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Major Scales
Whole Steps and Half Steps
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A major scale is one of the most important patterns in Western music because it gives melodies a bright, stable sound. It is built by moving through a fixed sequence of whole steps and half steps. On a piano, these steps are easy to see because each key is one half step away from the next key, including black keys. Learning this pattern helps musicians build scales in any key, not just C major.
The major scale formula is Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half. In C major, the notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, and the half steps occur from E to F and B to C. A whole step skips over one piano key, while a half step moves to the very next key. This same spacing pattern can start on any note to create a new major scale.
Key Facts
- Major scale formula: W W H W W W H
- A half step is the distance from one piano key to the very next key.
- A whole step equals two half steps.
- C major scale: C D E F G A B C
- In C major, the half steps are E to F and B to C.
- An octave in a major scale spans 12 half steps from the first note to the next matching note.
Vocabulary
- Major scale
- A major scale is an eight-note pattern that follows the step sequence W W H W W W H.
- Whole step
- A whole step is a distance of two half steps between notes.
- Half step
- A half step is the smallest distance between two neighboring keys on a piano.
- Octave
- An octave is the distance from one note to the next note with the same letter name higher or lower.
- C major
- C major is the major scale that uses the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C with no sharps or flats.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Counting only white keys, which is wrong because black keys also count when measuring whole steps and half steps.
- Treating every neighboring letter name as a whole step, which is wrong because E to F and B to C are half steps on the piano.
- Forgetting the final half step back to the octave, which is wrong because the complete major scale pattern ends with H.
- Changing the order of W W H W W W H, which is wrong because even one misplaced half step changes the sound and creates a different type of scale.
Practice Questions
- 1 Starting on C, use the pattern W W H W W W H to write all 8 notes of the C major scale.
- 2 A whole step equals 2 half steps. How many half steps are in the full major scale pattern W W H W W W H?
- 3 Why does the C major scale use no black keys, while many other major scales do?