Want to know a cool scale that I’m asked a lot about by students?
The harmonic minor scale!
The harmonic minor scale is used by a lot of different guitarists who play a lot of different styles, but it’s most commonly associated with neoclassical rock and metal.
Neoclassical guitarists like Uli Jon Roth, Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen and Randy Rhoads put the harmonic minor scale on the electric guitar map.
The harmonic minor scale is very similar to the natural minor scale the only difference is the 7th degree of the scale is raised, the fancy theoretical term is “augmented.”
This creates a tricky 2 fret (1 and a half tone) jump in some scale positions that requires a bit of getting used to.
But if you love the sound of the harmonic minor scale, it’s well worth the practice investment!