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 BI Harmonic major 2 C♯II Dorian ♭5 3 D♯III Phrygian ♭4 4 EIV Lydian ♭3 5 F♯V Mixolydian ♭2 ♭6 GVI Lydian augmented ♯2 7 A♯VII 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 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 4 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
IBmaj7B D♯ F♯ A♯
ii°C♯m7♭5C♯ E G B
iiiD♯m7D♯ F♯ A♯ C♯
ivEm(maj7)E G B D♯
VF♯7F♯ A♯ C♯ E
♭VI+Gmaj7♯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?

Bmaj7 (I), C♯m7♭5 (ii°), D♯m7 (iii), Em(maj7) (iv), F♯7 (V), Gmaj7♯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.