G♭ harmonic minor

G♭1A♭2B♭♭♭3C♭4D♭5E♭♭♭6F7

Natural minor with the seventh raised, which buys a leading note and pays for it with a step and a half between the sixth and seventh.

The same sounds spelled from the other side are F♯ harmonic minor.

on ukulele on piano

Written out

Fig. 2 · Gb harmonic minor, ascending

Every accidental is written in, rather than left to a key signature, so the letters can be read one at a time.

The step pattern

G♭WA♭HB♭♭WC♭WD♭HE♭♭W+HFHG♭

What is true of it

G♭ harmonic minor is G♭, A♭, B♭♭, C♭, D♭, E♭♭ and F, and back to G♭.

Its steps are W – H – W – W – H – W+H – H, where W is a whole step and H a half.

Written correctly it needs 8 alterations, B♭♭ and E♭♭ among them. That is what the letters force, and it is also why nobody writes music in this key: the same notes spelled from the other side are easier to read.

On the same tonic, G♭ natural minor differs from it by exactly one note.

Across the first twelve frets of the guitar its notes fall in 45 places, which is what makes a scale a shape rather than a list.

Chords made only of these notes

D♭major D♭augaugmented D♭7dominant seventh Fdimdiminished Faugaugmented G♭mminor A♭dimdiminished A♭m7♭5half-diminished seventh

Found by testing every chord in the catalogue against these 7 sounds, not chosen.

Other scales on G♭

G♭ natural minorminor G♭ melodic minorminor G♭ majormajor G♭ harmonic majormajor G♭ Dorianmode

C harm min C♯ harm min D♭ harm min D harm min D♯ harm min E♭ harm min E harm min F harm min all 374