Lydian #2 #6

Two augmented seconds, not one

Harmonic minor and harmonic major each contain a single augmented second, and that one wide step is what gives them their character. The double harmonic scale has two, and every one of its seven modes inherits both. Here they fall between the root and the raised second, C to D♯, and between the fifth and the raised sixth, G to A♯.

Two wide steps in seven notes changes how the scale behaves. Four of the remaining intervals are semitones, so the scale alternates between very tight and very wide with almost nothing in between. That is audible immediately and it is why these scales are described as exotic rather than as usable keys.

The chord underneath

Thirds from the root give C E G B — an ordinary major seventh — and the scale colours it with a sharp ninth, a sharp eleventh and a raised sixth. That last note, A♯, sounds the same as B♭, which sits a semitone below the major seventh already in the scale.

That semitone pair at the top is the practical difficulty. Held together, A♯ and B fight; used in a line, one leads to the other. Treating the raised sixth as a passing note into the seventh is the way this scale is actually played.

Where it comes from

The double harmonic scale is 1 ♭2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 — a major scale with the second and the sixth flattened. From C that is C D♭ E F G A♭ B, and it is the scale catalogued elsewhere under the names Byzantine, Arabic and Gypsy major. Reading its seven notes from the second degree and transposing to C gives Lydian ♯2 ♯6.

The family has seven modes and this catalogue lists all of them. The other well-known one is the fourth, Hungarian minor, which English-speaking players usually meet under the name double harmonic minor.

On guitar

Fingering this scale is harder than fingering its parent, because the two three-semitone steps fall in different places in every position. Most players learn the double harmonic scale itself in one shape and start it from the second degree rather than memorising a separate pattern.

The practical use is short and deliberate. Over a major seventh chord that wants to sound unresolved, the raised sixth and raised second supply two tensions that no diatonic mode offers. Run up and down and the scale sounds like an exercise; place two of its notes and it sounds like a decision.

Frequently asked questions