Musical Notes and Major Scales
To create any melody, musical notes and major scales are fundamental. The major scale can create from musical notes. Musical notes are alphabets, and the major scale is like sentences with specific rules. We feel happy when we hear the major scale sounds. This post is about musical notes and major scales. Let’s find out why major scales are so important.
Contents
All Major Scales With Notes
| Scale Name | Tonic | Major 2nd | Major 3rd | Perfect 4th | Perfect 5th | Major 6th | Major 7th | Perfect 8ve |
| C Major | C | D | E | F | G | A | B | C |
| G Major | G | A | B | C | D | E | F# | G |
| D Major | D | E | F# | G | A | B | C# | D |
| A Major | A | B | C# | D | E | F# | G# | A |
| E Major | E | F# | G# | A | B | C# | D# | E |
| B Major | B | C# | D# | E | F# | G# | A# | B |
| F Major | F | G | A | Bb | C | D | E | F |
| Bb Major | Bb | C | D | Eb | F | G | A | Bb |
| Eb Major | Eb | F | G | Ab | Bb | C | D | Eb |
| Ab Major | Ab | Bb | C | Db | Eb | F | G | Ab |
| Db Major | Db | Eb | F | Gb | Ab | Bb | C | Db |
| Gb Major | Gb | Ab | Bb | Cb | Db | Eb | F | Gb |
Why Major Scale notes are the most important?
Musical notes and major scales are used in various genres. The Major scale notes are important because they are the foundation for all other scales. There is lots of scale in music to express emotion. In western music, Major and Minor scales are the most popular among them. In addition to being opposite scales, they are also co-related. Each scale contains seven notes. However, they build differently. Playing other scales also becomes easier after learning the major scale structure. The major scale is called Ionian mode, and the natural minor scale is called Aeolian mode in western music. The major or Ionian mode makes us happy, whereas the minor or aeolian mode makes us sad. For example, C major may feel happy to us, while Am might feel sad. Notes of the ‘Natural Scale’ or C major scale are C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. The 6th note of the C major scale is A. Beginning with the 6th note, we have A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. It is called Am scale. Because of this, Am is the relative minor of C major. C Major and A Minor have the same notes, but starting and ending are different. So we can say they are co-related. For all these reasons, the major scale notes are the most important.
12 Musical Notes
A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G# are the 12 notes in Music. We can replace sharp notes with flats note. Sharp (#) goes one step acceding to the relative notes. Flat(b) goes one step descending to the relative note.
Example of sharp(#) and Flat(b) notes
| A# | C# | D# | F# | G# |
| Bb | Db | Eb | Gb | Ab |
In Music, A# = Bb, C# = Db, D#= Eb, F#=Gb, and G#=Ab are the same note. We can replace A# with Bb, and D# as Eb according to music.
Intervals
- There is a different sound for every note in music. With some specific interval, those 12 musical notes can construct any scale. Interval means the distance between two musical notes. Here we discuss two types of intervals.
Semi-Tone or Half Step
Intervals between any two notes close to each other are called Semi Tone or Half Step.
Example: A to A#, C to C#, B to Bb, etc. Are next to each other notes.
Tone or WholeStep
Intervals between two notes separated by the nearest note are called tone or whole step.
Example: A to B, C to D, B to A, etc. are separated by nearest notes.
The formula for making a Major scale
7 musical notes can make a scale. Music has 12 musical notes. From those 12 notes, we have to find 7 notes. It is as easy as counting, like 1 to 10. Tonic, Tone, and Semi Tone are three elements to create a Major scale.
The formula of the Major scale is Tonic, Tone, Tone, Semi Tone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semi Tone. In short, Tonic+2T+1ST+3T+1S.T is a formula for making major scale.
Tonic: Tonic is the name of the scale. Every scale has its unique name.
Example: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G are the notes of the G Major Scale. The starting note “G” is the tonic of G major scale.
What is the Technical name of a diatonic scale?
Example: A major and A minor scale with Technical name:
A Major Scale: A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A
A Minor Scale: A-B- C- D-E- F- G- A
| Technical name | Major Scale | Minor Scale |
| Tonic | A | A |
| Supertonic | B | B |
| Mediant | C# | C |
| Subdominant | D | D |
| Dominant | E | E |
| Submediant | F# | F |
| Leading note | G# | G |
| Octave | A | A |
Comparing Major and Minor Scales
1. A is the Tonic of both A major and A minor scale.
2. B is the Supertonic of both A major and A minor scale..
3. C# is the Mediantof A major and C is the Mediant A minor scale.
4. D is the Subdominant of both A major and A minor scale.
5. E is the Dominant of both A major and A minor scale.
6. F# is the Submediant of A major and F is the Submediant A minor scale.
7. G# is the Leading Note for A major and G is the Leading Note for A minor scale.
8. A is the Octave of both A major and A minor scale.
What are the 8 Major scale intervals?
Every major scale has 8 notes. The root is the first note of the major scale. It is also the name of the scale. For any major or Ionion scale, all musical notes are relative to the root note. To find any intervals, we must compare the distance of a note with the root note. All the major scale notes are shown below:
1st note of the scale is called: Root note.
2nd note of the scale is called: Major 2nd.
3rd note of the scale is called: Major 3rd.
4th note of the scale is called: Perfect 4th.
5th note of the scale is called: Perfect 5th.
6th note of the scale is called: Major 6th.
7th note of the scale is called: Major 7th.
8th note of the scale is called: Unison.
Finally, Learning All major scales with notes can make you play any scale. Musical notes, intervals, tones, and semitones are the elements of creating a musical scale. Try to play all scales from your memory.
