Chord and FretHarmonic major (C)
Take the major scale and lower the 6th note a half step: that single change makes the harmonic major. The lowered note opens a step-and-a-half leap between the 6th and 7th — that big, 'exotic' stride — and turns the chord on the 4th degree minor: an FmFmFmFm inside a C-major world. In practice, this is the sound of modal borrowing — in other words, a happy major key suddenly shaded by a chord on loan from the parallel minor. You'll hear it in film scores, concert music and modern jazz as seasoning over a major key.
Example: C – D – E – F – G – Ab – BFormula: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – b6 – 7In the formula, the numbers are degrees — positions counted in the reference major scale; "b" lowers a half step and "#" raises one.
Family: Synthetic and specialized scales.
They appear in specific repertoires — concert music, film scores, modern jazz, regional traditions.
Chords in the harmonic field
These are the seven chords born from this scale — one built on each of its notes. Put another way: the set of chords that sounds naturally "inside" the scale. See the harmonic field of every key →
The same scale on all four instruments
In the diagrams, each dot carries its scale degree — 1 is the tonic, highlighted.
One box per instrument is just the doorway into harmonic major. In Chord and Fret, you press play and watch each note light up on the diagram the instant it sounds; switch the dot labels between degrees, note names and fingers; and choose to start from the tonic or play the full box. Start free. Unlock everything with Pro. Plays offline. Open in Chord and Fret →