GCEA123456789101112712b345b6745b6712b3b6712b345b62b345b671
Fig. 1 · Ab harmonic minor · first 12 frets

ukulele scale

A♭ harmonic minor

A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♭4E♭5F♭♭6G7

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 G♯ harmonic minor.

on guitaron piano

Written out

Fig. 2 · Ab 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

A♭WB♭HC♭WD♭WE♭HF♭W+HGHA♭

What is true of it

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

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

It costs 6 alterations to write — near the limit of what a key signature can carry.

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

Across the first twelve frets of the ukulele its notes fall in 30 places, which is what makes a scale a shape rather than a list.

Chords made only of these notes

D♭mminorD♭dimdiminishedD♭m7minor seventhD♭m7♭5half-diminished seventhE♭majorE♭augaugmentedE♭7dominant seventhGdimdiminished

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

Other scales on A♭

A♭ natural minorminorA♭ melodic minorminorA♭ majormajorA♭ harmonic majormajorA♭ Dorianmode

C harm minC♯ harm minD♭ harm minD harm minD♯ harm minE♭ harm minE harm minF harm minall 374