What Is A Scale?

In music theory, a scale is any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch (Wikipedia).

Scales are constructed of intervals. An interval is the harmonic space between two notes. The smallest intervals we regularly deal with are Minor Seconds (half step) or Major Seconds (whole step / two half steps).

The Major scale is the most well known scale. Walk past any practice room and you’ll hear the common pattern: ‘Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do’. Knowing your major scales is fundamental. Just about every audition or jury will expect you to be able to play them. Having scales under your fingers makes music easier to play (since almost all music is constructed from scales of some sort). Our thinking on improvisation and music theory is often built around using scales.

Let’s look at the C-Major Scale:

This scale is built mostly of major seconds. In fact there are only two minor seconds, between the third & fourth notes and the seventh & eighth notes.

So Let’s Look at Some Other Major Scales:

 

F-major?

There are those half steps between notes 3-4 and 7-8

 

G-major?

The half steps are there again.

 

It’s safe to say that all major scales contain half-steps between notes 3-4 and 7-8 the rest of the intervals are whole-steps.
Alternatively, you can think of the major scale as: Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Whole-Half (WWHWWWH).

So What Now?

You are going to have to learn (and memorize) all twelve of your major scales. There are two ways to do this. The first is rote memorization: get a book of scales and play them until you can’t forget them. Unless you have a photographic memory that means alot of time spent drilling your scales, leaving you less time to work on music.

Understanding how these scales are constructed (half-steps between notes 3-4 & 7-8 / WWHWWWH), you can build each scale from the ground up: just pick a starting note and go.

At first practice writing all of your major scales. Write a scale play it, then do the same for another. Soon you can throw away the pencil and paper: try figuring out the scale in your head and playing it straightaway.

Be sure to play different scales every day. Don’t be afraid of the less familiar scales (F#, Db, etc).

 

Bonus:

Write and even improvise music using any major scale.

 

Do you appreciate these lessons? Considering donating to help keep them coming!
Even better, sign up for a lesson!