THE MINOR HARMONIC SCALE
Here's a scale with a Middle East tone. It is played in the music of the Mediterranean Basin.
It is used to treat many of the chords sequences II / V / I minor
It is constructed as follows:
W H W W H WH H
C minor harmonic ( that we will note Cmh for convenience ) , for example, will be :
C D Eb F G Ab B C
We will now take all the chords of the harmonic minor scale of C :
(doc8)
The most important thing in this series of chords, is the sequence II / V / I, namely by D-5b7 / G7 / C-
The harmonic minor scale is the easiest way to deal with the II / V / I minor, so you have to feel at ease with it
(doc9)
It can also be used to deliberately play a Middle East atmosphere on its degree I or V (here C-and G-7). On Doc10, i play a little improvisation on a G7 chord ( degree V ), C harmonic minor scale... train yourself to do this kind of exercise!
(doc10)
Minor harmonic scale can be used with all chords of type X-5b7 ( C-5b7 here on doc11 , it's Bbmh second degree , so i'll play Bbmh ) :
I play for 1:30 minutes to give you an idea then it’s your turn !
Again, regularly practice this kind of exercise, extremely formative.
(doc11)