B♭ Harmonic majorScale

Formula

W W H W H 1½ H 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7
The family

B♭ Harmonic major on the chromatic circle

B♭ Harmonic major is the 1st mode of the Harmonic major family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

W W H W H 1½ H 1 B♭I Harmonic major 2 CII Dorian ♭5 3 DIII Phrygian ♭4 4 E♭IV Lydian ♭3 5 FV Mixolydian ♭2 ♭6 G♭VI Lydian augmented ♯2 7 AVII Locrian 𝄫7 B♭ Harmonic major
The whole neck

B♭ Harmonic major across the fretboard

Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.

3 5 7 9 12 15 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6
Harmony

Chords in B♭ Harmonic major

Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.

DegreeChordNotes
IB♭maj7B♭ D F A
ii°Cm7♭5C E♭ G♭ B♭
iiiDm7D F A C
ivE♭m(maj7)E♭ G♭ B♭ D
VF7F A C E♭
♭VI+G♭maj7♯5G♭ B♭ D F
vii°A°7A C E♭ G♭
Context

Where B♭ Harmonic major fits

Major with a ♭6: over a major chord moving to its minor iv. Heard in film music and jazz.

B♭ Harmonic major is mode 1 of the harmonic major family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:

Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:

Harmonic major scale in every key

B♭ Harmonic major scale questions

What notes are in the B♭ Harmonic major scale?

B♭ C D E♭ F G♭ A. As degrees from the root: 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7.

What is the B♭ Harmonic major scale formula?

1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7, or in steps between the notes, W W H W H 1½ H (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).

How do you play the B♭ Harmonic major scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of B♭ Harmonic major up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape.

What chords are in the B♭ Harmonic major scale?

B♭maj7 (I), Cm7♭5 (ii°), Dm7 (iii), E♭m(maj7) (iv), F7 (V), G♭maj7♯5 (♭VI+), A°7 (vii°).

When is the B♭ Harmonic major scale used?

Major with a ♭6: over a major chord moving to its minor iv. Heard in film music and jazz.