Guitar scale · harmonic & melodic
F Harmonic Major Scale
The major scale with a lowered 6th, also called Ionian ♭6. Its augmented 2nd between ♭6 and 7 gives it a harmonic-minor colour.
Tap any note to hear it.
F Harmonic Major Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|-----------------------------1-3-5-| B|-------------------------2-5-------| G|-------------------2-3-5-----------| D|-------------2-3-5-----------------| A|-------1-3-4-----------------------| E|-1-3-5-----------------------------|
e|-----------------------------3-5-6-| B|-------------------------5-6-------| G|-------------------3-5-6-----------| D|-------------3-5-7-----------------| A|-------3-4-7-----------------------| E|-3-5-6-----------------------------|
e|-----------------------------5-6-8-9-| B|-------------------------6-8---------| G|-------------------5-6-9-------------| D|-------------5-7-8-------------------| A|---------7-8-------------------------| E|-5-6-8-9-----------------------------|
e|--------------------------------------8-9-12-| B|--------------------------------10-11--------| G|------------------------9-10-12--------------| D|----------------8-10-11----------------------| A|--------8-10-12------------------------------| E|-8-9-12--------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------12-13-| B|----------------------------------11-13-14-------| G|-------------------------10-12-14----------------| D|----------------10-11-14-------------------------| A|-------10-12-13----------------------------------| E|-12-13-------------------------------------------|
How to play F Harmonic Major on guitar
Find the root first: F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every F on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (3, 5, 7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 1–5. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | F |
| 2 | G |
| 3 | A |
| 4 | Bb |
| 5 | C |
| ♭6 | Db |
| 7 | E |
Chords in F Harmonic Major
Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in F Harmonic Major; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | F | Fmaj7 | Tonic |
| ii° | Gdim | Gm7b5 | Supertonic |
| iii | Am | Am7 | Mediant |
| iv | Bbm | Bbm(maj7) | Subdominant |
| V | C | C7 | Dominant |
| ♭VI+ | Dbaug | Dbmaj7#5 | Submediant |
| vii° | Edim | Edim7 | Leading tone / subtonic |
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Practise F Harmonic Major anywhere, even offline.
This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.
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Questions
- What notes are in the F Harmonic Major Scale?
- The F Harmonic Major Scale has 7 notes: F, G, A, Bb, C, Db, E.
- What chords are in the F Harmonic Major Scale?
- The chords of F Harmonic Major are F (I), Gdim (ii°), Am (iii), Bbm (iv), C (V), Dbaug (♭VI+), Edim (vii°).
- What is the formula of the harmonic major scale?
- 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7, which is the step pattern W W H W H W+H H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play F Harmonic Major on the guitar?
- The root F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 1–5, and four more positions connect it up the neck.