In the post “10 Things that Every Musician Should Know”, the first on the list was how to build a scale using whole steps and half steps.  In this entry, we’re going to deal with just that.

Music is about patterns.  In western music (not the country/western variety, but music from our side of the world), we have specific tonal patterns that are present.  We’ve come to inherently expect these certain patterns as we listen to music.  The most basic of these patterns are the major and minor scales.  From a melodic, and even harmonic, standpoint, the building of these scales is perhaps the most important information that musicians should know.  Let’s see how these patterns work:

Scales are built up of a specific sequence of “whole steps” and “half steps”.  “Half steps”, on a piano, are notes that are on adjacent keys (for instance, two white keys without a black key in between, or a white key next to a black key).  On a guitar or bass, a half step is the distance between one fret to the next.  “Whole steps” are two half steps.  These, on a piano, are notes that are a key apart, like a white key with a black key in between.  On a guitar or bass, it’s notes that are two frets apart.  Now that we’re armed with that information, let’s see how they are arranged to form a Major Scale.

The MAJOR SCALE

A scale is made of of seven notes, each with a whole step or half step between.  Going up eight notes brings us to the same note as the first, only an octave higher.  We will assign each note in the scale a number (called a “scale degree”) and denote their distances apart to make the Major scale:

1 (whole)  2  (whole)  3  (half)  4  (whole)  5  (whole)  6  (whole)  7  (half)  1

The C scale is the only naturally occurring major scale on the piano that is possible if you use only white keys.  (The C on a piano is the white key that’s just before the set of two black keys.)  Really, you can start on any note you want to make a scale.  As long as you follow that set pattern of whole steps and half steps, you will have a major scale.  Just know that if you start on a note other than C, you’ll have to use black keys, which we call “accidentals” (sharps or flats).

The MINOR SCALE

A minor scale still contains seven notes, but the pattern of whole steps and half steps changes.  There are different types of minor scales, but we’re only going to deal with the Natural Minor.  Here’s the pattern for the natural minor scale:

1  (whole)  2  (half)  3  (whole)  4  (whole)  5  (half)  6  (whole)  7  (whole)  1

The A minor scale is the only naturally occurring minor scale on the piano that is possible by using only white notes.  Therefore C Major and A Minor are “relatives” of each other.  (We’ll talk more about relative majors, minors, and other modes in upcoming posts.)  Again, you can start on any note you want, as long as you follow that pattern.  In our next post, we’ll show you how Accidentals help conform scales to the correct pattern of whole steps and half steps.

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