G Major Scale

G-A-B-C-D-E-F sharp-G. The half steps are B-C and F sharp-G. You can check by playing each pair on adjacent piano keys. The other steps are whole steps. These distances make the same major-scale pattern you hear in C major, starting on G.

Start on G and try using only white keys. You reach F natural, which is a whole step below G. Raise that F by one half step to F sharp and the final gap becomes a half step. The black key has a specific job; it is not an optional decoration.

One sharp, on F. When a score has that key signature, written F notes are normally played as F sharp unless a natural sign changes an individual F. F sharp belongs to the G-major scale, while other chromatic notes can still appear in music centered on G.

This is also the first clockwise move from C on The Circle of Fifths: C major has no sharps, G major has one. The two scales share six of seven pitch names. The changed note is F to F sharp.

Take alternate scale notes to build three-note chords. On G, that gives G-B-D, or G major. On A, A-C-E makes A minor. The complete set is G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em and F sharp diminished.

Try G-C-D-G. D major contains D-F sharp-A, so the scale's one sharp appears in the chord that leads into the final G. If you use D minor instead, F becomes natural and the sound of the return changes. Diatonic Chords shows how to build the set from any major scale.

E natural minor uses E-F sharp-G-A-B-C-D. It has the same key signature, but E is its center. Play G-B-D-G over a low G, then E-G-B-E over a low E. The note collection overlaps completely while the resting note and chord change.

Play G-A-B-C-D-E-F sharp-G once. Then stop before the last G and say the name of the note directly below it. If you can find that F sharp again, you can rebuild the scale whenever you need it.