Harmonic major scale

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Harmonic major scale on C Play. Harmonic major scale C.png
Harmonic major scale on C Play .

In music theory, the harmonic major scale is a musical scale found in some music from the common practice era and now used occasionally, most often in jazz. It corresponds to the Raga Sarasangi in Indian Carnatic music, or Raag Nat Bhairav in Hindustani music.

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It can be considered a major scale with the sixth degree lowered, Ionian ♭6, [1] or the harmonic minor scale with the third degree raised. The intervals between the notes of a harmonic major scale follow the sequence below:

whole, whole, half, whole, half, augmented second, half

The harmonic major scale may be used to construct the following chords, which also may be thought of as borrowed from the parallel minor: the dominant minor ninth chord, the fully diminished seventh leading tone chord, the supertonic diminished triad, the supertonic half-diminished seventh chord, and the minor subdominant. It also contains an augmented triad.

  • V7♭9: G-B–D–F–A♭
  • viio7: B–D–F–A♭
  • iio: D–F–A♭
  • iiø7: D–F–A♭–C
  • iv: F–A♭–C
  • ♭VI+: A♭–C–E
Harmonic major scale

The harmonic major scale has its own set of modes, distinct from the harmonic minor, melodic minor, and major modes, depending on which note serves as the tonic. Below are the mode names, their degrees, and the following seventh chords that can be built using each modal tonic or degree of the parent mode as the root: a major seventh chord, a half-diminished seventh chord, a minor seventh chord, a minor major seventh chord, a dominant seventh chord, an augmented major seventh chord, and a diminished seventh chord. Harmonic minor contains the same types of seventh chords, but in a different order.

ModeIIIIIIIVVVIVII
NameHarmonic MajorLocrian ♮2 ♮6 / Dorian ♭5Altered Dominant ♮5 / Phrygian ♭4Melodic Minor ♯4 / Lydian ♭3Mixolydian ♭2Lydian Augmented ♯2Locrian Doubleflat.svg 7
Notes1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 71 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭71 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭71 2 ♭3 ♯4 5 6 71 ♭2 3 4 5 6 ♭71 ♯2 3 ♯4 ♯5 6 71 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 Doubleflat.svg 7
TriadsCDo or Dm♭5EmFmGA♭+Bo or Bm♭5
Seventh ChordsCmaj7Dø7Em7Fmmaj7G7A♭+maj7Bo7
A progression in harmonic major Play. Altered chord progression.PNG
A progression in harmonic major Play .

For example, a C major scale consists of the notes: C D E F G A B; whereas a C harmonic major scale consists of the notes: C D E F G A♭ B. Notice the sixth note in the sequence is lowered, from A to A♭. The C harmonic major scale can also be obtained from the C harmonic minor scale, which is C D E♭ F G A♭ B, by raising the E♭ to E. The C harmonic major scale may be derived from the F melodic minor scale with a raised fourth: F G A♭ B C D E. [2]

Harmonic major scale on C Harmonic major scale C brackets.png
Harmonic major scale on C

The harmonic major scale may also be considered a synthetic scale, primarily used for implying and relating to various altered chords, with major and minor qualities in each tetrachord. [3] Thus the musical effect of the harmonic major scale is a sound intermediate between harmonic minor and diatonic major, and partaking of both. The harmonic major scale may be used in any system of meantone tuning, such as 19 equal temperament or 31 equal temperament, as well as 12 equal temperament.

One interesting property of this scale is that for any diatonic scale, there is a relative major or minor mode, and if each of these is made harmonic major or harmonic minor, the accidental required in each "harmonic" scale is actually the same note spelled enharmonically. For example, the added accidental in C harmonic major, A♭ (shown in first image), is enharmonically equivalent to the added accidental, G♯, in the relative harmonic minor of C major, A harmonic minor. Also, another enharmonic mode of the scale is the Jazz Minor b5 scale (Jeths's mode) (B in C Harmonic Major, Cb in F Jazz Minor b5).

Harmonic major scale in thirds Harmonic major scale C thirds.png
Harmonic major scale in thirds

Like the familiar major, melodic minor, and harmonic minor scales, the harmonic major scale has the diatonic thirds property, which means that the interval between notes two steps apart (e.g. the fifth and seventh notes) are separated by a major or minor third, i.e. the interval of three or four semitones. [4] There are only seven such scales in equal temperament, including whole tone, hexatonic from alternating minor thirds and semitones, diatonic, ascending melodic minor, harmonic minor, harmonic major, and octatonic (diminished). This property implies that chords formed by taking every other note from some consecutive subset of the scale are triadic, raising the possibility of using tertian harmony together with melodic material from such a scale.

The harmonic major scale is also one of the five proper seven-note scales of equal temperament. Like five of those other six scales, it is a complete circle of thirds; starting from the tonic the pattern is MmmmMMm, where M is a major third and m is a minor third.[ citation needed ]

Harmonic major is not commonly taught as a tonality, so chords borrowed from this diatonic tonality are not recognized as readily as those from the tonalities of major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor.[ citation needed ] Many popular songs have borrowed chords from the tonality of harmonic major but have not been recognized as doing so. Examples are 'After You've Gone', 'Blackbird', 'Sleep Walk', 'Dream A Little Dream Of Me'.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

In music theory, the term mode or modus is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major scale</span> Musical scale made of seven notes

The major scale is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at double its frequency so that it is called a higher octave of the same note.

In western classical music theory, the minor scale refers to three scale patterns – the natural minor scale, the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale.

In music theory, a leading tone is a note or pitch which resolves or "leads" to a note one semitone higher or lower, being a lower and upper leading tone, respectively. Typically, the leading tone refers to the seventh scale degree of a major scale, a major seventh above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the leading tone is sung as si.

A jazz scale is any musical scale used in jazz. Many "jazz scales" are common scales drawn from Western European classical music, including the diatonic, whole-tone, octatonic, and the modes of the ascending melodic minor. All of these scales were commonly used by late nineteenth and early twentieth-century composers such as Rimsky-Korsakov, Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky, often in ways that directly anticipate jazz practice. Some jazz scales, such as the eight-note bebop scales, add additional chromatic passing tones to the familiar seven-note diatonic scales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chord (music)</span> Harmonic set of two or more notes

In music, a chord is a group of three or more notes played simultaneously, typically consisting of a root note, a third, and a fifth. Chords are the building blocks of harmony and form the harmonic foundation of a piece of music. They can be major, minor, diminished, augmented, or extended, depending on the intervals between the notes and their arrangement. Chords provide the harmonic support and coloration that accompany melodies and contribute to the overall sound and mood of a musical composition. For many practical and theoretical purposes, arpeggios and other types of broken chords may also be considered as chords in the right musical context.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modulation (music)</span> Change from one tonality to another

In music, modulation is the change from one tonality to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest. Treatment of a chord as the tonic for less than a phrase is considered tonicization.

Modulation is the essential part of the art. Without it there is little music, for a piece derives its true beauty not from the large number of fixed modes which it embraces but rather from the subtle fabric of its modulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circle of fifths</span> Relationship among tones of the chromatic scale

In music theory, the circle of fifths is a way of organizing pitches as a sequence of perfect fifths. Starting on a C, and using the standard system of tuning for Western music, the sequence is: C, G, D, A, E, B, F♯/G♭, C♯/D♭, G♯/A♭, D♯/E♭, A♯/B♭, F, and C. This order places the most closely related key signatures adjacent to one another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semitone</span> Musical interval

A semitone, also called a minor second, half step, or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent notes in a 12-tone scale, visually seen on a keyboard as the distance between two keys that are adjacent to each other. For example, C is adjacent to C♯; the interval between them is a semitone.

In music theory, an augmented sixth chord contains the interval of an augmented sixth, usually above its bass tone. This chord has its origins in the Renaissance, was further developed in the Baroque, and became a distinctive part of the musical style of the Classical and Romantic periods.

In music, the submediant is the sixth degree of a diatonic scale. The submediant is named thus because it is halfway between the tonic and the subdominant or because its position below the tonic is symmetrical to that of the mediant above.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supertonic</span> Tonal degree of the diatonic scale

In music, the supertonic is the second degree of a diatonic scale, one whole step above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the supertonic note is sung as re.

Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic pitches and chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses only seven different notes, rather than the twelve available on a standard piano keyboard. Music is chromatic when it uses more than just these seven notes.

In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord, is a seventh chord composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh; thus it is a major triad together with a minor seventh. It is often denoted by the letter name of the chord root and a superscript "7". In most cases, dominant seventh chord are built on the fifth degree of the major scale. An example is the dominant seventh chord built on G, written as G7, having pitches G–B–D–F:

The diminished seventh chord is a four-note chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a diminished seventh above the root:. For example, the diminished seventh chord built on B, commonly written as Bo7, has pitches B-D-F-A♭:

In music, a minor seventh chord is a seventh chord composed of a root note, a minor third, a perfect fifth, and a minor seventh. In other words, one could think of it as a minor triad with a minor seventh attached to it.

In music theory, the half-diminished seventh chord is a seventh chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a minor seventh. For example, the half-diminished seventh chord built on B, commonly written as Bm7(♭5), or Bø7, has pitches B-D-F-A:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diatonic and chromatic</span> Terms in music theory to characterize scales

Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, especially when applied to contrasting features of the common practice music of the period 1600–1900.

In music, harmonization is the chordal accompaniment to a line or melody: "Using chords and melodies together, making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads".

The jazz minor scale or ascending melodic minor scale is a derivative of the melodic minor scale, except only the ascending form of the scale is used. As the name implies, it is primarily used in jazz, although it may be found in other types of music as well. It may be derived from the major scale with a minor third, making it a synthetic scale, and features a dominant seventh chord on the fifth degree (V) like the harmonic minor scale. It can also be derived from the diatonic Dorian mode with a major seventh.

References

  1. ↑ Haunschild, Frank (2000). The New Harmony Book, p.122. ISBN   3-927190-68-3.
  2. ↑ Holdsworth, Allan (1994). Just for the Curious, p.6. ISBN   0-7692-2015-0.
  3. ↑ Richard Lawn, Jeffrey L. Hellmer (1996). Jazz: theory and practice, p.43. ISBN   0-88284-722-8.
  4. ↑ Dmitri Tymoczko (2004). "Scale Networks and Debussy." Journal of Music Theory 48.2: 215-292.

Further reading

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