The major scale is one of the most important building blocks of music. It’s used in countless songs, forms the foundation of music theory, and opens up a world of possibilities for both lead and rhythm playing. Let’s break it down step by step.
What Is the Major Scale?
The major scale is a set of seven notes arranged in a specific pattern between each of its note. The distance between these notes is called an interval and the major scale consists of 2 interval types, whole steps (W) and half steps (H).
W – W – H – W – W – W – H
- A whole step means skipping one fret on the guitar (e.g., from the 3rd to the 5th fret).
- A half step means moving up just one fret (e.g., from the 3rd to the 4th fret).
If you’re confused, don’t worry. Providing you know the where the notes tend to lie on the fretboard and what they’re called, this visual of the C major scale intervals should help. These intervals are important to remember as they allow us to form repeatable patterns across the guitar neck that help us be able to use the major scale. They key thing to takeaway is that no matter which key you are playing the major scale in, the intervals remain the same.
Why It’s Important
The major scale is basically behind most of modern music as we know it. It’s the foundation of music theory and as such, all chords, scales (including minor ones) and melodies are all derived from the major scale notes. So anything from “Let It Be” by The Beatles to “Shake It Off” by Swifty rely on the major scale, and in part owe some of their success to the major scale. I’ll delve more into the how of this in future lessons but for now, just remember it’s all major baby.
How to Play the Major Scale on Guitar
Now that you’ve seen the interval structure for 1 octave of the C major scale, lets rearrange the notes onto different strings to a more conventional scale pattern. Here’s the basic shape for the C major scale starting on the 7th fret of the low E string.
I’ve extended this out to 2 octaves so you can get a feel of what it feels like to play across the neck. Try playing this over a C major chord progression and see how happy and uplifting it sounds! Here are a few familiar examples of the major scale in action and a chord progression that makes up most iconic songs in history.
“Imagine” – John Lennon (C Major)
- The vocal melody sticks to C major notes throughout and uses the
“With or Without You” – U2 (D Major)
- The vocal lines all fall within the D major scale.
“Let It Be” – The Beatles (C Major)
- The Beatles strike again. This melody follows the C major scale, and uses the popular chord progression C – G – Am – F (used in countless hits)
“Yellow” – Coldplay (B Major)
- The vocal melody stays within the B major scale.
“Lean on Me” – Bill Withers (C Major)
- The entire vocal line is constructed from the C major scale.
Now that you’ve seen the major scale notes and know what it’s like in action, lets look at it across the neck. Just like with those handy pentatonic boxes (remember? see pentatonic lesson), you can split the major scale into 5 similar boxes. This can really help to learn the pattern of how the major scale falls on the guitar neck. Just remember not to isolate these from each other as connecting them all is the key!
So there you have it, the major scale and all its lovely notes that form the basis of western music. As I mentioned, all chords and triads are derived from this scale but I’ll delve deeper into those topics in upcoming lessons. For now, get really familiar with the major scale and see if you can identify it in any legendary songs. And as always, make sure to play it loud!