Major Scale Construction. The musical alphabet is just like the English one except we only go up to G. There is no H so you have to go back to A.

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Julia Ellis
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1 Major Scale Construction The musical alphabet is just like the English one except we only go up to G. There is no H so you have to go back to A. A B C D E F G A B C D E F G etc. Scales are a series of notes that move stepwise like walking up a ladder so they must follow the musical alphabet in succession. Ex. A will always move stepwise to some kind of B then C then D etc The Major Scale is an 8 note scale and is one of the most commonly used scales in music. It is from this scale that we derive many intervals, triads, and minor scales among others. Therefore, it is very important to understand how they sound, are built, and learn to write one out starting on any note you are given. The C Major Scale The C Major Scale is the most fundamental of all the Major Scales as it can be played with only the white keys on the piano. In other words, the C major Scale contains no sharps or flats.

2 The Chromatic Scale The Chromatic Scale is a 12 note scale made up entirely out of half steps. Each key on the piano represents a note of the chromatic scale. These adjacent keys are all one half step apart. So from C to C# is a half step and E to F are also a half step apart. 2 half steps = 1 whole step. So from C to D is a whole step ( C to C# =1 half step, C# to D = 1 half step) and from E to F# is a whole step ( E to F= 1 half step, F to F# = 1 half step) The Major Scale contains a specific pattern of Whole Steps and Half steps in order to achieve its characteristic sound. This pattern is: WWH W WWH Let s look at this pattern in the C major Scale:

3 And here it is on the staff * Notice the Half steps occur between the 3&4 steps and the 7&8 steps or degrees. Tetrachords A tetra chord is a 4 note scale containing the pattern of W W H The Major Scale can also be thought of as two tetrachords joined by a whole step. The 15 Major Scales There are 15 Major Scales in music (counting the enharmonics). Without counting enharmonics there are only 12(one for each note of the chromatic scale or one for each key on the piano.) These 15 Major Scales are built on each note on the piano so some are sharp keys and some are flat keys. No sharps or flats: C Sharp Keys: G D A E B F# C# Flat Keys: F Bb Eb Ab *Db(C#) Gb(F#) Cb(B) *enharmonics for these shown inside the parenthesis. Building a Major Scale Using the WWH W WWH pattern you can build a Major Scale starting on any note or key on the piano. These scales will have the same characteristic sound as C major but will differ in range (higher or lower sounds) and some of the notes will have to be altered using sharps and flats. These alterations are to give you the correct sound and pattern. The specific alterations to each key are also called its Key Signature.

4 Let s build some Major scales and therefore also find out the key signature for those keys. We will do some together and then you will build some on your own. Important Note: REMEMBER!!!!!! Scales are stepwise like walking up a ladder so they must follow the musical alphabet in succession. Ex. A will always move step wise to some kind of B then C then D etc If I start a scale on E it must move to some kind of F then some kind of G then some kind of A and so on. Lets build a Major Scale starting on G or the G Major Scale! Our first note is also called the keynote and we must move up in a stepwise motion using our WWH W WWH pattern in order to get the right sound and at the same time we will discover the key signature for the key of G! Think it through!! Start on G. What is a whole step above G? = A a whole step above A? = B a half step above B?= C and so on. Follow the WWH W WWH pattern and you should end up on the same note you started with. If you did not go back and check your steps! G! (W) A! (W) B! (H) C! (W) D! (W) E! (W) F#! (H) G Let s see this on the keyboard: So the note we had to alter was F into F # in order to get the right sound and pattern. E to F would be a half step so we need F# and this also gives us our last half step F# to G.

5 This is also why the key signature of G major is one sharp F#. Now Lets build a Major Scale on one of the flat keys starting on F or the F Major Scale! Our first note is also called the keynote and we must move up in a stepwise motion using our WWH W WWH pattern in order to get the right sound and at the same time we will discover the key signature for the key of F! Think it through!! Start on F. What is a whole step above F? = G a whole step above G? = A a half step above A?= Bb and so on. (Notice we used Bb and not A#: this is because the scale must move up stepwise in the Alphabet so A must go to some kind of B in this case a Bb to get a half step. Follow the WWH W WWH pattern and you should end up on the same note you started. If you did not go back and check your notes! F! (W) G! (W) A! (H) Bb! (W) C! (W) D! (W) E! (H) F Lets see this on the keyboard: F * So the note we had to alter was Bb in order to get a half step after A. This was also

6 a Bb and not an A# because we have to move stepwise in the Alphabet and F is a flat key! Also. Notice we used F at the end instead of E#... This is because the scale must go stepwise in the Alphabet and there would be no sharps in a flat key. Plus, you have to end up on the same note you started on. This is also why the key signature of F major has one flat Bb. Now You Try!! 1. On Staff paper build a Major Scale in the following sharp keys and indicate where the whole steps and half steps occur and number each scale degree: D A E B F# C# 2. Build a Major Scale on the following flat keys and indicate where the whole steps and half steps occur and number each scale degree: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb [Title] Your scale should look like this. This one is the Bb Major Scale! [Composer] & b b b!!! W W H W W W H &! Here is the keyboard to help you!

HOW SCALES, KEY SIGNATURES, & ARPEGGIOS WORK www.tubapeter.com

1 HOW SCALES, KEY SIGNATURES, & ARPEGGIOS WORK www.tubapeter.com WHAT IS A SCALE? A scale is all the pitches that you can play in a key signature without playing any accidentals. The key of Bb is Bb and