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.
Scale
An ordered set of pitches within an octave, arranged by a pattern of steps that defines a key or a mode.
Also called: musical scale
A scale is an ordered series of pitches within an octave, arranged by a pattern of whole and half steps. The major scale on C, C D E F G A B C, follows the pattern whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, and it contains seven different pitches before the octave repeats. A scale is a set of notes from which a melody or harmony draws, rather than a melody itself. Scales are named by their starting note and quality, so the scale starting on G with the major pattern is G major, which needs one sharp, F♯. Other common scales include the pentatonic, the chromatic and the whole-tone scale.
Related terms
- Major scaleA seven-note scale with the pattern whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, which is the basis of major keys.
- ModeA scale defined by its starting note within a fixed set of pitches, giving it a distinct tonic and pattern of intervals.
- 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.
- Scale degreeThe position of a note within a scale, numbered from the tonic as 1 through 7, used in solfège and Roman numeral analysis.