Overview: For those unaware, Major Is Harmonic (and Other Essays) is a book for all instrumentalists that explores the highly underrated Harmonic Major Scale and its applications for jazz improvisation.

Verdict: Having been in the company of a talented musician for many years now, this is how the Harmonic Major Scale was explained to me: The harmonic major and melodic major scales can be viewed as the major key counterparts to the harmonic minor and melodic minor scales.

Harmonic minor comes about by raising the 7th degree of the natural minor scale, resulting in a major V chord and creating a leading tone in the minor key. Melodic minor comes about by raising the 6th degree of the scale to smooth out the augmented 2nd interval between b6 and 7.

In similar fashion, the harmonic major scale comes about by lowering the 6th degree of the major scale resulting in a minor iv chord and creating an upper leading tone to the 5th of the I chord (minor plagal cadence). The melodic major (1 2 3 4 5 b6 b7) comes about by lowering the 7th degree to smooth out the augmented 2nd interval between the b6 and 7.

In essence, any piece of music written in the major key that uses a minor iv chord or a dim7 viii chord or dim7 ii chord could be looked at as drawing from harmonic major.

Here within the excellent new book Major is Harmonic (and Other Essays) by Randy Vincent, the stupendous guitarist brings forth chapters such as Introduction to Jazz · Building Solo Lines from Cells · Jazz Guitar Soloing: The Cellular Approach, and many more.

Introduction: The “Loneliest” and “Forgotten” Scale
Chapter 1 : Defending the Harmonic Major
Chapter 2 : Some Basic Applications
Chapter 3 : “Hidden Chords” and the Relationship to “Bebop” Scales
Chapter 4 : Some Practice Suggestions
Chapter 5 : Some Thoughts About Bebop Scales
Chapter 6 : A Different Approach to Improvising Using Cells
Appendix A : Harmonic Major Scale Revisited
Appendix B : Bebop Scales Revisited
Appendix C : Cellular Improvisation Revisited
Appendix D : Some Interesting Ways to Think About Scales

The book examines where the scale and its harmonies show up, such as in the so-called Bebop scales and in cellular improvisation. Jazz musicians from Charlie Parker to the present have used the Harmonic Major scale for such cases as the Eb7#9 in Donna Lee and the Abdim7b13 in Corcovado.

It gives you a way to discover hidden chords outside of the basic diatonic chords in a scale and provides examples from well-known jazz recordings that are written out to show Harmonic Major’s usefulness in real life playing.

The book also contains extensive exercises to develop fluency on this forgotten scale, as well as fresh ways to practice bebop scales, quartal triads and tetrads, ten-note bebop scales, ways to use target notes during cellular improvising, and much more.

Harmonic major is especially useful if you wish to write tunes where you restrict yourself to only using scale tones, because of the chords which it makes available and where they are in relation to each other. For example, it offers both augmented and diminished options, and minor triads just a semitone apart.

Simply put, “Randy Vincent is an extraordinary musician. With this book, he gives a clear way to illuminate harmonies in the most sensible and transparent way,” says 20-time Grammy Winning Guitarist/Composer Pat Metheny.

“This book is good for ALL instruments. The patterns and exercises are excellent! There is much food for thought in here.” - Jamey Aebersold

“Randy Vincent is a master player and teacher.” - Bruce Forman

“Randy’s deep musical and theoretical understanding of the guitar have been invaluable to me.” - Julian Lage

About the Author - Randy Vincent began his career in Florida and moved to the San Francisco Area in 1980. Since then, he has divided his time between performing and teaching. Among the many musicians with whom he has performed and recorded are: Joe Henderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hutcherson, Jim Rothermel, Mel Martin, Benny Barth, Mel Graves, Bennett Friedman, Larry Baskett, Peter Welker, Chris Amberger, George Marsh, Smith Dobson, Bill Watrous, George Cables, Tony Dumas, Akira Tana, Billy Childs, Bob Sheppard, and amongst a whole host of others, both Steve Smith and Herb Pomeroy.

Official Book Purchase Link

www.shermusic.com