Major scale and Key Signature
Major scale
• The major scale is one of the most commonly used musical scales,
especially in Western music. Like many musical scales, it is made up
of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at double its frequency
so that it is called a higher octave of the same note.
• TWO important characteristics:
1. It consists of all the seven letters in alphabetical order and ending
on the same letter as the one started on , such as CDEFDABC or
EFGABCDE;
2. It contains specific pattern on whole and half steps WHOLE,
WHOLE, half, WHOLE, WHOLE, WHOLE, half.
• This pattern happens naturally on the white keys of the keyboard
when the sequence begins and ends with c.
Pitches on a Keyboard
• The easiest way to understand pitches is to look at
a piano keyboard.
• Here is a section of the piano keys, with some
common pitches highlighted:
Key Signatures
• Often, due to the sound that composers and
songwriters are after, certain notes need to stay sharp
or flat for an entire work, or a section of a work.
• Instead of writing the accidentals next to every single
note, writers use a key signature.
• A key signature is a set of one or more sharps/flats
placed at the beginning of the staff; all of the notes
with those NAMES (not just on those lines & spaces!)
stay sharp/flat unless a natural sign is used.
Key Signature Example
• Here is a sample key signature:
• In the beginning of the song, it is placed after the clef
but before the time signature.
• Remember, all of the notes with these NAMES are
now flat (B-E-A), even if they occur on different
lines/spaces/ledger lines.
• Now do you see the importance of the natural sign?
Key Signature Example
KEY SIGNATURE CHART
RECOGNIZING KEY SIGNATURE WITH SHARPS
• When trying to identify the major key of a key signature consisting of
sharps, there are two steps: (1) look at the last sharp (from left to
right) and (2) name the note a half step higher than that sharp. The
name of the note is the name of the key.
• Step 1—The last sharp is E#. Step 2—The note a half step higher than
E# is F#; therefore, this is the key signature for the key of F#.
RECOGNIZING KEY SIGNATURE WITH FLATS
• When trying to identify the major key of a key signature consisting of
flats there is only one step: (1) look at the second-to-the-last flat (still
from left to right). The name of that flat is the name of the key.
Step 1—The second-to-the-last is Cb. Therefore, this is the key
signature for key of Cb major.
Key Changes During a Song
• To change the mood at certain points, music writers
will often change the key signature in the middle of a
work. When that happens, a double bar line is used,
and naturals are used if necessary.
• Here is an (extreme) example:
The Order of Sharps and Flats in Key
Signatures
• The order of sharps in the sharp key signatures
appear in the following order: F | C | G | D | A | E |
B
• and the order of flats in the flat key signatures is
backward of order of sharps: B | E | A | D | G | C |
F
ENHARMONIC SCALES
• The circle of fifths also display the enharmonic
scales. Enharmonic scales are scales that have the
same pitches but have different note names.
Enharmonic Major scales:
• B Major Scale: B | C♯ | D♯ | E | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B
C flat Scale: C♭ | D♭ | E♭ | F♭ | G♭ | A♭ | B♭ | C♭
• F sharp Major Scale: F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B | C♯ | D♯ | E♯ | F♯
G flat Major Scale: G♭ | A♭ | B♭ | C♭ | D♭ | E♭ | F | G♭
• C sharp Major Scale: C♯ | D♯ | E♯ | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B♯ |
C♯
D flat Major Scale: D♭ | E♭ | F | G♭ | A♭ | B♭ | C | D♭
• Enharmonic Minor scales:
• G Sharp Minor Scale: G♯ | A♯ | B | C♯ | D♯ | E | F♯ |
G♯
A Flat Minor Scale: A♭ | B♭ | C♭ | D♭ | E♭ | F♭ | G♭ |
A♭
• D Sharp Minor Scale: D♯ | E♯ | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B | C♯ |
D♯
E Flat Minor Scale: E♭ | F | G♭ | A♭ | B♭ | C♭ | D♭ | E♭
• A Sharp Minor Scale: A♯ | B♯ | C♯ | D♯ | E♯ | F♯ | G♯ |
A♯
B Flat Minor Scale: B♭ | C | D♭ | E♭ | F | G♭ | A♭ | B♭
