Compositional Elements - The Major Scale, Alphabet for our Language of Music, Cycle of 5ths

Hi Guys,

This is the first of several posts covering essential elements of music composition. Thanks for joining along! 

What is the major scale? 

The major scale is a series of notes. More than that, we use the major scale as a framework on which to organize our musical ideas. The major scale is our reference point when discussing intervals and their relationships.* 

The major scale formula is as follows:

whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step

For example, if you start your series of notes on the note 'C', the result is a C Major Scale:

C D E F G A B C

If you start your series of notes on the note 'G', the result is a G Major Scale:

G A B C D E F# G

D Major Scale = D E F# G A B C#

You can see that C Major Scale has no sharps and no flats, only the white keys on a piano. If you start the major scale on any other note, sharped or flatted notes will occur. These sharped and flatted notes are referred to as "accidentals".

The cycle of 5ths chart below shows the order in which accidentals are added.

Exercise 1 

Spell the following major scales:

E Major

A Major

Eb Major

F Major...

...and so on

* An interval is the distance between two notes.

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