Understanding Music Scales

Major and Minor Scales

A scale is a series of notes in alphabetical order. Music Scales are divided into 2 kinds:

1. Diatonic Scales - consist of tones and semi-tones. They are a seven note 'octave-repeating' scale consisting of 5 whole-steps (tones) and 2 half-steps (semitones) e.g., The 'C Major' diatonic scale would read as follows:

C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C (octave above the first C)
C Diatoniic Scale - Ascending & Descending

C Diatonic Scale - Ascending & Descending

2. Chromatic Scales - consist of semi-tones only. They consists of 12 notes, each a semitone apart. For example, the C chromatic scale would read as follows:

C - C# - D - D# - E - F - F# - G - G# - A - A# - B - (C) ascending
C - B - Bb - A - Ab - G - Gb - F - E - Eb - D - Db - C descending

C Chromatic Scale - Ascending & Descending

Diatonic Scales are divided into 2 kinds:

Major Scales
Minor Scales

Major Scales

A Major Scale is a series of 8 notes in alphabetical order, containing 5 tones and 2 semi-tones. The 8th note is the same as the first note, but is an octave higher.

The 5 tones occur between the 1st-2nd, 2nd-3rd, 4th-5th, 5th-6th, 6th-7th notes of the scale.
The 2 semi-tones occur between the 3rd-4th and 7th-8th notes of the scale
ie. 1 (tone) 2 (tone) 3 (semi-tone) 4 (tone) 5 (tone) 6 (tone) 7 (semi-tone) 8

The Step Method can be used to determine all Major Scales... here's some examples using 3 variations.

Table 1:

Scale Notes	1st		2nd		3rd		4th		5th		6th		7th		8th
Whole / Half Steps		W		W		H		W		W		W		H
Tones / Semitones		T		T		S		T		T		T		S
Semitones		2		2		1		2		2		2		1
C Major Scale	C		D		E		F		G		A		B		C
G Major Scale	G		A		B		C		D		E		F#		G
D Major Scale	D		E		F#		G		A		B		C#		D
A Major Scale	A		B		C#		D		E		F#		G#		A

Minor Scales

Minor Scales consist of 3 scale patterns:

Natural Minor Scale - also referred to as the Aeolian mode
Harmonic Minor Scale
Melodic Minor Scale

In each of the Minor Scale patterns, the 1st, 3rd and 5th scale degrees form a minor triad, whereas in a major scale they form a major triad.

The first essential step is to learn the Natural Minor Scale. This will give you a solid foundation with a natural progression to understanding harmonic and melodic minor scales.

The Minor Scales page will give you a comprehensive look at each of these scales including different methods for calculating them along with examples.

The differences between the 3 minor scales:

1. Natural Minor Scale - Formula: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 8 (ascending and descending)

Diagram 1:

D Natural Minor Scale - Ascending & Descending

Step Method for Natural Minor Scales:

  W - H - W - W - H -  W - W
D - E - F - G - A - Bb - C - D

2. Harmonic Minor Scale - Formula: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 8 (ascending and descending)

Diagram 2:

G Harmonic Minor Scale - Ascending & Descending

Step Method for Harmonic Minor Scales: (WH = Whole + Half = 3 semitones)

  W - H - W -  W - H - WH -  H
G - A - Bb - C - D - Eb - F# - G

3. Melodic Minor Scale - Formula: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 8 ascending, and 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 8 descending.

Diagram 3:

A Melodic Minor Scale - Ascending & Descending

Because the Melodic Minor Scale has a different ascending/descending order we need 2 step-methods:

Step Method for Ascending:

  W - H - W - W - W -  W -  H
A - B - C - D - E - F# - G# - A

Step Method for Descending: same as Natural Minor Scale ascending and descending

  W - H - W - W - H - W - W
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - A

Please Note: The easiest way to write the notes for ascending and descending scales:

Ascending: First Tonic to center Tonic (one octave higher)
Descending: Last Tonic to center
Low to high both ways is less confusing
Firstly - Write the scale notes ascending and descending then add the accidentals according to each step method - low to high... neat sweet and complete!

Rules for Music Scales

Sharps and Flats are used in the formation of scales to fix the correct position of the tones and semi-tones. This is how key signatures are formed.
Music Scales are related by their key signatures: Major to Minor and Minor to Major.
Every Major Scale has a relative Natural Minor Scale and every Minor Scale has a relative Major Scale
The Major scale and its relative Minor Scale share the same key signature. This means they share the same notes, but because they start at different places, they have a different step pattern and therefore a different sound.
To find a Relative Minor from a given Major, descend (count down) 3 semi-tones from the major, e.g., if you are in the key of A Major, count down 3 semitones from A - G# - G - F# ... you are in the key of F#minor.
To find a Relative Major from a given Minor, ascend (count up) 3 semi-tones from the minor, e.g., if you are in the key of Am, count up 3 semitones from A - A# - B - C ... you are in the key of C Major.

Technical Names of Scale Degrees

Each note in a given music scale is given a technical name: A scale degree is the name given to each note of the scale in relation to the tonic or root note which is the first degree of a diatonic scale. The illustration below shows the names of the scale degrees in C Major.

Each scale degree can be described in several ways:

First, second, major or minor third, fourth, fifth, major or minor sixth, major or minor seventh
Roman Numerals, i.e., I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII
Arabic Numerals, i.e., 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Names and their function, i.e., Tonic, Supertonic, Mediant, Subdominant, Dominant, Submediant, Leading Tone, Tonic (Octave / Upper Tonic).

Scale Degrees

Degree	Name	Meaning	Notes in C
1st	Tonic	Tonal center / note of final resolution	C
2nd	Supertonic	One whole step above the tonic	D
3rd (Maj/Min)	Mediant	Half-way between the tonic and dominant	E/E♭
4th	Subdominant	Lower dominant / same interval below tonic dominant is above tonic	F
5th	Dominant	2nd most important note to the tonic	G
6th (Maj/Min)	Submediant	Lower mediant / mid-way between the tonic and subdominant	A/A♭
7th (Maj/Min)	Leading Tone / Subtonic	Melodically strong affinity for the tonic / leads to the tonic / Subtonic-one whole step below the tonic	B/B♭
8th	Octave/Upper Tonic	Octave above the tonic / tonal center / note of final resolution	C

Subtonic is used when the interval between it and the tonic in the upper octave is a whole step, e.g., 7 or dom7 (B♭)
Leading Tone is used when the interval is a half step, e.g., maj7 (B)

In Summary:

Supertonic and Subtonic are one step above and one step below the tonic.
Mediant and Submediant are each a third above and below the tonic.
Dominant and Subdominant are a fifth above and below the tonic.