Major and minor scales
Major and minor scales with their notes, key signatures and relative keys. Each scale page shows the staff, piano and guitar, the key's chords and fingering.
A key signature lists the sharps or flats a scale needs, so the music does not have to repeat them on every note. Each major key shares its signature with one minor key, its relative minor, which starts on the 6th note of the major scale. The keys here run from flats to sharps, the order they sit in around the circle of fifths: G♭ major, D♭ major, A♭ major, E♭ major, B♭ major, F major, C major, G major, D major, A major, E major, B major, F♯ major and C♯ major.
Major scales
| Scale | Key signature | Notes | Relative minor |
|---|---|---|---|
| G♭ major | six flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ | G♭ A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E♭ F | E♭ minor |
| D♭ major | five flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ | D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ C | B♭ minor |
| A♭ major | four flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ | A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G | F minor |
| E♭ major | three flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ | E♭ F G A♭ B♭ C D | C minor |
| B♭ major | two flats: B♭ E♭ | B♭ C D E♭ F G A | G minor |
| F major | one flat: B♭ | F G A B♭ C D E | D minor |
| C major | None | C D E F G A B | A minor |
| G major | one sharp: F♯ | G A B C D E F♯ | E minor |
| D major | two sharps: F♯ C♯ | D E F♯ G A B C♯ | B minor |
| A major | three sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ | A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯ | F♯ minor |
| E major | four sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ | E F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D♯ | C♯ minor |
| B major | five sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ | B C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A♯ | G♯ minor |
| F♯ major | six sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ | F♯ G♯ A♯ B C♯ D♯ E♯ | D♯ minor |
| C♯ major | seven sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯ | C♯ D♯ E♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ B♯ | A♯ minor |
Minor scales
| Scale | Key signature | Notes | Relative major |
|---|---|---|---|
| E♭ minor | six flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ | E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ | G♭ major |
| B♭ minor | five flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ | B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ | D♭ major |
| F minor | four flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ | F G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ | A♭ major |
| C minor | three flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ | C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ | E♭ major |
| G minor | two flats: B♭ E♭ | G A B♭ C D E♭ F | B♭ major |
| D minor | one flat: B♭ | D E F G A B♭ C | F major |
| A minor | None | A B C D E F G | C major |
| E minor | one sharp: F♯ | E F♯ G A B C D | G major |
| B minor | two sharps: F♯ C♯ | B C♯ D E F♯ G A | D major |
| F♯ minor | three sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ | F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D E | A major |
| C♯ minor | four sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ | C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A B | E major |
| G♯ minor | five sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ | G♯ A♯ B C♯ D♯ E F♯ | B major |
How major and minor scales are built
A scale is seven notes in order, one on each letter from A to G, and the eighth note repeats the first an octave higher. What makes a scale major or minor is the size of the steps between those notes. A half step is the very next key on the piano, black or white; a whole step skips one key.
Every major scale follows the same pattern: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. Start it on C and it lands only on white keys. Start it anywhere else and some steps need a black key, which is where the sharps or flats come from. The natural minor pattern is whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, and from A it is all white keys too.
Compared with the major scale on the same note, natural minor lowers the 3rd, 6th and 7th by a half step. That lowered 3rd is what you hear first: it is the same note that turns a major chord into a minor one.
Three forms of the minor scale
Minor scales are usually taught in three forms. The natural minor uses the key signature as written. Harmonic minor raises the 7th note a half step, so the scale leads back up to its keynote the way a major scale does; in A minor that is G♯. Melodic minor raises the 6th and 7th on the way up, F♯ and G♯ in A minor, and comes back down as the natural minor.
Each minor scale page writes the harmonic and melodic forms on the staff beside the natural one, with a play button for each, so you can hear what the raised notes change.
What each scale page shows
Each scale links to a page with its notes on the treble and bass staves, the keyboard and the guitar fretboard, and a play button that runs the scale up and down. It gives the piano fingering for each hand, the name of every degree, the seven chords of the key with their Roman numerals, and the related keys: relative, parallel and the neighbors on the circle of fifths.
To see how all the keys fit together, open the circle of fifths. To print every key signature on one page, use the key signatures chart.
Questions
What is the difference between a major and a minor scale?
The order of whole and half steps. A major scale goes whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half; a natural minor scale goes whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. The minor scale's 3rd, 6th and 7th notes sit a half step lower than the major scale's on the same keynote.
How many major scales are there?
Twelve by sound, one on each key of the octave, and 15 by name: B and C♭ major, F♯ and G♭ major, and C♯ and D♭ major are each spelled two ways and played on the same keys. Each has a relative minor, so minor keys come to the same count.
What is the difference between relative and parallel keys?
Relative keys share a key signature and start on different notes: C major and A minor. Parallel keys start on the same note and have different signatures: C major and C minor.
Which scale should I learn first?
C major, then A minor: both are white keys only. After those, take the keys in circle-of-fifths order, which adds one sharp or one flat at a time.