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Fig. 1 · G# harmonic major · first 12 frets

guitar scale

G♯ harmonic major

G♯1A♯2B♯3C♯4D♯5E♭6F𝄪7

Major with a flattened sixth: the mirror of harmonic minor, and the reason a major key can borrow a minor subdominant.

The same sounds spelled from the other side are A♭ harmonic major.

on ukuleleon piano

Written out

Fig. 2 · G# harmonic major, ascending

Every accidental is written in, rather than left to a key signature, so the letters can be read one at a time.

The step pattern

G♯WA♯WB♯HC♯WD♯HEW+HF𝄪HG♯

What is true of it

G♯ harmonic major is G♯, A♯, B♯, C♯, D♯, E and F𝄪, and back to G♯.

Its steps are W – W – H – W – H – W+H – H, where W is a whole step and H a half.

Written correctly it needs 7 alterations, F𝄪 among them. That is what the letters force, and it is also why nobody writes music in this key: the same notes spelled from the other side are easier to read.

On the same tonic, G♯ major differs from it by exactly one note.

Across the first twelve frets of the guitar its notes fall in 45 places, which is what makes a scale a shape rather than a list.

Chords made only of these notes

C♯mminorC♯dimdiminishedD♯majorD♯7dominant seventhEdimdiminishedEaugaugmentedG♯majorG♯augaugmented

Found by testing every chord in the catalogue against these 7 sounds, not chosen.

Other scales on G♯

G♯ majormajorG♯ natural minorminorG♯ harmonic minorminorG♯ melodic minorminor

C harm majC♯ harm majD♭ harm majD harm majD♯ harm majE♭ harm majE harm majF harm majall 374