Major Scale
Major Scale - Major Mojo
The major scale is the 7 note scale that rocks the western world. Understanding this is key for unlocking chords and the concept of modes as well as learning other scales. The major scale is one of the most used scales along with the pentatonic scale, mostly used in rock and country. This scale comes from the 12 note scale referred to as the chromatic scale.
These are the twelve notes of western music
C - C# - D - D# - E - F - F# - G - G# - A - A# - B - C
The notes in blue are the 7 notes of the C major scale.Then the scale repeats, notice how some of the notes like E and F, B and C are next to each other.The note from F to G has an F# in-between them. This is where we get that famous formula that most of us have heard of.
The Major Scale Formula
We're going to start by looking at its formula. Every scale has a pattern of steps - basically a series of whole steps and/or half steps that are unique to each scale. Understanding these series of steps is where the mojo of intervals comes into play. Intervals are the building blocks for our chords that we use to harmonize the scale and build chord progression.
Twelve Keys
We have 12 keys that we can build a major scale from (chromatic scale). The main thing you need to understand is the note you start from usually referred to as the root note is the name of that key, then you keep the same pattern of intervals.
By the Numbers
The other thing is getting the numbers 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, the major scale is a seven-note scale and each note can be referred to by its number. This is key when you are learning how chords and chord progression are built. If you have ever heard someone refer to a 1-4-5 or 2-5-1 chord change or the 1-3-5 for the basic triad, these are all related to the notes from the major/mojo scale.
1-3-5
The One - Three - Five Jive
This is the mojo that one needs to know to build chords from the major scale. A solid grasp of intervals, and knowing the difference of a major 3rd interval and a minor 3rd interval is key when building chords from the major scale.
How Chords are built
To understand the way chords are built we must first look at the major scale. Take the C major scale for example. The notes in a C major scale are C D E F G A B and starts over with the octave. Now that we know the notes of the major scale we can build the chords involved with the key of C by stacking thirds.
Stacking thirds are basically stacking every other note. Every other note in the major scale is a chord tone or an extension of that chord. Starting on C we will go every other note until we get C - E - G. These are the three primary notes in the C major chord. C is called the root note, E is called the third, G is called the fifth. All of your major and minor chords will be comprised of a root, third and fifth, but the way the intervals change as you move through the scale, some chords are major and some are minor.
TrueFire Courses
TrueFire offers many courses that have related materials on this subject. I highly recommend TrueFire if you are a die-hard player or want to be.
One course that was recently released Is a course by Jeff Scheetz-
Jeff Scheetz
Jeff is the Director of Education at TrueFire. He has released 8 CDs of original music and 9 video cours
es for TrueFire. He has toured the US, Europe, and Mexico, sharing the stage with the likes of the Scorpions, .38 Special, ELO, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai and much more. He's performed over 300 guitar clinics worldwide for Yamaha guitars and been featured in Guitar, Guitar Player, Guitar School, and Guitar World magazines, as well as numerous magazines in Japan and Europe. His name has been on the Ernie Ball Super Slinky string package.
Jeff has several great courses to his credit at TrueFire and the Director of Education; check him out. Plus, be sure to check out all of the other great educators at TrueFire.
