The name of a harmonic major scale appears (in Spanish-language theory, the escala mayor mixta principal). Your task is to draw its 8 notes on the staff. It is the major scale with the 6th lowered by a half step (♭6), which creates an augmented second between the 6th and the 7th degree.
How to use the exercise: Click (or drag) on the staff to place each note. First choose the accidental with the ♭ ♮ ♯ buttons if the note needs one. Undo removes the last note and Clear restarts the exercise. The notes are sorted automatically from low to high. The magnifier shows the note you are about to place.
The pattern of the harmonic major scale
The pattern is W – W – H – W – H – A2 – H (whole step, UK: tone; half step, UK: semitone; A2 = augmented second). Lowering the 6th turns the leap from the 6th to the 7th degree into an augmented second (three half steps), the sound that sets this scale apart.
| Degree | Step | C major | G major | F major |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | — | C | G | F |
| 2nd | W | D | A | G |
| 3rd | W | E | B | A |
| 4th | H | F | C | B♭ |
| 5th | W | G | D | C |
| 6th | H | A♭ | E♭ | D♭ |
| 7th | A2 | B | F♯ | E |
| 8th | H | C | G | F |
The augmented second, its signature interval
Unlike the plain major scale, the 3rd stays major but the 6th goes down. That leaves a distance of three half steps between the 6th and the 7th degree (the augmented second), just as in the harmonic minor scale between its 6th and 7th degrees. Write the 6th degree with a flat (or a natural) without changing the letter name of the note.
To lock these scales into your fingers, practice them with the online metronome at 60-70% of your target tempo, raising it by 5 BPM each time you play three repetitions without mistakes. The online tuner lets you check your tuning before you start. The dictionary of keys and scales has the full theory.
Printable worksheet (PDF)
The same exercise on paper, for class: eight harmonic major scales to write without a key signature, with each accidental before its note. With a separate answer sheet, with the answers in red.
It goes from easier to harder: first key signatures with few accidentals in treble clef, then more accidentals and the bass clef.
Download the worksheet (PDF A4) Answers
You may print and photocopy the worksheets freely for the classroom. There are also worksheets of this same type for identifying and writing with a key signature, and in the scales index you can create custom worksheets, mixing whichever types you like.