Fundamentals
The Major Scale Formula: Whole and Half Steps Explained
The major scale is seven notes spaced whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. Here is the formula, four scales built from it, and the sharps and flats it forces.
Half step (semitone)
The smallest interval in standard Western tuning, one key to the next on a piano, such as E to F or C to C♯.
Also called: semitone, half tone, minor second
A half step, or semitone, is the smallest interval in standard Western tuning. On the piano it is the distance from one key to the next, including the black keys, so C to C♯ is a half step and E to F is also one, since no black key lies between them. The half step is a minor second when the letter names differ, as in E to F, and an augmented unison when they match, as in C to C♯. An octave holds twelve half steps. The major scale uses half steps between E and F and between B and C, and the chromatic scale is made entirely of them.
Related terms
- Whole step (whole tone)An interval of two semitones, equal to two half steps, such as C to D or F to G.
- IntervalThe distance between two pitches, measured by the number of letter names it spans and by the number of semitones.
- Chromatic scaleA scale of all twelve semitones in an octave, built from half steps alone, with each pitch spelled by a sharp or a flat.
- Major scaleA seven-note scale with the pattern whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, which is the basis of major keys.
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Tuning & Temperament
What Are Cents? The Unit That Measures Small Pitch Differences
A cent is one hundredth of an equal-tempered semitone. Here is the formula, what the common intervals measure in cents, and what a tuner is showing you.