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 DI Harmonic major 2 EII Dorian ♭5 3 F♯III Phrygian ♭4 4 GIV Lydian ♭3 5 AV Mixolydian ♭2 ♭6 B♭VI Lydian augmented ♯2 7 C♯VII 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 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 2 4 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
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
IDmaj7D F♯ A C♯
ii°Em7♭5E G B♭ D
iiiF♯m7F♯ A C♯ E
ivGm(maj7)G B♭ D F♯
VA7A 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?

Dmaj7 (I), Em7♭5 (ii°), F♯m7 (iii), Gm(maj7) (iv), A7 (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.