Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
A Major Scale is a 7-Note Scale built off a series of Intervals. There are 12 notes found within
the Chromatic Scale, so there are 12 possible Major Scales that can be built from it.
The Intervallic pattern is the same for each of the 12 Major Scales, which is:
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
C Major Scale
We will start with the key of C as there are no Sharps or Flats found within the Major Scale.
On a Piano starting on C, using only the White Notes up an octave, gives us the C Major Scale.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
F Major Scale
We’ve now looked at the construction of the C Major Scale, how it is laid out on the Piano, in
Bass Clef and on the fretboard of a 4 string Bass Guitar. Notice there were no accidentals
present in the Key Signature (C Major).
Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I’ll construct the F
Major Scale.
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
When constructing the F Major Scale on the Piano, reaching the 4th degree, you’ll notice
that to keep the pattern going you will have to use a Black Key. This implies an accidental.
Because the B in the F Major Scale is Flat, the Key Signature for the Key of F is 1 Flat. To save
writing out the Bb every time you just place the Flat Symbol (♭) directly to the right of the
Clef, over the note that implies the accidental. In this case it goes over the Note B.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
Bb Major Scale
Now we’ll look at the Bb Major Scale on the Piano, on the Staff and on the fretboard of the 4
String Bass. Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I’ll
construct the Bb Major Scale. This time you will notice there are 2 accidentals in the Bb Major
Scale, the Root (1st Degree) and the 4th Degree Eb.
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Because the B and E in the Bb Major Scale are Flat, the Key Signature for the Key of Bb is 2
Flats. To save writing out these Accidentals every time you just place the 2 Flat Symbols (♭)
directly to the right of the Clef over the note that implies the accidental, in this case it goes
over the Notes B and E. Notice the placement of these Accidentals in the Key Signature never
changes. They revolve around a pattern known as the Cycle Of Fifths; I will discuss this in
more detail once we’ve gone through the 12 different Keys. You will also start noticing a
pattern with the order I'm analyzing each Scale.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
Eb Major Scale
Now we’ll look at the Eb Major Scale on the Piano, on the Staff and on the fretboard of the 4
String Bass. Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I’ll
construct the Eb Major Scale. This time you will notice there are 3 accidentals in the Eb Major
Scale, the Root (1st Degree), the 4th Degree Eb and the 5th Degree Ab.
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Because the B, E and A in the Eb Major Scale are Flat, the Key Signature for the Key of Eb is 3
Flats. To save writing out these Accidentals every time you just place the 3 Flat Symbols (♭)
directly to the right of the Clef over the note that implies the accidental, in this case it goes
over the Notes B, E and A.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
Ab Major Scale
Now we will look at the Ab Major Scale on the Piano, on the Staff and on the fretboard of the
4 String Bass. Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I will
construct the Ab Major Scale. This time you will notice there are 4 accidentals in the Ab Major
Scale, the Root (1st Degree), the 2nd Degree (Bb), the 4th Degree (Db) and the 5th Degree (Eb).
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Because the B, E, A and D in the Ab Major Scale are Flat, the Key Signature for the Key of Ab is
4 Flats. To save writing out these Accidentals every time you just place the 4 Flat Symbols (♭)
directly to the right of the Clef over the note that implies the accidental, in this case it goes
over the Notes B, E, A and D.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
Db Major Scale
Now we will look at the Db Major Scale on the Piano, on the Staff and on the fretboard of the
4 String Bass. Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I will
construct the Db Major Scale. This time you will notice there are 5 accidentals in the Db
Major Scale, the Root (1st Degree), the 2nd Degree (Eb), the 4th Degree (Gb), the 5th Degree
(Ab) and the 6th Degree (Bb).
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Because the B, E, A, D and G in the Db Major Scale are Flat, the Key Signature for the Key of
Db is 5 Flats. To save writing out these Accidentals every time you just place the 5 Flat
Symbols (♭) directly to the right of the Clef over the note that implies the accidental. In this
case it goes over the Notes B, E, A, D and G.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
F# is an Enharmonic of Gb which means it's the same note, just spelled differently. So far
we’ve seen each new scale, and built a diatonic 4th up from the last one. Diatonic means a
note related to that particular scale, for example, C up a diatonic 4th is F, F up a diatonic 4th is
Bb etc.
For every scale we’ve looked at so far from C Major, there has been a Flat (♭) added to the
Key Signature. If we continued up in this manor from Db, the next Scale in this pattern would
be a Gb Major Scale, which has the Key Signature of 6 Flats. This Scale is a legitimate one and
seen from time to time; however, for this lesson I'm focusing on the enharmonic spelling of
F#.
As we continue to build these Major Scales, a Diatonic 4th above the last one, we will notice
the pattern from adding a Flat to subtracting a Sharp (♯) from the Key signature. Now we will
look at the F# Major Scale on the Piano, on the Staff and on the Fretboard of the 4 String Bass.
Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I’ll construct the F#
Major Scale.
This time you will notice there are 6 accidentals in the F# Major Scale; the Root (1st Degree),
the 2nd Degree (G#), the 3rd Degree (A#), the 5th Degree (C#), the 6th Degree (D#) and the 7th
degree (E#).
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Because the F, C, G, D, A and E in the F# Major Scale are Sharp, the Key Signature for the Key
of F# is 6 Sharps. To save writing out these Accidentals every time you just place the 6 Sharp
Symbols (♯) directly to the right of the Clef over the note that implies the accidental. In this
case it goes over the Notes F, C, G, D, A and E.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
B Major Scale
Now we will look at the B Major Scale on the Piano, on the Staff and on the Fretboard of the
4 String Bass. Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I will
construct the B Major Scale. This time you will notice there are 5 accidentals in the B Major
Scale; the Root (1st Degree), the 2nd Degree (C#), the 3rd Degree (D#), the 5th Degree (F#), the
6th Degree (G#) and the Degree (A#).
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Because the F, C, G, D and A in the B Major Scale are Sharp, the Key Signature for the Key of B
is 5 Sharps. To save writing out these Accidentals every time you just place the 5 Sharp
Symbols (♯) directly to the right of the Clef over the note that implies the accidental, in this
case it goes over the Notes F, C, G, D and A.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
E Major Scale
Now we will look at the E Major Scale on the Piano, on the Staff and on the Fretboard of the 4
String Bass. Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I will
construct the E Major Scale. This time you will notice there are 4 accidentals in the E Major
Scale; the 2nd Degree (F#), the 3rd Degree (G#), the 6th Degree (C#) and the 7th Degree (D#).
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Because the F, C, G and D in the E Major Scale are Sharp, the Key Signature for the Key of E is
4 Sharps. To save writing out these Accidentals every time you just place the 4 Sharp
Symbols (♯) directly to the right of the Clef over the note that implies the accidental, in this
case it goes over the Notes F, C, G and D.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
A Major Scale
Now we will look at the A Major Scale on the Piano, on the Staff and on the Fretboard of the
4 String Bass. Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I will
construct the A Major Scale. This time you will notice there are 3 accidentals in the A Major
Scale; the 3rd Degree (C#), the 6th Degree (F#) and the 7th Degree (G#).
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Because the F, C and G in the A Major Scale are Sharp, the Key Signature for the Key of A is 3
Sharps. To save writing out these Accidentals every time you just place the 3 Sharp Symbols
(♯) directly to the right of the Clef over the note that implies the accidental, in this case it
goes over the Notes F, C and G.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
D Major Scale
Now we will look at the D Major Scale on the Piano, on the Staff and on the Fretboard of the
4 String Bass. Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I will
construct the D Major Scale. This time you will notice there are 2 accidentals in the D Major
Scale; the 3rd Degree (F#) and the 7th Degree (C#).
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Because the F and C in the D Major Scale are Sharp the Key Signature for the Key of D is 2
Sharps. To save writing out these Accidentals every time you just place the 2 Sharp Symbols
(♯) directly to the right of the Clef over the note that implies the accidental. In this case it
goes over the Notes F and C.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
G Major Scale
The last of the 12 Major Scales is the G Major Scale, a Diatonic 4th up from this scale takes us
back to C where the cycle starts again.
Now we will look at the G Major Scale on the Piano, on the Staff and on the Fretboard of the
4 String Bass. Using the same intervallic relationship of Whole Steps and Half Steps I will
construct the G Major Scale. This time you will notice there is only 1 Accidental in the G
Major Scale, which is the 7th Degree (F#).
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Because the F in the G Major Scale is Sharp, the Key Signature for the Key of G is 1 Sharp. To
save writing out this accidental every time you just place the 1 Sharp Symbol (♯) directly to
the right of the Clef over the note that implies the accidental. In this case it goes over the
Note F.
The numbers inside the dots represent the fingering pattern you should use.
Flat Keys
Every time you move up a Diatonic 4th or down a Diatonic 5th a Flat is added to the Key
Signature. There are 2 more patterns to observe here. The new Flat in the Key Signature is
always the next Scale in the Cycle. The added Flat to the new Key Signature in this Cycle is
always up a 4th.
Sharp Keys
Every time you move up a Diatonic 5th or down a Diatonic 4th a Sharp is added to the Key
Signature. There are 2 more patterns to observe here. The new Sharp in the Key Signature is
always the 7th Degree of the Scale. The added Sharp to the new Key Signature in this Cycle is
always a 5th above the last one.
Cycle Of Fifths
A common way to show this pattern of Key Signatures is through this diagram called the
Cycle Of Fifths, or In Jazz Music also known as the Cycle Of Fourths.
From C Major the Cycle goes down a perfect 5th adding a Flat to the Key Signature in each
new Key. Once the Cycle reaches Db Major (C# Major) the Cycle continues down a 5th, this
time subtracting a sharp from each new Key. When the Cycle reaches C Major the pattern
starts again.