C double harmonic major scale on guitar
C double harmonic major has 7 notes: C D♭ E F G A♭ B. Degrees: 1 ♭2 3 4 5 ♭6 7. Formula: H W+H H W H W+H H.
What notes are in the C double harmonic major scale?
C, D♭, E, F, G, A♭ and B. It has 7 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is H W+H H W H W+H H.
What does C double harmonic major sound like, and when do you use it?
Two augmented seconds: exotic, with an Arabic and Byzantine flavor. Use it over major chords with ♭2 in the bass or the melody.
Chord progressions to improvise with C double 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 C:
- Tonic vamp (I): a Cmaj7 vamp. A single chord: hear how each note of the scale sounds against the root.
- Two chords (I–♭II): Cmaj7 | D♭maj7. The scale split into two chords: the first has 1-3-5-7, the second the other notes.
C double harmonic major positions on guitar
In standard tuning (E A D G B E), with 3 notes per string, C double harmonic major is played in 7 positions along the neck:
- Position 1: frets 8 to 13 (starts on the root)
- Position 2: frets 9 to 15
- Position 3: frets 11 to 17
- Position 4: frets 1 to 7
- Position 5: frets 3 to 8
- Position 6: frets 4 to 9
- Position 7: frets 6 to 12
Same notes as
Double harmonic major in other keys
On other instruments
C double harmonic major on piano · C double harmonic major on bass · All scales