D♭ Harmonic majorScale

Formula

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

D♭ Harmonic major on the chromatic circle

D♭ 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 D♭I Harmonic major 2 E♭II Dorian ♭5 3 FIII Phrygian ♭4 4 G♭IV Lydian ♭3 5 A♭V Mixolydian ♭2 ♭6 B𝄫VI Lydian augmented ♯2 7 CVII Locrian 𝄫7 D♭ Harmonic major
The whole neck

D♭ 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 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 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
Harmony

Chords in D♭ 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
ID♭maj7D♭ F A♭ C
ii°E♭m7♭5E♭ G♭ B𝄫 D♭
iiiFm7F A♭ C E♭
ivG♭m(maj7)G♭ B𝄫 D♭ F
VA♭7A♭ C E♭ G♭
♭VI+B𝄫maj7♯5B𝄫 D♭ F A♭
vii°C°7C E♭ G♭ B𝄫
Context

Where D♭ Harmonic major fits

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

D♭ 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

D♭ Harmonic major scale questions

What notes are in the D♭ Harmonic major scale?

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

What is the D♭ 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 D♭ Harmonic major scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of D♭ 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 C shape to the A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape.

What chords are in the D♭ Harmonic major scale?

D♭maj7 (I), E♭m7♭5 (ii°), Fm7 (iii), G♭m(maj7) (iv), A♭7 (V), B𝄫maj7♯5 (♭VI+), C°7 (vii°).

When is the D♭ Harmonic major scale used?

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