Scale

The pattern makes the scale

All 15 major keys follow exactly the same sequence of whole tones and semitones, whichever note you start on. The semitone steps always lie between degrees 3–4 and 7–8. This creates the bright, stable major sound. If you start the pattern 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.

Natural minor uses the same notes as the major scale but starts on its sixth degree. Harmonic minor raises the seventh degree by a semitone so that a leading tone arises, melodic minor raises the sixth and seventh degrees on the way up. All three forms are shown in notes and audio under A minor.

What the scale reveals about the degrees

Every note of a scale has a degree, and a triad can be built on each. The function of the degrees is the same in every key, which is why the same melody stays recognisable in different keys. Every scale has a degree where its character is decided: in major the major third and the leading tone, in natural minor the missing leading-tone tension, in harmonic minor the large leap between the sixth and seventh degree.

Other scales

There are also scales with fewer or different degrees. The pentatonic scale consists of five notes, the church modes shift the semitone steps: Mixolydian is major with a lowered seventh, Dorian is minor with a raised sixth. Neither has a leading tone, which is why they do not sound purposeful but floating or folk-like.

Common mistakes

• Learning minor only as “major with a minor third”: Natural minor has three notes changed against the major scale of the same name (third, sixth and seventh degrees).
• Placing the semitone steps wrongly: In major between 3–4 and 7–8, in natural minor between 2–3 and 5–6.
• Playing melodic minor downwards with F♯ and G♯: Classically the scale returns to the natural form on the way down.