Grade One Music Theory - Lesson 11: Major Scales

C Major Scale

We've already learnt that C major doesn't have any sharps and flats (because it uses only the white notes on the piano keyboard). We've also learnt that all major scales are built with the same pattern: T-T-S-T-T-T-S (T=Tone and S=Semitone).

Here's the scale of C major again for you:

And here's a picture of the piano keyboard, to help you remember the the layout of notes:

G Major Scale

Let's look at G major next. We'll construct the scale using the T-T-S-T-T-T-S pattern that we've just learnt.

We'll start by putting the first G on the stave. We're using the treble clef, but it works just the same way in the bass clef.

The next note we need, as you can see from the pattern above, is a tone higher than G. The note which is a tone higher than G is A, (because we can squeeze an A sharp/B flat between them). So A is our next note:

The third note is, again, a tone up. From A, the next tone up is B, (we can squeeze A sharp/B flat in between them).

Next we meet our first semitone - C. (There is nothing we can squeeze in between B and C).

Hopefully by now you've got the idea, so here are the rest of the notes of the G major scale:

G major has one sharp - F sharp. You might be wondering why we choose F sharp and not G flat, since they are the same note on the piano. When we write a scale, we use each letter of the alphabet once only, except for the first and last notes which must have the same letter. G major must start and end on G, so we've already used up that letter. We haven't used F though, so we can use that, and make F sharp.

D Major Scale

Let's look at D major next:

The scale of D major has two sharps - F sharp and C sharp.

F Major Scale

The last scale we need to look at for the grade one music theory exam is F major:

The F major scale doesn't have any sharps, but it has one flat - B flat.

Remember, we can't use A sharp instead of B flat, because we've already got an A in the scale.

Ascending and Descending Scales

Scales can be written going up or going down. Scales which go up are called "ascending", and scales which go down are "descending". When we write a descending scale, the pattern of tones and semitones is reversed, so instead of being T-T-S-T-T-T-S, it is S-T-T-T-S-T-T.

Here's an example of the F major descending scale, using the bass clef.

Degrees of the Scale

In music theory, the first and last notes in any scale are called the "tonic". The other notes can be referred to by number.

In C major, the second note in the scale is D, so we can say that D is the 2nd degree of the scale of C major.

We always use the ascending scale to work out the degrees of a scale.

Every scale has seven degrees, because there are seven different notes. The distance of eight notes, from low C to top C for example, is called an "octave".

Here's a summary of the degrees of the scales of C, D, G and F major: