Name the minor scales

Both scales start like natural minor: minor 3rd above the root. The top half is where they differ.

Harmonic minor raises only the 7th, leaving a three-semitone gap between the 6th and 7th — the widest step in any scale here, and the giveaway.

Melodic minor raises the 6th and the 7th both, so its top half climbs as smoothly as a major scale.

gap of 3 before the 7th = harmonic · smooth top = melodic

A three-semitone jump from A♭ to B: C harmonic minor.

Practise this in the trainer — it opens with this lesson the first time the concept comes up.