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ScaleTheoryPartIMappingOutTheBasics

Scalesaresimplyareaseriesofnotessettoaparticularpattern.Thissheetwillmapoutallofthe
majorscalesinasimpleandeasytouseformatthenmoveontotheminorscales.

Firstweneedtodefinewhatsemitonesandwholetonesare.Foraguitaristthesimplestwayto
explainasemitoneiswhenwemovefromonefretup(ordown)tothenextfret,movingfromCup
toC#isasemitone.Awholetoneiswhenwemoveup(ordown)twofrets,sofromCuptoD.

Themajorscaleis8notes(technicallythereare7differentnotesandthe8thnoteisthesameasthe
firstsowewillcallit1/8)thatfollowapatternofsemiandwholetones:wholetone,wholetone,
semitone,wholetone,wholetone,wholetone,semitone.

BelowIhavewrittenoutallthenotes(inboldmovingupinsemitones)startingonC.Underneath
thatIhavewrittenouttheCmajorscalesoyoucanclearlyseethepatternofwholeandsemitones.
WestartwithCbecauseitdoesnothaveanysharpsofflatsinit.Underneaththatisthedegreeofthe
scale,thatisthenumberthatnotehasintheCmajorscale.

C
C
1st

C#/Db

D
D
2nd

D#/Eb

E
E
3rd

F
F
4th

F#/Gb

G
G
5th

G#/Ab

A
A
6th

A#/Bb

B
B
7th

C
C
1st/8th

Remembermovinguptwofretsiscalledawholetone,movinguponefretiscalledasemitone.After
theC(1st/8th)thepatternrepeatsD(9th),E(10th),F(11th),G(12th)etc.Alsonoticethatthescale
movesupthroughthenotesinalphabeticalorderC,D,E,Fetc.

Nowtofigureoutalltheothermajorscaleswejusthavetosimplyfollowthepattern.Butbeforewe
dothatwehavetounderstandafewsimpleconcepts.

Simplescaleslikethemajorandminorscalesliketouseeitherallsharps(#)orallflats(b),theyalso
liketouseeachletteronceratherthanrepeatthesameletter(e.gF&F#).Belowareallthescales
thatusesharps(includingCmajor).

C
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#

C#/Db

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

D#/Eb

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

F
F
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#

F#/Gb

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

G#/Ab

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

A#/Bb

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

C
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#

Thereareafewthingsyouneedtonoticeinthetable.Firstlyweaddanewsharpwitheachscale,e.g
Gmajorhasonesharp(F#),Dmajorhastwosharps(F#,C#)andAmajorhasthreesharps(F#,C#,
G#).Onceanotehasbeenmadesharpisremainssofortherestofthescalesinthetable.Alsonotice
thatthenewsharpisaddedtothescaleisatthe7thnote,e.gGmajorF#(7th),DmajorC#(7th),A
mojorG#(7th).Finallythelasttwoscales(F#&C#)areinterestingduetotheuseofE#andB#.For
theE#wetechnicallyplayanFtherebutbecausescalestrytoavoidrepeatingletterswecallitE#.
TheB#istechnicallyaCbuttomaintainusingdifferentlettersinthescalewecallitB#.

Onefinalthingtonoticeisthatthefirstnoteofeachscaleisthesameasthefifthnoteoftheprevious
scalee.gGisthe5thofCmajor,Disthe5thnoteofGmajoretc.Thisiscalledthecircleof5ths,itsets
theorderofthescalesthathavesharps.

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Nowwecanmoveontothescalesthatuseflats.Theonlydifferenceiswewillusethe4thnotetofind
outwhatthe1stnoteofthenextscaleise.gCmajors4thnoteisF,settingthenextscaleasFmajor.
Thisiscalledthecircleof4ths.

C
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb

C#/Db

D
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db

D#/Eb

E
E
A
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb

F
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb
Fb

F#/Gb

G
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb

G#/Ab

A
A
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab

A#/Bb

B
B
E
A
D
G
C
F
Bb

C
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb

Asyoucanseeflatsworkalittledifferentlytosharps.Firstoffthenewflataddedtoeachscaleisthe
4thnote(whichalsosetsthenextscale)e.gFmajorBb(4th),BmajorEb(4th)etc.TheGb & Cbmajor
scalesfeatureaCb &FbforthesamereasonastheE#inF#major.Eachscalewantstousedifferent
lettersratherthenhavetwodifferenttypesofBsorEs.

Wecansumupourcircleof5thsand our circle of 4ths to the following:

FromCMajorScale
Circleof5ths
G
F#
D
F#,G#
A
F#,G#,C#
E
F#,G#,C#,D#
B
F#,G#,C#,D#,A#
F#
F#,G#,C#,D#,A#,E#
C#
F#,G#,C#,D#,A#,E#,B#

Cirlceof4ths
F
Bb
Bb
Bb,Eb
Eb
Bb,Eb,Ab
Ab
Bb,Eb,Ab,Db
Db
Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb
Gb
Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb,Cb
Cb
Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb,Cb,Fb

Below is the circle of 5ths and the circle of 4ths represented in its most common form a circle.

Nowwearereadytotakeontheminorscales.

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ScaleTheoryPartIITheSadRelatives

Minorscalesfollowthesameprinciplesasthemajorscales,theyjustfollowadifferentpatternof
semiandwholetones.TobeginwithIwillmapouttheAminorscalebecauseithasnosharpsor
flats.

A
A
1st

A#/Bb

B
B
2nd

C
C
3rd

D
D
4th

C#/Db

E
E
5th

D#/Eb

F
F
6th

G
G
7th

F#/Gb

G#/Ab

A
A
1st/8th

Noticethatthepatternis:wholetone,semitone,wholetone,wholetone,semitone,wholetone,
wholetone.TheAminorusesonlynaturalnotesjustlikeCmajorscaleonlyusesnaturalnotes.This
meansthetwoscalesareusingthesamenotes,theyjuststartatdifferentpoints.WecallAminorthe
relativeminortotheCmajorscale.

C
A

D
B

F
D

G
E

C
A

IfwelookatCmajorwecanseeAisthe6thdegree.Thisishowwecanfindoutwhattherelative
minorisofamajorscale,simplyfindthe6thdegreeofthemajorscale.IfwelookattheAminorscale
wecanseethatCisthe3rddegree.Thisishowwecanfindtherelativemajorscaleourminorscale,
simplyfindthe3rddegreeoftheminorscale.

Belowarealltheminorscalesfromthecircleof5ths(usingsharpsonly)Tofindouttherelativemajor
scalejustidentifythe3rddegreeofeachscale(inturnyoucouldgobacktothemajorscalesand
identifytheirrelativeminorbycheckingwhatthe6thdegreeofeachscaleis).

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

A#/Bb

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

C
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#

C#/Db

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

D#/Eb

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

F
F
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#

F#/Gb

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

G#/Ab

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

E
E
A
D
G
C
F

F
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb
Fb

F#/Gb

G
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb

G#/Ab

A
A
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab

Andherearetheminorscalesfromthecircleof4ths.

A
A
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab

A#/Bb

B
B
E
A
D
G
C
F
Bb

C
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb

C#/Db

D
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db

D#/Eb

Bb
Eb

InthenexttwotablesIhavecompiledallthemajorscalesandminorscalestogether.

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MajorScales
1
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb

2
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db

3
E
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
A#
E#
A
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb

4
F
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb
Fb

5
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
G#
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb

*6
A
E
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
A#
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab

7
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
A#
E#
B#
E
A
D
G
C
F

*3
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
F

4
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
G
C
F

5
E
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
A#
E#
A
D
G
C
F

6
F
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb
Fb

1/8
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
F

Bb

Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb

7
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
G#
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb

1/8
A
E
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
A#
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab

*Relativeminor

MinorScales
1
A
E
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
A#
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab

2
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
A#
E#
B#
E
A
D
G
C
F
Bb

Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb

Bb
Eb
Ab
Db

Bb
Eb

*Relativemajor

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IntervalsTheSpaceBetween

Anintervalisthespacebetweenonenotetoanother.Intervalshavespecificnamesthatweuselikea
shorthandtoexplainthedistancee,gCtoGisaperfect5thratherthensayingCtoGis7semitones.

Belowisatableofintervals,the1stcolumnisthenameoftheinterval,thesecondcolumnisthe
distanceinsemitonestheintervalisfromthestartnote.Thethirdcolumniswhatthenotewouldbe
usingCasastartpoint.Thisisveryimportanttoremember:theintervalisthedistancefromthe
startpointandtheothernotee.gFisaperfect4thaboveC.

Interval
Unison
b2nd
2nd
Min3rd
Maj3rd
Perfect4th
b5(ordim5thoraug4th)
Perfect5th
Min6th(or#5thoraug5th)
Maj6th
Min7th(orb7th)
Maj7th
Octave
b9th
9th
Min10th(or#9th)(min3rdup1octave)
Major10th(maj3rdup1octave)
11th
Augmented11
Perfect12th(perf5thup1octave)
b13th
13th

ST
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Note
C
C#/Db
D
D#/Eb
E
F
F#/Gb
G
G#/Ab
A
A#/Bb
B
C
C#/Db
D
D#/Eb
E
F
F#/Gb
G
G#/Ab
A

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ChordTheoryItsAllANumbersGame

Chordscanbeassimpleorascomplexasyouwant.Firstitisimportanttorememberthatachord
startswiththemajororminortriad.Themajtriadismadeupofthe1st,3rdand5thnotesofthe
respectivemajorscaleandthemintriadismadeupofthe1st3rdand5thnotesoftherespectiveminor
scale.

SotheCmajorchordisbuiltfromC(1st),E(3rd)andG(5th)andtheCminorchordisbuiltfromC
(1st),Eb (3rd)andG(5th)(IfyouarehavingtroublewiththisconceptreadthroughtheScaleTheory
section).Onceyouhaveyourtriaditissimplyaddingonnumbersfromthescale.

Belowisatableofchordsandwhattheyaremadeupof.IhaveusedCasthebasenoteforeachchord
(knownastherootorthetonic).IfthechordhasthewordmininthenameitmeansitisfromtheC
minscale,allothersarefromtheCmajscale.Thefirstcolumnisthenameofthechord,inthesecond
columnarethenotesthatmakeupthatchordandthethirdcolumnisdegree/interval(straight
numbersarethedegreeofthescale,namesaretheintervalfromC).

Name
Cmaj
Cmin
Csus2
Csus4
Cmaj7
Cmin7
Cdom7
Cmin/maj7
C6
Cmin6
C6/9
Cmin6/9
C9
Cmaj9
Cmin9
C11
Cmaj11
Cmin11
C13
Cmaj13
Cmin13
Cdiminished
Chalfdim
Caugmented
Cadd

Notes
Degree/Interval
CEG
135
1min35
CEbG
CDG
125
CFG
145
CEGB
1357
1min35min7
CEbGBb
CEGBb
135b7
1min357
CEbGB
CEGA
1356
1min356
CEbGA
CEGAD
13569
1min3569
CEbGAD
CEGBbD
135b79
CEGBD
13579
1min35min79
CEbGBbD
CEGBbF
135b711
CEGBF
135711
1min35min711
CEbGBbF
CEGBbA
135b713
CEGBA
135713
1min35min713
CEbGBbA
CEbGbA
1min3b5bb7
CEbGbBb
1min3b5b7
CEG#
13#5
Addthedegreetothetriad:Cadd9CEGD

OtherInfo

The3rdmustbereplacedwitheitherthe2ndorthe4thto
makeasuspendedchord.

Alwaysusethemajor6thintervalforeachofthesechords.

Youcanleaveoutthe5thbutthe1st,3rd,7th9th/11th/13th
mustbepresentinthechord.

1359

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