Sketches of Spain: The Harmonic Minor Scale on Ukulele
BY DANIEL WARD | FROM THE WINTER 2025 ISSUE OF UKULELE
One of the signature sounds of Spanish classical guitar and flamenco music is the haunting beauty of minor-key melodies and harmonies. It’s a sound that pulls your ear in an exotic way—much like how saffron and smoked paprika transform a dish of paella. That special “pull” comes from the harmonic minor scale.
In this lesson, we’ll look at what the harmonic minor is, where it came from, and why it creates such a distinctive sound. Then we’ll put it all together in a Spanish-style etude for ukulele, “Estudio Menor Armónica.” (This study also appears in my upcoming book: Latin, Spanish, and Flamenco for Ukulele.)
From Major to Minor
To understand the harmonic minor, let’s start with simple harmony in the C major scale. Imagine playing only the white keys on a piano, from C to C: C–D–E–F–G–A–B. On your uke, try Example 1 (with a low G so the scales run smoothly without octave jumps). Then play the chords C–F–C–G7, a I–IV–I–V7 progression. Notice how the G7 chord pulls strongly back to C. That pull comes from two tensions: the B note wanting to resolve upward to C, and the F in G7 wanting to step down to the E in the C chord. Even if you just play those voices on strings 2 and 3, you’ll hear it.
Now shift to the relative minor, A minor. Playing the white keys on a piano from A to A will get you this natural minor scale. On ukulele, this is Example 2, which runs from the low G string up to the open A on the first string. The natural minor chords are Am–Dm–Am–Em. With the minor v chord, the progression has a squarer, more static sound—common in reggae and pop—but without the pull we just heard in C major.
Advertisement
Enter the Harmonic Minor
Composers wanted that same pull in minor keys, so they altered the v chord. Instead of Em, they used E7, which requires raising the G to G#. That G# isn’t in the natural minor—it’s borrowed from outside the scale. Try Example 3, which includes the raised seventh (G#) in the scale and chords. Suddenly you have
the harmonic minor scale, born out of the desire to strengthen the V–i resolution (E7–Am). The raised seventh not only deepens the harmonic pull but also creates larger leaps in the melody, producing the exotic quality we associate with Spanish and flamenco sounds.
‘Estudio Menor Armónica’
The centerpiece of this lesson is Example 4, a short etude that shows off the harmonic minor sound in a classic i–iv–V7 progression. Begin by strumming the chords slowly with your thumb, creating rolled arpeggios indicated by the squiggly line in the notation. You can use your thumb throughout, or mix thumb and fingers for the melody. Holding the chords as long as possible allows the melody to sustain beautifully over them.
Most of the study runs in eighth notes, with the melody woven into the chord shapes. Pay attention to the top voices of the chords, since these often carry the melodic line. Fingerings are provided, and it is worth following them carefully: 1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=pinky.
There are three places in the etude where special techniques add character and flair. In measure 4, the first E7 chord includes an ornament that uses a hammer-on and pull-off as a 16th-note triplet on the first string while the rest of the chord continues to ring. Later, in measure 8, the E7 chord appears in a new shape and
the technique becomes trickier still, with a pull-off that comes after plucking the next string, creating a flamenco-style dissonance. Finally, the piece ends with natural harmonics on the first three strings at the 12th fret. Touch the fret lightly with your pinky and release as soon as the note rings out to get the clearest sound.
Play slowly at first, using the suggested fingerings, and let every note sustain. With practice, the whole study will flow with that shimmering, ringing sound. Most of all, enjoy “Estudio Menor Armónica”—and put it to good use.
