Minor scales
A harmonic minor scale
The A harmonic minor scale is A B C D E F G♯ A. It uses the key signature of C major, no sharps or flats, and raises the seventh note with an accidental. Here it is for both hands with the standard fingering.
- No sharps or flats
- Relative major: C major
- RH 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5
- LH 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1
Listen with the cursor following the notes, or play along: the music waits for each note, and the keys show which finger to use.
The notes
A minor has no sharps or flats in its key signature: it is the relative minor of C major. It is usually the first minor scale pianists learn.
| Degree | Note | Right hand | Left hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Tonic | A | 1 | 5 |
| 2Supertonic | B | 2 | 4 |
| 3Mediant | C | 3 | 3 |
| 4Subdominant | D | 1 | 2 |
| 5Dominant | E | 2 | 1 |
| 6Submediant | F | 3 | 3 |
| 7Leading note | G♯ | 4 | 2 |
| 8Tonic | A | 5 | 1 |
Key signature
A minor has no sharps or flats in its key signature, the same as C major, its relative major. The harmonic minor adds one accidental, the raised seventh, G♯, which is written in each time it comes.
What makes it harmonic minor
The harmonic minor is the natural minor with its seventh raised a half step, G to G♯, written as an accidental (the key signature stays C major’s). The raised seventh is a leading note: a half step below the tonic, it pulls up to A, and it gives the key its major chord on the fifth note.
That leaves a step and a half between the sixth and seventh notes, F to G♯ (an augmented second), the gap that gives the harmonic minor its sound. Watch it under the fingers: 3–4 in the right hand and 3–2 in the left hand going up.
Fingering
Right hand: 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 going up. Going up, the thumb passes under the third finger from C to D. The fourth finger plays G♯: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is. Over two octaves, the A in the middle takes the thumb instead of the fifth finger, and the pattern starts again.
Left hand: 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 going up. Going up, the third finger crosses over the thumb from E to F. The fourth finger plays B: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is. Over two octaves, the left hand starts on the fifth finger only once, at the bottom; the A in the middle takes the thumb.
Both hands use C major’s fingering. The right thumb passes under from C to D; the left hand’s third finger crosses over the thumb onto F.
Chords in A minor
The triads built on each note of the harmonic minor. Its raised seventh makes the chord on the fifth note major, the V that leads home in most minor-key music.
- i A minor
- ii° B diminished
- III+ C augmented
- iv D minor
- V E major
- VI F major
- vii° G♯ diminished
Music in A minor
- Beethoven’s “Für Elise”
- Grieg’s Piano Concerto
- Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 8, K. 310
How to practise it
- Hands separately first, slowly, saying the finger numbers. Fingering learned slowly stays; fingering found at speed changes every time.
- Practise the thumb crossings alone: play just the notes either side of each crossing, back and forth, until the thumb is in place before it’s needed.
- Then hands together, one octave, then two. The hands cross their thumbs at different places, which is what makes scales hands together hard at first.
- Use “Play along” above: it waits for each note, so you can check every note and finger at your own pace. Then Listen at ♩ = 72 and play with it.
Quick answers
- What are the notes of the A harmonic minor scale?
- A B C D E F G♯ A.
- What is the fingering for the A harmonic minor scale?
- Right hand 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5, left hand 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1, going up one octave from A (1 is the thumb). Coming down, the same fingers in reverse.
- What key signature does A minor have?
- No sharps or flats, the same as its relative major, C major.
Scales, then real music
Pianomi is a free app that listens to your MIDI keyboard. It takes you through scales and arpeggios at a steady tempo, grading every note and beat, and gives you new music to sight-read every day, at your level.