Chromatic harmonica Chromatic harmonica The chromatic harmonica is a type of harmonica that uses a button-activated sliding bar to redirect air from the hole in the mouthpiece to the selected reed-plate desired. When the button is not pressed, an altered diatonic major scale of the key of the harmonica is available, while depressing the button accesses the same scale a semitone higher in each hole. Thus, the instrument is capable of playing the 12 notes of the Western chromatic scale. The chromatic harmonica can thus be contrasted with a standard harmonica, which can play only the notes in a given musical key.
Jazz scale and B are blue notes. The harmonic minor scale is also of value to many improvisors, as it provides an alternative color for many common chords and chord progressions. An example is C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. The C harmonic minor scale can be used on the chords of a piece in C minor, especially on the minor ii V7 i chord progression. One of the most common uses of the harmonic minor scale is its fifth mode, which is a frequently-heard sound over dominant chords. The altered dominant scale, also loosely called the altered scale, is so named because all the scale members