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I have come across a scale which to me sounds very Indian. I thought perhaps it was some sort of Raga, however I can't identify which one. Its "key signature" is two sharps and two flats:

Scale

I've been playing with this scale for a few years, and can't remember where I got it from.

Aric
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    @jdjazz Yep, it's a duplicate. In my defence, it's difficult to find which scale you're looking for when the questions are all titled "what is this scale?" and may not necessarily be in the same key. Shall I close it? – Aric Aug 01 '17 at 07:39

1 Answers1

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This scale is refered to by many names, but the preferred term is double harmonic major. It is the near neighbor of a lot of commonly-used scales, like the phrygian dominant mode (of the harmonic minor scale), the h-w diminished scale, and the altered scale. Unlike those scales, the double harmonic major has the b2, the nat5, and the nat7, making it particularly well-adapted to root motions typical of functional harmony.

Fugu
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  • Why accept the answer but not upvote it? – Tim Jul 31 '17 at 13:36
  • A great Lando Calrissian quote comes to mind: "I don't like it. I don't agree with it. But I accept it" – user45266 Jan 30 '19 at 04:54
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    To map to Raga, a note must be identified as reference note, and there are several other characteristics that are needed. However, if it's only the question of scale, and since all seven notes are present, it happens to be the "Bhairav" scale, if D is taken to be the reference frequency ("Shadaj"). – dry leaf Dec 11 '19 at 14:10