The Major Scale
The C Major Scale
A major scale is a pattern of eight notes in alphabetical order that produce the familiar sound:
The C major scale contains these notes in the following order:
The distance between each note is two frets except for EF and BC where the distance is only one fret.
The distance of two frets is called a tone indicated by T.
The distance of one fret is called a semitone indicated by ST.
The major scale is probably the most common scale used in music. Here is one octave of the C major scale in the open position. An octave is the range of eight notes from any note to its next repeat at a higher or lower pitch.
The notes of the C major scale have been used to play thousands of melodies ranging from Classical music to Folk, Country, Jazz and classic Rock.
The natural notes in the open position are all from the C major scale, even though the lowest note of the pattern is E and the highest note is G. The key note C occurs twice and is indicated with a square around it. This pattern can be described as the full open position fingering of the C major scale.
