21: Major Scales
The Major Scale
I read on the Internet that if Western music were genetic material, the
major scale would be its DNA. A more perfect analogy I have never
heard.
The major scale is the basis for nearly all music you’re familiar with,
from country to hip-hop, classical to jazz, grunge to punk.
Other scales are described based on their relationships to the major scale.
Intervals—the measurement of distance between two notes—are based
on the major scale. Chord symbols are derived from the major scale.
Remember our definition of a scale. It’s kind of wordy, and you don’t
need to memorize it, so here it is again: a graduated series of musical
tones ascending or descending in order of pitch according to a specific
scheme of their intervals.
With the chromatic scale, the scheme of intervals was half steps. With the
major scale, the scheme of intervals is a series of whole and half steps.
Remember that a whole step consists of two half steps.
Every scale has a letter name and a descriptive name. The letter is the
bottom note of the scale and also the top note of the scale. The
descriptive name tells you what kind of scale it is, like major, minor,
blues, pentatonic, etc. For example, the D Major scale would start on D
and end on D and have the necessary whole and half steps which make up
a major scale.
Enough words. An example will show you the pattern of whole and half
steps for a major scale. The scale we’ll use will be the C Major scale,
because it has no sharps or flats in it.
If you have your keyboard out and use it to follow along, you’ll
understand these concepts more quickly and more thoroughly.The C Major Scale
Before I show you the scale, I’ve got to define a couple images which are
used to show half and whole steps. They’re simple, and a good visual
reference.