E Harmonic majorScale

Formula

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

E Harmonic major on the chromatic circle

E 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 EI Harmonic major 2 F♯II Dorian ♭5 3 G♯III Phrygian ♭4 4 AIV Lydian ♭3 5 BV Mixolydian ♭2 ♭6 CVI Lydian augmented ♯2 7 D♯VII Locrian 𝄫7 E Harmonic major
The whole neck

E 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 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 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
Harmony

Chords in E 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
IEmaj7E G♯ B D♯
ii°F♯m7♭5F♯ A C E
iiiG♯m7G♯ B D♯ F♯
ivAm(maj7)A C E G♯
VB7B D♯ F♯ A
♭VI+Cmaj7♯5C E G♯ B
vii°D♯°7D♯ F♯ A C
Context

Where E Harmonic major fits

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

E 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

E Harmonic major scale questions

What notes are in the E Harmonic major scale?

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

What is the E 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 E Harmonic major scale on guitar?

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

What chords are in the E Harmonic major scale?

Emaj7 (I), F♯m7♭5 (ii°), G♯m7 (iii), Am(maj7) (iv), B7 (V), Cmaj7♯5 (♭VI+), D♯°7 (vii°).

When is the E Harmonic major scale used?

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