Major scale

What it is

The major scale has seven notes. What defines it is the gap between neighboring notes: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. On the guitar, a whole step is two frets and a half step is one fret. Its formula is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

In C, that gives you C, D, E, F, G, A, B: no sharps or flats. In other keys, sharps and flats show up to keep the same pattern of steps.

Hear it on a single string

Play the C major scale on the A string, starting at the 3rd fret: 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15. You can see the gaps: two frets, two frets, one fret, then two frets three times, and one fret. And you’ll hear that familiar climb everyone has sung at least once.

Why it’s the reference scale

All musical vocabulary is measured against it. The “major third” of a chord is the 3rd note of the major scale; the “major seventh” of Cmaj7 is its 7th note.

The chords in a key also come from its notes. In C major, they’re C, D minor, E minor, F, G and A minor: the chords in the vast majority of songs in C.

The 7 positions

The major scale is played in seven positions, three notes per string. The system is very regular: each position starts on a different note of the scale, and the shapes repeat.

Start with position 1, which begins on the root on the 6th string. Some positions ask you to stretch your index and pinky across five frets: work on them toward the middle of the neck first, where the frets are narrower.

What about the major pentatonic?

Take the fourth and the seventh out of the major scale and you get the major pentatonic. Those two notes are the ones that create half steps: without them, nothing rubs. The major scale is richer; the pentatonic is easier to improvise with.

The Ionian mode

The major scale has another name: the Ionian mode. It’s the first of the seven modes. The other six use the same notes, starting from a different note of the scale: see The modes.