Major and Minor Scales
A major scale climbs in whole and half steps: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. A natural minor scale climbs whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. Every major scale shares its notes with a relative minor, which starts on the major scale's 6th note.
A scale is a row of notes that climbs from a home note, the tonic, to the next note with the same name, using every letter once. What makes one scale sound different from another is the pattern of steps between its notes: half steps and whole steps. A half step is from one piano key to the very next; a whole step is two half steps.
The major scale formula
Every major scale uses the same pattern of steps:
whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half (W W H W W W H)
C major uses only the white keys on the piano, because the keyboard’s own half steps (E–F and B–C) fall exactly where the pattern needs them. Start on any other note and the pattern needs black keys (the piano scales chart shows all 12 major scales on the keys):
How to build any major scale
- Write the seven letters in order, starting on your tonic: G A B C D E F G.
- Check each step against the formula, and add a sharp or flat where it doesn’t fit. In G major, E to F is only a half step but the pattern needs a whole step there, so F becomes F♯.
- Use every letter once. That’s why G major has F♯ and not G♭.
The sharps or flats a scale needs are its key signature.
Scale degree names
Each note of the scale has a number and a name. The numbers are used everywhere in music: in chord formulas, in Roman numeral chords, and in the minor scale formula below.
| Degree | Name | In C major |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tonic | C |
| 2 | Supertonic | D |
| 3 | Mediant | E |
| 4 | Subdominant | F |
| 5 | Dominant | G |
| 6 | Submediant | A |
| 7 | Leading tone | B |
The leading tone is a half step below the tonic, which is why it sounds as if it wants to move up to it.
The natural minor scale formula
The natural minor scale uses a different pattern:
whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole (W H W W H W W)
Compared with the major scale on the same tonic, three notes are a half step lower: the 3rd, the 6th and the 7th. In numbers, the natural minor is 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. The lowered 3rd is what makes minor sound darker.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C major | C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
| C minor | C | D | E♭ | F | G | A♭ | B♭ |
Relative major and minor
A minor uses exactly the notes of C major; only the home note is different. Keys that share their notes and key signature like this are relative keys. To find the relative minor of a major key, go to its 6th note (C major → A minor); to find the relative major of a minor key, go to its 3rd note (E minor → G major). The relative minor guide has more ways to find them and a chart of all 15 pairs.
Relative keys share a key signature (C major and A minor). Parallel keys share a tonic (C major and C minor), and have different key signatures.
Harmonic and melodic minor
The natural minor scale is the plain form. Real music often changes it slightly:
- Harmonic minor raises the 7th note: A B C D E F G♯ A. The raised 7th becomes a leading tone again, a half step below the tonic, which gives a strong pull home.
- Melodic minor raises the 6th and the 7th on the way up (A B C D E F♯ G♯ A) and usually uses the natural minor on the way down.
The free piano minor scales chart shows all 12 minor scales on the keys in all three forms, with fingering for both hands.
Learn it step by step
In Trebly’s Build a Major Scale lesson you build C, G and F major on a keyboard, key by key, then spot the wrong note in a scale. The Minor Scale does the same for A, E and D minor, then has you find relative keys and tell whether a tune is major or minor.