Double harmonic scale

In music, the double harmonic major scale is a scale whose gaps may sound "exotic" to Western listeners. This is also known as the Byzantine scale, Arabic, and Gypsy major. It can be likened to a gypsy scale because of the augmented step between the 2nd and 3rd degrees. Arabic scale may also refer to any Arabic mode, the simplest of which, however, to Westerners, resembles the double harmonic major scale.

The sequence of steps comprising the double harmonic scale is:

Or, in relation to the tonic note:

However, this scale is commonly represented with the first and last half step each being represented as a quarter tone. The non-quarter tone form ( Play ) is identical to the North Indian Thaat named Bhairav and the South Indian (Carnatic) Melakarta named Mayamalavagowla.

The double harmonic scale is arrived at by either:

It is referred to as the "double harmonic" scale because it contains two harmonic tetrads featuring augmented seconds. By contrast both the harmonic major and harmonic minor scales contain only one augmented second, located between their sixth and seventh degrees.

The double harmonic scale is uncommonly used in classical music from Western culture, as it does not closely follow any of the basic musical modes, nor is it easily derived from them. It also does not easily fit into common Western chord progressions such as the authentic cadence. This is because it is mostly used as a modal scale, not intended for much movement through chord progressions. The Arabic scale (in the key of E) was used in Nikolas Roubanis's "Misirlou", and in the Bacchanale from the opera Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saëns. Claude Debussy used the scale in "Soirée dans Grenade", "La Puerta del Vino", and "Sérénade interrompue" to evoke Spanish flamenco music or Moorish heritage. In popular music, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow used the scale in pieces such as "Gates of Babylon" and "Stargazer". The Miles Davis jazz standard "Nardis" also makes use of the double harmonic.

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