# Harmonic minor with a raised 4th



## Cabinet (Jul 31, 2010)

I was noodling around I found this incredibly evil sounding scale.
It was based off the harmonic minor scale, I was in A minor.
But what I did was take the 4th note and raised it a half step so there's a 3 note chromatic lick in there centered on the 5th note, or Phrygian.

The notes are A, B, C, D#, E, F, G# and back to A.

Does anyone know if this is a particular scale? I really like it.


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## Lasik124 (Jul 31, 2010)

Well if you minus the F# It is Hungarian minor to my knowledge(Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!)

But I think I'm lost myself. Are you are using the F#? If so wouldn't that be a 4 note chromatic lick?


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## xtrustisyoursx (Jul 31, 2010)

Did you mean to say G# instead of F# for the 7th degree


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## Cabinet (Jul 31, 2010)

I confused myself, I meant G#, or the raised 7th in the A harmonic minor scale


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## Lasik124 (Jul 31, 2010)

Then I do indeed think you are playing the Hungarian minor 

In the Key of A : A B C D# E F G# (A)

Just Harmonic minor with a raised 4th!


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## kittencore (Jul 31, 2010)

Yeah the hungarian indeed sounds deliciously evil


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## Cabinet (Jul 31, 2010)

Wonderful, thanks a lot guys


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## AJ Harvey (Aug 13, 2010)

That scale is metal as fuck


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## maxident213 (Aug 13, 2010)

A cool variation on this scale (in E):

E F G# A# B C D# E

Phrygian something?


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## Trespass (Aug 13, 2010)

^
1 b2 3 #4 5 b6 #7

Double Harmonic minor/Byzantine scale with a raised fourth?

Any kind of scale is a group of notes with a relationship with each other. The diatonic scale and variations (major scale and it's modes) are simply the most common, possessing very socially ingrained names that warrant a "correctness" in referring to them by what we've been calling them for the past 400-500 years.

The fourth mode of the harmonic minor scale is also quite nice, and in this vein:

1 2 b3 #4 5 6 b7 // C D Eb F# G A Bb

What I like about this particular scale is that the second chord is not diminished as within the natural minor scale (aeolian). Instead, you have a nice II and III chord (D major and Eb major. Try it! 

i-II-III: C minor - D major - Eb major


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## Adam Of Angels (Aug 13, 2010)

I use this scale all the time - I play some sort of "swing metal" riffs and this one gets used and combined with the harmonic minor as well as a sort of pentatonic + an extra diminished note scale.


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## Adam Of Angels (Aug 13, 2010)

Trespass said:


> The fourth mode of the harmonic minor scale is also quite nice, and in this vein:
> 
> 1 2 b3 #4 5 6 b7 // C D Eb F# G A Bb



This is wrong is it not? The last note should be a B, right? I might be confused at the moment

Edit: Nope, I'm not mistaken. Harmonic Minor is C D Eb F# G A B.. in fact, the only thing making it a harmonic minor is that sharp 7th, where as the flat 7th (Bb) like you pointed out makes it a regular minor scale


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## Trespass (Aug 15, 2010)

Adam Of Angels said:


> This is wrong is it not? The last note should be a B, right? I might be confused at the moment
> 
> Edit: Nope, I'm not mistaken. Harmonic Minor is C D Eb F# G A B.. in fact, the only thing making it a harmonic minor is that sharp 7th, where as the flat 7th (Bb) like you pointed out makes it a regular minor scale



I have no idea what that is. If your building a natural minor scale out of a major scale, you flatten the third, sixth and seventh. From there, you raise the flattened seventh to it's natural position, creating an augmented second (minor 3rd) between the sixth and seventh.

C natural minor: 

C D Eb F G Ab Bb
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7

C harmonic minor:

C D Eb F G Ab B
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7

Likewise, one can build the parallel dorian mode by raising the sixth of the natural minor (aeolian) scale:

C dorian:

C D Eb F G A Bb
1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7

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What I was doing was using the fourth mode of G harmonic minor (G harmonic minor: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 / G A Bb C D Eb F#) as an alternative scale to the Hungarian minor. My examples are in C because the major scale in C has no accidentals, so it is easy to view modifications. The fourth note in G harmonic minor is C.


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## Adam Of Angels (Aug 15, 2010)

I simply read what you said the wrong way, I guess.


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