A harmonic major scale on bass
A harmonic major has 7 notes: A B C♯ D E F G♯. Degrees: 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7. Formula: W W H W H W+H H.
What notes are in the A harmonic major scale?
A, B, C♯, D, E, F and G♯. It has 7 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is W W H W H W+H H.
What does A harmonic major sound like, and when do you use it?
Major with a shadow: the ♭6 brings the color of the borrowed minor iv. Use it over maj7 moving to a minor iv.
Chords in A harmonic major
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| I | A | Amaj7 |
| ii° | B° | Bm7♭5 |
| iii | C♯m | C♯m7 |
| iv | Dm | Dm(maj7) |
| V | E | E7 |
| ♭VI+ | F+ | Fmaj7♯5 |
| vii° | G♯° | G♯°7 |
Chord progressions to improvise with A harmonic major
In Jam mode (the Jam button above) a band of grand piano, upright bass and drums (recorded instruments) plays these progressions as swing, bossa, groove or ballad, and the fretboard lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in A:
- I–iv (Imaj7–ivmaj7): Amaj7 | Dm(maj7). The minor iv brings the ♭6 (F): major with a shadow.
- ii–V–I (iiø7–V7–Imaj7): Bm7♭5 | E7 | Amaj7 | Amaj7. A major ii–V with a half-diminished ii: the ♭6 (F) sounds in the ii.
A harmonic major positions on bass
In standard tuning (E A D G), with 3 notes per string, A harmonic major is played in 7 positions along the neck:
- Position 1: frets 5 to 9 (starts on the root)
- Position 2: frets 7 to 11
- Position 3: frets 8 to 13
- Position 4: frets 10 to 14
- Position 5: frets 0 to 4
- Position 6: frets 1 to 6
- Position 7: frets 3 to 7
Harmonic major in other keys
On other instruments
A harmonic major on piano · A harmonic major on guitar · All scales