Time for another music lesson children: The Double Harmonic Major Scale!
The double harmonic major scale is characterized by taking an Ionian scale, and playing a minor 2nd and a minor 6th. The steps comprising this scale are tonic, diminished second, half step, whole step, half step, diminished sixth, half step.
This scale is not very commonly used in Western music due to it not fitting into any of Western music’s typical musical modes, nor can it be easily derived from Western modes. It also doesn’t fit any of the typical Western chord progressions and cadences.
WHAT’S IN A NAME? It is called the double harmonic scale because it contains two harmonic tetrads (chords) featuring augmented second notes (the 2nd and 6th notes of the scale)
To Western ears this scale sounds rather “Exotic” or “Oriental”, and thus the scale is often referred to as the “Byzantine Scale” (mildly ironic that this isn’t the official name, considering the prevalence of Greek names of other scales and modes), the Arabic scale, or the Gypsy Major scale (there are several so-called “gypsy scales”, several of which will be discussed in this book at various points). As the name would imply, this scale is much more common in the Orient than the Occident
You are likely familiar with songs that use this scale to evoke an “Arabian” sound to them, such as Misirlou by Dick Dale, Bacchanale by Camille Saint Seans, or Nardis by Miles Davis
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