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HearandPlay.com Beginner's Club (Piano Lessons)
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Well, let's get to work!

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Piano Lessons Workshop #1: Major Scales (i)



In music, there is a pattern for everything! I'm going to teach you the pattern used to create major scales.

First, let's start with the basics. There are 12 major scales; one for every major key on the piano

You have the white keys:

C major
D major
E major
F major
G major
A major
B major


... and then you have the black keys (called "sharps" or "flats"):

C Sharp or D flat
D Sharp or E flat
F Sharp or G flat
G Sharp or A flat
A Sharp or B flat



Today, we will learn how to form the following major scales:

(1) C Major Scale
(2) D Major Scale
(3) E Major Scale
(4) F Major Scale
(5) G Major Scale
(6) A Major Scale


In order to form major scales, you have to understand the concept of "whole steps and half steps." I have a free piano lesson on "whole and half step intervals" at: https://www.hearandplay.com/p2abc3xkpt.html

... but for the sake of this e-mail lesson, I will recap:

Whole steps and half steps describe distance in music. That is, the distance in notes from one key to another.

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Whole Step
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A "whole" step always skips a key...


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Half Step
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A "half" step never skips a key...


Remember this poem:


"A half step is from KEY TO KEY with NO keys in between,
A whole step always SKIPS a key with one key in between"


EXAMPLES:

"D" is 1 whole step higher than "C"

Why? Because if you start at C and "skip" a key, you'll arrive at "D". What key are you skipping? Let's see:

C --- (skip C#) --- D

However, "C#" is 1 half step higher than "C"

Why? Because you are NOT skipping any keys to go from "C" to "C#."


So essentially:

1 Whole Step = 2 keys
1 Half Step = 1 key


More examples:


C to D = 1 whole step
C to E = 2 whole steps


... and so on.


(Whole Step = "w" *** Half Step = "h")

The Major Scale pattern is as follow:

w - w - h - w - w - w - h


This means:

1. From the starting note, the second note will be 1 (w)hole step higher.

2. From the second note, the third note will be another whole step higher.

3. From the third note, the fourth note will be a (h)alf step higher.

4. From the fourth note, the fifth note will be a whole step higher.

5. From the fifth tone, the sixth note will be a whole step higher.

6. From the sixth tone, the seventh tone will also be a whole step higher.

7. From the seventh tone, the last tone will be only a half step higher.


In C major:

1. The starting note is "C"
2. 1 whole step up is "D" (w)
3. Another whole step up is "E" (w)
4. 1 half step up is "F" (h)
5. 1 whole step up is "G" (w)
6. Another whole step up is "A" (w)
7. Another whole step up is "B" (w)
8. 1 half step up is "C" (h)


Exercise:

Repeat these 8 steps with the following major scales. The answers are listed below:

2) D major
3) E major
4) F major
5) G major
6) A major



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D major:

1) Starting note = ______
2) 1 whole step up = ______
3) 1 whole step up = ______
4) 1 half step up = _____
5) 1 whole step up = ______
6) 1 whole step up = ______
7) 1 whole step up = ______
8) 1 half step up = ______



E major:

1) Starting note = ______
2) 1 whole step up = ______
3) 1 whole step up = ______
4) 1 half step up = _____
5) 1 whole step up = ______
6) 1 whole step up = ______
7) 1 whole step up = ______
8) 1 half step up = ______



F major:

1) Starting note = ______
2) 1 whole step up = ______
3) 1 whole step up = ______
4) 1 half step up = _____
5) 1 whole step up = ______
6) 1 whole step up = ______
7) 1 whole step up = ______
8) 1 half step up = ______



G major:

1) Starting note = ______
2) 1 whole step up = ______
3) 1 whole step up = ______
4) 1 half step up = _____
5) 1 whole step up = ______
6) 1 whole step up = ______
7) 1 whole step up = ______
8) 1 half step up = ______



A major:

1) Starting note = ______
2) 1 whole step up = ______
3) 1 whole step up = ______
4) 1 half step up = _____
5) 1 whole step up = ______
6) 1 whole step up = ______
7) 1 whole step up = ______
8) 1 half step up = ______


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Note: Remember, in major scales, each note is played separately. Only in chords are more than 2 notes played at the same time.

Scales = play each note separately
Chords = play all notes together



Here are the answers:

D major

D - E - F# - G - A - B - C# - D


E major

E - F# - G# - A - B - C# - D# - E


F major

F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F


G major

G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G


A major

A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G# - A




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If you thought this little lesson was informative, imagine what you will learn in my 300-pg piano course? For more information, visit:

https://www.hearandplay.com/course

... or call 1-877-856-4187


Thank you for your time!

Study hard,

Jermaine Griggs
https://www.hearandplay.com
[email protected]
1-877-856-4187


 

More Beginner Piano Lessons

Piano Major Scales 1

Piano Major Scales 2

Piano Major Chords 1

Piano Major Chords 2

 

 

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