This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
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A scale is the combination of a root note and a mode. It’s even named that way. C major means C is the root note and major (Ionian) is the mode. The same for A minor: A is the root note and minor (Aeolian) is the mode.
In 8. What Is A Scale? we saw that a scale is a selection of (typically 7) notes within an octave, and that our sense of tonality depends on knowing which of these notes is the root note. In a piece that has a clear tonality the notes are organised so that the root note (tonic) is highlighted, especially near the beginning and end.
We also discovered that the reason the root note is so important in allowing us to hear the musical character is because typical Western scales have uneven intervals from note to note. Changing the root note effectively changes the pattern, changing the mode and thus its character.
Scales On Different Root Notes
If you know the character of the mode, you can sing a scale in that mode. As long as it’s within your range, you can sing that scale starting on any note (without even knowing what that note is!). As long as you don’t change the mode it will sound the same, just higher or lower.
The same is true for writing music. You can write a scale on any note. Here’s how it works:
Let’s look at the the major mode, which naturally starts on C. C major is made up of only the naturals.
We can pick any other note as the root note and build a major scale on that. All we need to do is make sure we stick to the major mode, the pattern of intervals from note to note that matches C major, or else we’ll change its character.
Let’s say we want D major. If we just started on D and used the same notes we would have a different pattern of intervals – a different mode – a different character.
It would sound like this:
This scale has quite a different character to C major.
Instead, we use the same pattern of intervals as C major, write D as the root note and then, working from left to right, count the number of semitones from each note to the next to work out the other notes. This will involve using one or more sharps or flats.
- The 2nd note should be 2 semitones higher. 2 semitones above D is E.
- The 3rd note is 2 semitones higher than E. F is 1 semitone higher than E and G is 3 semitones higher so we want the note in between. This could either be called F# (F+1) or Gb (G-1). What should we call it? We’ll come back to that shortly. We can put in both for now.
- The 4th note is just 1 semitone further which is plain old G, and so on until the 7th note, 2 semitones above the 6th note, B. Again we have 2 options, C# or Db, and again we’ll write in both for now.
- And, of course, the 8th note, 1 semitone above the 7th, should be exactly the same as the first, as it is the octave.
OK, time to look at what we’ve got… If we choose Gb for the 3rd note we have Gb AND G but no F, whereas if we call the 3rd note F# we have one F and one G. The same goes for the 7th note: Db uses the same name as the root note but a different sign, whereas C# allows one C and one D.
Now that we’ve worked out the notes in D major, let’s have a listen.
Now compare it to C major. The character should be the same, even though one scale is a little higher than the other…
The Note Naming Rule
For scales, there is one simple rule: the next note in a scale should have the next letter in its name.
Each note in a scale must have its own letter.
There’s a good reason for this: there are 7 note names, 7 notes in a scale and 7 pitch positions per octave on a stave.
Music notation is very visual. We can see the notes climb and descend as the melody itself climbs and descends. As we can see from the two versions of D major below, if two different notes in a scale share the same note name there are two different pitches sharing the same place on the stave and needing constant accidentals (sharps/flats/naturals) to show which is which. There is also one unused position, leaving a gap in the visual that we don’t hear.
Below is D major as notes on a stave showing both sets of note naming options. Try to read the notes while you listen. Which one is more visual (and less cluttered)?
Note: We can make a scale look even less cluttered by using a key signature. We’ll look at key signatures in the next lesson.
How to find the notes of a scale
Now that we know how to work out what notes we need to write a major scale starting on D instead of C, we can do so for any mode and any root note.
As the most common modes are major and minor, let’s find the notes for some other major and minor scales.
- Choose a mode, e.g. major or minor.
- Write the note that you want to build the scale on as the 1st note (root note).
- Working from left to right, count how many semitones to the next note. Where there are two names for the same note, choose the name using the letter after the previous note.
- (safety check: if you’ve added it up right, the 8th note’s name should be exactly the same as the first).
TIP: Learn the patterns that make up the major and minor modes (I think of them as phone numbers).
Major .2.2.1.2.2.2.1.
Minor .2.1.2.2.1.2.2.
Example: D minor
Have a go…
Here’s the answer…
OK, this one’s minor and has a flat. Pure fluke! There is no connection between being major or minor and having sharps or flats.
Try These…
Grab some paper and a pencil and try a few more… Bb major, A major, C minor, F# minor.
Answers at the bottom of this post. Here’s what a blank major and minor look like:
Practical Tip
Pick a major or minor scale that’s easy to play on your instrument, find its notes and doodle around with those notes. Just in one octave will do for a start, then try 2 octaves worth – it’s more fun. As long as you highlight the root note every now and again, for instance by making it long or strong, you should be able to feel the tonality of the mode you’ve chosen, or at least keep coming back to it if the music goes elsewhere. For a bit more on how to highlight the root note, visit How Can We Tell What Key We’re In?
Summary
- A scale is a combination of a root note and a mode.
- The root note is the first note of the mode.
- A mode is a set of (usually 1 and 2 semitone) intervals from note to note adding up to an octave. The most common modes are major and minor. Of these, only C major and A minor have no sharps or flats.
- Due to the irregular pattern of intervals from note to note, each mode has a unique musical character.
- To make a scale on a different root note, choose the mode with the character that you want, e.g. major or minor, and write in the note you want to be the root note.
- To find names for the other notes, start with the root note and count 1 or 2 semitones to the next note, according to the mode. Write the 2nd note in, count semitones to the 3rd note and so on, all the way to the octave.
- Each note of a scale should have its own letter. Work from left to right, using the next letter each time, as you go.
This post is one of a growing series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here.
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NEXT LESSON: 11. Introduction To Keys and Key Signatures: Major Keys
PART 1 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents
Answers
Bb C D Eb F G A Bb
A B C# D E F# G# A
C D Eb F G Ab Bb C
F# G# A B C# D E F#