Harmonic Major
Harmonic major lowers degree 6 of the major scale. C major changes A to A flat while keeping E and B natural. Follow that one note through the augmented second, the minor iv chord and the scale's less familiar diatonic harmonies.
- 1-2-3-4-5-flat 6-7
- major third
- minor iv chord
related pages
How do you build harmonic major?
Start with a major scale and lower degree 6 by one semitone.
C major is:
C-D-E-F-G-A-B
C harmonic major is:
C-D-E-F-G-A flat-B
Its formula is 1-2-3-4-5-flat 6-7.
What interval pattern does it contain?
The steps are:
whole, whole, half, whole, half, augmented second, half
A flat to B spans three semitones across adjacent letter names, so it is an augmented second.
The B-C leading-tone motion remains the same as in C major.
How is it different from harmonic minor?
C harmonic minor is C-D-E flat-F-G-A flat-B. C harmonic major keeps E natural.
Both scales contain flat 6 and major 7. The third determines whether the tonic triad is major or minor.
Compare C-E-G with C-E flat-G before playing the complete scales.
Which triads occur?
Stack scale tones in thirds:
- I: C major
- ii diminished: D-F-A flat
- iii minor: E-G-B
- iv minor: F-A flat-C
- V major: G-B-D
- VI augmented: A flat-C-E
- vii diminished: B-D-F
The minor iv is one of the most immediately useful colors. F minor moving to C gives A flat-G while C remains common.
Which seventh chords occur?
The diatonic seventh chords include Cmaj7, Dm7 flat 5, Em7, FmMaj7, G7, A-flatmaj7 sharp 5 and Bdim7.
Several are uncommon in basic major-key harmony. Build them note by note before assigning function.
G7 still resolves strongly to C because B-F forms the dominant tritone.
Is minor iv proof that the whole scale is harmonic major?
No. A major-key song can borrow iv from parallel minor for one chord through modal interchange.
A complete harmonic-major passage uses the collection more consistently in melody or harmony.
Analyze the surrounding notes. Repeated A flat alongside E and B natural provides stronger evidence than one F-minor chord.
How does flat 6 work in melody?
A flat can descend to G, move through the augmented second to B or decorate A natural chromatically.
In Fm-C, A flat commonly resolves to G while F may move to E. This voice leading makes the borrowed minor-subdominant sound clear.
Against C major, A flat forms a minor sixth above the tonic and a major third above F.
Which modes come from harmonic major?
Starting the same pitch collection from each degree produces seven modes with specialized names.
These modes can support altered dominant, diminished and minor-major sonorities. Naming them is less useful than matching their exact formulas to a chord.
Learn the parent scale and its diatonic chords first. Derive a mode only when a progression needs that collection from a different tonic.
Where is harmonic major used?
Composers and arrangers use it when major-tonic harmony needs flat 6 without losing the leading tone.
It appears in jazz theory, film and game scoring, and chromatic passages in popular or classical music.
Often the sound appears through selected chords or melodic notes instead of a complete scale run.
How should you practice it?
Play C major and change only A to A flat.
Alternate F major-C with F minor-C and follow A-A flat-G.
Build the seven triads from C harmonic major. Mark every chord containing A flat and compare it with the corresponding C-major chord.