To many guitarists, the major scale is something they simply don’t use. However, in Western music (that is, music that originates from the Western Hemisphere), it is the scale that is the basis of all others. If you learn the notes of the major scale, you can find all sorts of scales lurking beneath just by altering the notes. This article is an introduction to the relationship between the root of the major scale, and the rest of the notes. Knowing this will help us recognize chord progressions, work out harmonies, and train our ears to hear the relationship between this king of scales and all others.

I like minor scales better, bro.

Ok, first we have to understand something about major scales before I address this. There are 7 notes in a major scale, which we will number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. Go to a piano keyboard. Find middle C. Start on the C and go up 7 white keys. These letters are C D E F G A B.

Awesome. A minor scale is a major scale with 3 notes flatted: the 3rd, 6th & 7th. Knowing this will allow you to find the minor scale for any key without having to memorize a zillion fingerings. Using our formula above, we get C D Eb F G Ab Bb. Need pentatonic minor? Take the minor, and eliminate the 2 and 6: C Eb F G Bb. Harmonic minor? Take the minor, and raise the 7th note 1 fret, or 1/2 step: C D Eb F G Ab B. See, theory isn’t that bad.

You see, if we know the major scale (and the sound of the major scale), we can get to all of the minors we want. We can also get to many different modes, and eventually build chords. But first, we have to hear what is going on with the most happiest of scales, the major.

Intervallica!

We are going to take a look at the notes of the C major scale, and hear how they sound when played along with a C note. These intervals have specific names, as we will see & hear.

Play a C. Then play it again. These 2 notes are in unison. If you can play a C, and sing a C at the same pitch, you can hear it!

It is easy to practice unison intervals all over the neck. Play any note on the guitar, and try to sing it in perfect unison. Some are harder than others, depending on your voice. Try several random notes in a row. Play, then sing. Play another note, then sing.

The next note in a C major scale is a D. It is 1 whole step away from C. We call this interval a major 2nd:

Major 2nds have a dissonant quality; they sound a little clash-y. Play a C, then try to sing a major 2nd (D). Not as easy! Your voice wants to go down to a C (unison) or up to a major or minor 3rd. Now pick a random note on the guitar, and practice singing a note a major 2nd higher. Wow, that sounds strange! You hear this interval in the beginning of the song Happy Birthday.

The next note in a C major scale is an E. We call this interval a major 3rd:

This one should be easy to hear, since it is the basis of a lot of guitar harmonies (Iron Maiden loves the major 3rd). Play a C, then try to sing the E above that. Check your tuning of your voice with a tuner or your guitar. Hearing major 3rds will certainly help our backup singing, and help us work out harmonies on the guitar. We can also have minor 3rds with minor scales.

F is the next note in the C major scale. We call this interval a perfect 4th. It is called a perfect 4th because it doesn’t change if we go to a minor scale. In the key of C, a perfect 4th is an F:

The perfect 4th is an interval favored by Ritchie Blackmore. You can hear it in his famous riffs from Burn and Man on the Silver Mountain. I find this a little hard to sing, especially if I try to sing a 4th away from specific notes. My voice always wants to move down to a major 3rd or up to a 5th. Notice that a perfect 4th is at the same fret on adjacent strings (except the 3rd and 2nd strings due to the tuning of the guitar. Here is another famous song using 4ths:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mCK05dgwgU

The perfect 5th is the next interval. In C, a perfect 5th is the G. You may recognize this: it is a power chord! Probably one of the first types of chords we learn, it is fairly easy to play a C note and sing a G:

Being guitarists, it is one of the easiest intervals to hear. Like the perfect 4th, this interval is the same even if you are using it in a minor scale.

The next interval is called a major 6th. In the key of C, this is an A note:

Play a C, then play an A. Now play them both together, plucking both at the same time. Then, just play a C and try to sing the A above it. Not so easy, huh? To my ears, the major 6 interval is sweet and slightly sad. You hear this interval in the NBC chimes: the N and the B are a major 6th apart.

The next interval we will tackle is the major 7th:

Play a C note, and then an open B. Stop the strings from ringing, and play a C again. Try to sing that B note. The major 7th interval is sometimes hard to hear, but if you think of singing up an octave and coming down a 1/2 step, then it becomes easier.

The last interval of a major scale is called the octave:

Octaves are easy to hear, and you can think of the first 2 notes of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. While I wouldn’t really classify playing octaves as harmony, they sound more like one big, full note. Play the lower C, and then the higher one. Then, play the lower C and sing the higher one. Chances are it came pretty easily.

The Wrap Up

Learning to identify the intervals of the major scale is is a great step in our ear training. It can help when learning songs, working out guitar harmonies, or singing backing vocals. The more we know about the musical world we operate in, the more freedom we have to express ourselves, and the more value we have as a musician. Try memorizing the sound of these intervals, and once you do, you can alter them for different scales.

And since this is a pickup site, let’s listen to a few of my favorites.

What are your favorite scales to use? Have you learned any cool ones recently?