Listen to the difference in sound when you play major and minor scales slowly so you can really internalise the differences in their tones and “feelings”.

It’s a good idea to try out different scales with your instrument. This might sound overwhelming at first, so take your time. The different pattern of whole and half steps from the tonic note gives major and minor scales quite different musical moods, and this carries over to the major and minor keys which use them. Here, an A minor scale would be A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A. Minor scales follow a similar structure: Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole. For example, an A major scale would be A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A. A semitone is the smallest space between two notes. If you follow the recipe of tones and semitones, any scale you build will sound like a major scale. This pattern operates kind of like a recipe. With these whole and half steps, we can make major and minor scales.Īll major scales share the same pattern: Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Whole-Half. A major scale sounds like it does (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do) because it is built of a pattern of tones (T) and semitones (S). On the piano keyboard the distance between a white key and a black key is a half step the distance between a white key and a white key is a whole step (except for B and C, and E and F which are just half steps) the distance between a black key and another black key is a whole step. Learn the note names all major scales in table form, in all 12 circle of 5ths keys, including single and double accidental theoretical keys Home Mobile View Scale. How do you do that? It comes down to the pattern of whole and half steps within each scale. a minor key, you will need to determine the difference between a major and minor scale.

For example, the C major scale would go C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. Reminder: A scale is simply a specific arrangement of 8 consecutive notes going up or down that begin from and return to the same note (their tonic note). A major key uses a major scale, and a minor key uses a minor scale. Major and minor keys are defined by their tonic note (their starting or base note) and their scale being major or minor. Likewise, the tonic chord is the chord built on the tonic note. For example, in a C Major song, the tonic is C. Method 3: Find the Tonic The tonic is the note which a song’s key and scale are built on. The “Nocturne” melody is heavy and does not share the bright and airy sound of the “Happy Birthday” melody. Major and minor keys are defined by their tonic note (their starting or base note) and their scale being major or minor. Most importantly, we see a G Sharp popping up regularly (highlighted in green), which indicates the raised seventh in a minor key signature. The “Happy Birthday” tune is bright and lighthearted.

Major music keys