C Major Scale

C, D, E, F, G, A and B are its seven different notes. The next C repeats the starting note one octave higher. On a keyboard, start at the white key just left of a pair of black keys and play successive white keys until you reach the next C.

The distances are whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. E to F and B to C are half steps because there is no key between them. The Major Scale shows how the same distances produce other major scales when the starting note changes.

No. Its key signature is empty because its seven scale notes all have natural names. That does not mean every piece in C major avoids black keys. A melody may use a chromatic note such as F sharp without changing the underlying key.

C major is a convenient first example because the keys are easy to locate. The white keys alone do not automatically make music sound centered on C, though. Play C at the beginning and end of a phrase, or keep a C chord underneath, and C becomes easier to hear as home. What a Key Is explains that difference between a collection of notes and a tonal center.

Build a three-note chord by taking every other scale note. Starting on C gives C-E-G, or C major. Move that pattern to the next scale note and you get D-F-A, or D minor.

The seven triads are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim. Their notes all come from the C-major scale. Try C-F-G-C on a piano: the last C tends to feel like a return because the phrase has established it as home. Diatonic Chords shows how these chords work within a key.

A natural minor also uses A, B, C, D, E, F and G. The note list is identical, but A is its center. Play C-E-G-C, then A-C-E-A. The first phrase points to C; the second points to A. The relative-minor relationship describes this shared collection with a different center. See the A Minor Scale to hear the change.

Play C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C slowly. Pause after E and after B, then move to the next key. Those are the two half steps. Now play C-E-G together and name the chord you made.