Major Scales

The major scale is the foundation of Western tonal music. Every key, every key signature, every diatonic chord progression starts here. If you know your major scales in all twelve keys, you have the framework that everything else hangs on.

Construction

A major scale is seven notes built from a specific pattern of whole steps (W) and half steps (H):

W - W - H - W - W - W - H
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8(=1)

The formula works from any starting note. C major starts on C and produces no sharps or flats. Other starting notes produce sharps or flats to maintain the W-W-H-W-W-W-H pattern.

All Twelve Major Scales

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

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

Key Signatures

Key signatures encode which notes are sharp or flat. The order of sharps is F C G D A E B — each new sharp key adds one more sharp in that order. The order of flats is the reverse: B E A D G C F. This is why G major (one sharp) has F#, D major (two sharps) has F# and C#, and so on.

The Diatonic Chords

Build a triad or seventh chord on each scale degree using only the notes of the scale:

In C major:
I    Cmaj7   (major 7th — tonic)
ii   Dm7     (minor 7th — subdominant)
iii  Em7     (minor 7th)
IV   Fmaj7   (major 7th — subdominant)
V    G7      (dominant 7th — dominant function)
vi   Am7     (minor 7th — relative minor)
vii° Bm7♭5  (half-diminished — leading tone chord)

This pattern of chord qualities (Maj, min, min, Maj, dom, min, ø) is the same in every major key. Knowing this pattern means knowing the harmonic vocabulary of any major key immediately — just apply it to the scale starting on any root.

Relative Minor

Every major scale shares its notes with a natural minor scale — the relative minor, built on the 6th degree:

C major:    C D E F G A B
A natural minor: A B C D E F G    (same notes, different root)

The key signature is the same; the tonal centre is different. C major feels resolved on C; A minor feels resolved on A. Understanding this relationship explains why the vi chord (Am7 in C major) has a tonic-like quality — it shares most of the tonic chord's notes.