Stop 5 of 7
The major scale
The W-W-H-W-W-W-H formula, scale degrees and a first fingering.
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Stop 5 of 7
The W-W-H-W-W-W-H formula, scale degrees and a first fingering.
If you've ever sung "do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do", you already know the most important scale in Western music. Most nursery tunes, hymns, a lot of pop and folk, and the theory still to come (chords, keys, modes) are built on it. In this stop you listen to it, discover the formula that generates it, build it from any note and play it on your guitar with its first fingering.
Press play and listen. It climbs and descends through the natural notes, starting and ending on C:
You probably recognised it instantly. Something makes it special: it sounds complete, as if on reaching the top step you'd returned to the starting point, only higher. Now listen to the same climb without the last step:
That urge to take the last step is proof that the scale has a centre, a home. That home note is the , and here it's C.
Look at the distances in that staircase on the piano. They're always the same:
W · W · H · W · W · W · H
That sequence of steps is the formula of the . The two half steps fall between steps 3–4 and 7–8: in C major, E–F and B–C, exactly the two "next-door" pairs of naturals you met two stops ago. That's why C major is the only major scale with no accidentals: the white keys already have the formula if you start on C.
On the guitar the formula becomes visible: W = jump two frets, H = jump one. Play C major on a single string, string 5, from fret 3:
String 5, Fret 3: C3 · 1 · Scale tone
Playing it this way isn't comfortable for speed, but it's the best way to see the formula: jumps of 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1 frets.
Try the formula from G. Walk the alphabet from G, one letter per step, and adjust with accidentals so the steps follow W-W-H-W-W-W-H:
| Step | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | W | W | H | W | W | W | H | |
| Note | G | A | B | C | D | E | F♯ | G |
From E to step 7 you need a whole step, but F is only a half step away: you have to raise it, F♯. And from F♯ to G you get the perfect final half step. G major has one sharp.
Now from F: F, G, A… and from 3 to 4 you need a half step, but from A to B is a whole step. Lower the B: B♭. F major has one flat.
From the tonic, the major scale contains the intervals most consonant with it: the fifth (step 5, a ratio close to 3:2), the fourth (4:3) and the major third (close to 5:4), which match low harmonics of the tonic. The scale can also be seen as two identical four-note halves (W-W-H) joined by a whole step: C-D-E-F and G-A-B-C. Those halves are called tetrachords, and the upper half of one scale is the lower half of the scale a fifth higher. That idea is the gateway to the circle of fifths in the next stop.
To talk about scales without depending on the key, each note gets a number: its . The tonic is degree 1, the next one 2, and so on up to 7; then 1 comes back an octave higher (sometimes written as 8).
| Degree | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C major | C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
| G major | G | A | B | C | D | E | F♯ |
The power of degrees is that they're the same in every key. "The tune starts on 3 and comes down to 1" describes the same tune in C, in G or in E flat. And each degree has its own character: 1 is rest, 5 is stable and bright, 7 is tense and "wants" to rise to 1, as you heard at the start.
Listen to a tune that leans on 1, 3 and 5 and ends at home:
Now a real fingering, for playing fluently. Put your hand in second position: finger 1 on fret 2, finger 2 on fret 3, finger 3 on fret 4 and finger 4 on fret 5 (one finger per fret). Without moving your hand, you have two octaves of G major:
String 6, Fret 2: F♯2 · 7 · Seventh
Fingering string by string: 6th: fingers 2-4 · 5th: 1-2-4 · 4th: 1-3-4 · 3rd: 1-3-4 · 2nd: 2-4 · 1st: 1-2.
The first eight notes make a pattern you can move to any fret: the tonic on string 6 under finger 2. Put the tonic on fret 5 and you have A major; on fret 8, C major. You already know how to find any note on string 6, so you can now play any major scale.
String 6, Fret 3: G2 · 1 · Scale tone
String 6, Fret 5: A2 · 1 · Scale tone
A scale isn't an exercise: it's the raw material of melodies. This original tune uses only notes from G major and ends on the tonic. Play it over the backing:
Notice the last note: G, the tonic, over a G chord. Swap that last note for F♯ (string 1, fret 2) and hear how the tune is left "hanging".
Goal: Play the scale up and down in eighth notes at 80 BPM, one finger per fret, with no pauses when changing strings.
Play the movable shape starting on fret 3 (G), then on fret 5 (A) and then on fret 8 (C). Before each one, say the tonic's name and check it against your string-6 map. Finish by improvising for two minutes over the G backing with notes from the scale, always ending your phrases on G.
Goal: Play the one-octave shape in G, A and C major (frets 3, 5 and 8 on string 6) without mistakes at 70 BPM.
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