G# on the way up

The scale behind it

This one is built on the A Harmonic Minor scale: A B C D E F G# (one sharp). Its right-hand fingering runs 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5, and the scale page has the full diagram if you want to hear the shape on its own first.

How to play it here

Play along on the keys with your mouse, your computer keyboard, a touch screen, or a MIDI keyboard you have plugged in. Every key can show its own name, and the metronome will hold the tempo while you work through the 15 notes.

What it trains

  • scale
  • minor
  • black keys

More minor scales

Natural, harmonic and melodic minor, with the fingering that each shape asks for.

All piano exercises