3

Scales

In This Chapter

◆Putting eight notes together to form a scale

◆Creating major and minor scales

◆Discovering the different modes within a major scale

Lesson 3, Track 24

In the first two chapters we discussed the seven key notes (A through G), and
how they relate to each other. We also tossed around the word “scale” to
describe all seven of those notes together.

In this chapter we further examine the concept of the musical scale, which (no
surprise) is seven notes all in a row, in alphabetical order. (If you count the first
note, repeated an octave higher at the top of the scale, it’s eight notes.)

What might be surprising is that there are so many different types of scales.
You can have a major scale, a minor scale (three different types of minor scales,
actually), or any number of different modeswithin a scale. It sounds confusing,
but it’s really fairly simple once you understand how scales are constructed,
using different intervals between the various notes.

(What’s a mode, you ask? You’ll have to read this entire chapter to find out!)

Scales are important because you use them to create melodies, which you’ll
learn about in Chapter 8. In fact, you can create a nice-sounding melody just by
picking notes from a single major scale. For example, use the C Major scale
(the white notes on a piano) and pick and choose notes that sound good when
played together. Make sure you start and end your melody on the C note itself,
and you’ve just written a simple song.

Eight Notes Equal One Scale

A scale is, quite simply, eight successive pitches within a one-octave range. All
scales start on one note and end on that same note one octave higher.

Chapter