F♯ harmonic minor scale (G♭ harmonic minor)
F♯ harmonic minor scale is F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯ – D – E♯, with F♯, G♯, C♯ and E♯. Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7. Hit play and watch it light up on both instruments.
F♯ harmonic minor scale, note by note
From F♯ upward the gaps are W H W W H W+H H (W = whole step, H = half step, W+H = a step and a half). The half steps fall between G♯–A, C♯–D and E♯–F♯. The wide step is D–E♯.
| Degree | Note | Interval from F♯ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F♯ | root | |
| 2 | G♯ | major second | |
| ♭3 | A | minor third | |
| 4 | B | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | C♯ | perfect fifth | |
| ♭6 | D | minor sixth | |
| 7 | E♯ | major seventh |
What F♯ harmonic minor sounds like
Classical minor-key harmony leans on it: the E♯ makes the V chord major and the vii chord diminished, both pulling toward F♯.
The gap between D and E♯ is three half steps. Play just those two notes back and forth and you'll recognize the harmonic minor sound anywhere.
Compared with F♯ natural minor scale, F♯ harmonic minor scale has E♯ where the other has E; the other six notes are shared. Hear F♯ natural minor scale and compare.
Playing F♯ harmonic minor
On the piano it uses three black keys (F♯, G♯ and C♯) and four white. E♯ is a white key with a sharp or flat name, because each letter can appear only once in the scale.
The guitar box starts with the root at the 2nd fret of the low E string and spans frets 0–6: 18 notes, low string to high.
Chords built on each note
Stack every other note of the scale on each degree and you get 7 chords. These are the chords that fit F♯ harmonic minor scale; the ones that differ from the major set are what give the scale its color. Tap to hear each one.
Finding F♯ harmonic minor on the neck
Anchor points for F♯: low E string fret 2 and 14, A string fret 9. Five overlapping fingerings cover the neck, starting near frets 2, 4, 7, 9 and 11 on the low E string. On guitar, the three-fret leap between the 6th and 7th notes is the stretch to practise on its own.
On the piano, F♯ harmonic minor scale uses 3 black keys (F♯, G♯ and C♯) and 4 white.
Try it in thirds to stop it sounding like an exercise: F♯–A, G♯–B, A–C♯, B–D, C♯–E♯, D–F♯, E♯–G♯, then back down.
Drills for F♯ harmonic minor
Running a scale straight up and down only teaches the order. These patterns use the same 7 notes and train your ear and fingers to jump around inside F♯ harmonic minor scale.
- Up in threes: F♯ G♯ A · G♯ A B · A B C♯ · B C♯ D · C♯ D E♯ · D E♯ F♯.
- Target E♯: F♯ E♯ F♯ E♯ F♯: the raised 7th, a step and a half above the ♭6, gives the scale its exotic leap.
Scales to compare with F♯ harmonic minor
Harmonic minor scale in every key
F♯ harmonic minor scale: questions
What are the notes of the F♯ harmonic minor scale?
F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D, E♯, F♯. As degrees: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7.
How many sharps or flats are in the F♯ harmonic minor scale?
Four: F♯, G♯, C♯ and E♯.
What chords are in the F♯ harmonic minor scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives F♯m (i), G♯dim (ii°), Aaug (III+), Bm (iv), C♯ (V), D (VI) and E♯dim (vii°).
What's the difference between F♯ harmonic minor scale and F♯ natural minor scale?
E♯ in F♯ harmonic minor; E in the other. Everything else is the same.
Generated from the step pattern 2-1-2-2-1-3-1 and checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.