Piano Owl
scale

A-sharp Harmonic Major

Note: This scale is rarely used in practice. The b-flat-harmonic-major is more commonly used and is enharmonically equivalent.

The A-sharp harmonic major scale is the enharmonic equivalent of the B-flat harmonic major scale, which is strongly preferred in musical notation. Like all harmonic major scales, A-sharp harmonic major is derived from the A-sharp major scale by lowering the sixth degree by a semitone, creating the characteristic augmented second interval between the sixth and seventh degrees. Due to the complexity of writing in A-sharp (requiring extensive use of double sharps), musicians and composers universally favor B-flat harmonic major for the same pitch collection, making A-sharp harmonic major extremely rare in practical music theory and performance contexts.

Symbol
A♯ harmonic
Key
a sharp
Scale Type
harmonic major
Cardinality
heptatonic
Number of Notes
8
Notes
A♯, B♯, D, D♯, E♯, F♯, A, A♯
Intervals from Root
M2, M3, P4, P5, m6, M7

Why B-flat Harmonic Major is Preferred

The A-sharp harmonic major scale requires ten sharps in its key signature and involves double-sharp notation (particularly for the raised seventh degree), making it exceptionally difficult to read and write. In contrast, B-flat harmonic major uses only two flats and requires no accidentals beyond natural notation, offering identical pitches with vastly superior readability. This dramatic difference in notational complexity means that A-sharp harmonic major appears virtually nowhere in published music, pedagogical materials, or performance practice.

Practice Recommendations

If you encounter or wish to practice this pitch collection, always use B-flat harmonic major instead. Learning to read and perform in B-flat harmonic major provides all the same musical benefits without the burden of navigating multiple double sharps. For theoretical understanding of enharmonic relationships, recognize that A-sharp and B-flat harmonic major are acoustically identical on modern equal-tempered instruments, but B-flat notation is the universally accepted standard for this scale.