The Major Scale
The major scale is a seven-note pattern built from five whole steps and two half steps. C major is C, D, E, F, G, A and B. Learn the pattern once and you can build the scale from any starting note. Follow the interactive lesson below to learn more.
Hear the major scale
A major scale is one row of steps, and it never changes.
What you just learned
- Two or one
E to F counts one
From C, count two half steps to D and two more to E. E to F is only one, with no black key between.
C 2 D 2 E 1 FRead the full answer ↓ - Finish the row
Seven steps bring you home
Two, two, two up to B, then one to C. The eighth note has the same name as the first.
2 2 1 2 2 2 1Read the full answer ↓ - Anywhere
The row puts F♯ in G
Start the same row on G. Two half steps up from E lands on F♯, so G major has one sharp.
G A B C D E F♯ GRead the full answer ↓ - Break it
Count to catch a wrong note
One scale had F♯ where F belongs. From E, the row asks for one half step, not two.
C D E F♯ → C D E FRead the full answer ↓ - Break it
An octave doubles the frequency
You ended on the C above the one you started on. It doubled, 262 hertz became 523.
262 Hz → 523 Hz - Good to know
Seven chords, one pattern
Build a triad on each degree of C major. The qualities run major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished.
I ii iii IV V vi vii°Read the full answer ↓
Where to go from here
Every part of the lesson, answered in full
Open any question to read the full answer.
How do you build a major scale?
Use this fixed sequence of distances:
whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half
A whole step spans two semitones. A half step spans one.
Start on C and follow the pattern:
- C to D: whole
- D to E: whole
- E to F: half
- F to G: whole
- G to A: whole
- A to B: whole
- B to C: half
The second C completes the octave. The scale has seven different pitch classes; the repeated C shows where the pattern begins again.
Why does C major use only white keys?
The natural distances between the white keys already match the major-scale formula when you begin on C. E-F and B-C are the two places with no black key between them, so those are the half steps.
Begin on G and the white keys no longer produce the right ending. G-A-B-C-D-E gives whole, whole, half, whole, whole. E to F is only a half step, but the formula requires a whole step there. Raise F to F sharp and the pattern works:
G, A, B, C, D, E, F sharp, G
Sharps and flats preserve the same interval pattern from a different root. They are part of the scale's structure, not decorations added afterward.
What do the numbers 1 to 7 mean?
Scale degrees number each note from the root:
- 1, tonic: C, the tonal center
- 2, supertonic: D
- 3, mediant: E, the major third above C
- 4, subdominant: F
- 5, dominant: G, the perfect fifth above C
- 6, submediant: A
- 7, leading tone: B, one semitone below the next C
The numbers let you transpose a musical idea. A melody that moves 1-2-3 uses C-D-E in C major and G-A-B in G major. The note names change; the relationship to the key stays the same.
Three degrees are especially easy to hear. Degree 1 feels like the tonal center. Degree 3 establishes the scale's major third. Degree 7 sits one semitone below degree 1 and often rises to it.
Why is the major scale used as a reference?
Much of tonal theory describes notes by comparing them with the major scale. Its formula is written 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.
Natural minor becomes 1 2 flat 3 4 5 flat 6 flat 7. Mixolydian becomes 1 2 3 4 5 6 flat 7. A minor chord is 1 flat 3 5, while a major chord is 1 3 5.
This does not mean every musical culture or every style treats the major scale as its center. It means the major scale is the standard reference for the number system used in Western tonal harmony, chord symbols and much contemporary teaching.
What is the difference between a scale and a key?
A scale is an ordered collection of notes. You can play C major upward and downward as an exercise without creating a complete piece of music.
A key is a network of musical relationships centered on a tonic. Music in C major gives C a sense of home, uses chords with different functions and may include notes outside the C major scale.
The scale supplies the basic note collection. The key describes how those notes and chords behave across a phrase or whole piece.
Which chords come from the major scale?
Build a three-note chord on each scale degree using only notes from the scale. In C major you get:
- I: C major | C-E-G
- ii: D minor | D-F-A
- iii: E minor | E-G-B
- IV: F major | F-A-C
- V: G major | G-B-D
- vi: A minor | A-C-E
- vii diminished: B diminished | B-D-F
The quality pattern is the same in every major key:
major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished
Roman numerals let you compare keys without rewriting the idea. I-IV-V in C is C-F-G; I-IV-V in G is G-C-D. Read Diatonic Chords for the voice leading and harmonic functions behind the pattern.
How can C major and A minor use the same notes?
C major and A natural minor both use the white keys: C, D, E, F, G, A and B. They are relative keys.
The difference is the tonal center. If phrases settle on C and the harmony treats C major as home, you hear C major. If A becomes home and the harmony centers on A minor, the same notes take on different relationships.
Starting on a different note is not enough by itself. You can play the C major scale from A to A while a C drone continues underneath, and C may still sound like the center. Rhythm, melody, bass and harmony establish which note functions as home.
How is the major scale different from the modes?
The major scale is also called the ionian mode when it is discussed as one of seven diatonic modes. The pitch pattern is the same; the name reflects the context of the explanation.
Other modes alter the position of one or more degrees relative to major. C lydian raises F to F sharp. C mixolydian lowers B to B flat. Those single changes affect characteristic melodic and harmonic movements.
Comparing every scale with major is useful, but first hear the tonic clearly. A formula such as flat 7 only means something when you know which note counts as 1.
How should you practice the major scale?
Choose a root, keep it sounding as a drone and build the scale by distances instead of copying a list of notes.
First play upward and check the two half steps between degrees 3-4 and 7-1. Then play downward without changing the notes. Finally, name the degrees while you play: 1, 2, 3 through 7 and back to 1.
Do the same from G, D and F. G major introduces F sharp; D major adds C sharp; F major uses B flat. Each new scale tests whether you know the pattern instead of only the white keys.