Major scale

One pattern for all keys

All 15 major keys follow exactly the same sequence of whole tones and semitones, whichever root you start on. The semitone steps always lie between degrees 3–4 and 7–8. This pattern creates the bright, stable major sound. If you start it on G instead of C, an F♯ appears automatically, otherwise the semitone step would not fall in the right place. Each new fifth up adds exactly one sharp to the key signature.

The leading tone defines the goal

Between all other neighbouring degrees lies a whole tone, except between the third and fourth and between the seventh and eighth. The semitone step between the seventh degree and the octave carries the whole cadence, because it aims at the most important note of the key. If you lower the seventh degree to a whole tone, the sense of direction disappears, and the scale sounds old, modal, like a folk song. That is Mixolydian. More about the seventh degree is in the article The leading tone.

Chords on the major scale

Every degree carries a triad: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished. The triad on the first degree, the tonic, is the harmonic foundation of the key.

Common mistakes

• Placing the semitone steps wrongly: They lie between degrees 3–4 and 7–8.
• Forgetting the sharp or flat: On every root except C the pattern requires certain sharps or flats.
• Mixing up the major scale and the whole-tone scale: The major scale has two semitones.