[Smt-talk] Harmonic and Melodic Scales

[Ninov, Dimitar N]

Dea List,

I use my second and last message for today to reply briefly to Bruce, who says: I've never seen "harmonic major" used!

I am certain you have seen a lot of harmonic major in the common practice period, Bruce - much more than you expect. However, perhaps you have not been able to recognize it in the appearance of IVm, IIm7-5, and VII dim7 in a major key. Perhaps you think of modal mixture as an abstract phenomenon, which has nothing to do with altered scales. Perhaps, for you, harmonic and melodic minor are not related to modal interaction but you think of them as purely diatonic scales? Well, they both are influenced by natural major to the extent of melodic minor having an identical upper tetrachord with natural major. However, a scale does not have to be physically circulated up and down in order to imply itself in music. Furthermore, harmonic and/or melodic major as scales are widely used in improvisation today, most typically on the same borrowed chords mentioned above. 

An immediate example of harmonic major: the second theme from the first movement of Beethoven's first piano sonata in Fm (Op.2 No1). The theme in A flat major outlines a V7-9 chord, with all the notes of A-flat major harmonic being present in the combination of melody and accompaniment.

More than 100 years ago, Nikolaj Rimsky Korsakov stipulated that his harmony book was based on four modes: natural and harmonic major, and natural and harmonic minor. More than 100 years ago...and this book is translated into English. Is it not a shame that today our students do not know what a harmonic major is, maybe because their teachers wait to see this scale widely used as a written line in a classical music score to justify it officially? Do we not know that mode is not just a scale but an environment, and the vertical aspect of this environment may imply a scale, as well as the linear aspect of this environment may imply a chord? This is why "mode" is used today with the meaning of both a scale and tonality. 

Best regards,

DN

Dr. Dimitar Ninov, Lecturer
School of Music
Texas State University
601 University Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666