C major scale

The C major scale is C, D, E, F, G, A and B, with no sharps or flats. From C, the steps go whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half.

  1. C1
  2. whole
  3. D2
  4. whole
  5. E3
  6. half
  7. F4
  8. whole
  9. G5
  10. whole
  11. A6
  12. whole
  13. B7
  14. half
  15. C8
C1D2E3F1G2A3B4C5

C major on the staff, piano and guitar

On the staff

CDEFGABCCDEFGABC

On piano

Right hand 1 2 3, then the thumb passes under to F: 1 2 3 4 5.

C5D4E3F2G1A3B2C1

Left hand 5 4 3 2 1, then finger 3 crosses over to A: 3 2 1.

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Coming down, play the same fingers in reverse.

On guitar

7891011EBGDAEBCDEFGABCDEFGABCD

Every note of C major between the 7th and 11th fret. The root, C, has a heavy ring.

How to play the C major scale on piano

  1. Find C, the white key just left of a group of two black keys.
  2. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to D.
  3. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to E.
  4. Go up a half step, to the very next key, to F.
  5. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to G.
  6. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to A.
  7. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to B.
  8. Go up a half step, to the very next key, to C, an octave above where you started.

Practice the C major scale

Play the C major scale one note a beat, up and back down: C D E F G A B C B A G F E D C. Hands separately first. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every note lands on the beat.

C
  1. C
  2. D
  3. E
  4. F
  5. G
  6. A
  7. B
  8. C
  9. B
  10. A
  11. G
  12. F
  13. E
  14. D
  15. C

The key of C major

Follow the major pattern from C and every note is a white key, so the key signature is empty.

Relative minor
A minor
Parallel minor
C minor
Neighbors on the circle of fifths
F major and G major
CIAmviGVEmiiiDBmAF♯mEC♯mBC♭G♯mA♭mF♯G♭D♯mE♭mD♭C♯B♭mA♯mA♭FmE♭CmB♭GmFIVDmiiC major
C major on the circle of fifths, with the chords of its key marked.

The name of each note in the key

  1. 1Ctonic
  2. 2Dsupertonic
  3. 3Emediant
  4. 4Fsubdominant
  5. 5Gdominant
  6. 6Asubmediant
  7. 7Bleading tone

Chords in C major

Build a chord on each note of the scale, using only the scale's notes, and you get the seven chords of the key. The numeral is the chord's place in the key: capitals for major, small letters for minor.

  1. IC
  2. iiDm
  3. iiiEm
  4. IVF
  5. VG
  6. viAm
  7. vii°Bdim

Modes on the same notes

Start the C major scale on another of its notes and you get a mode, with the same key signature: C ionian, D dorian, E phrygian, F lydian, G mixolydian, A aeolian, B locrian.

Practice notes for the C major scale

C major is all white keys, C D E F G A B, which makes it the easiest scale to see. Playing it evenly is another matter: with no black keys there is nothing under the fingers to tell you where you are, so the fingering has to do that job.

Where it goes wrong. The thumb crossing. In the right hand, fingers 1 2 3 play C D E, then the thumb passes under to F. The usual slip is waiting until the last moment, so the hand jerks sideways and F comes out late and loud. Start moving the thumb under while finger 3 is still playing E. In the left hand, going up, finger 3 crosses over the thumb to A; the same rule applies.

How to practice it. Hands separately first, slowly, one octave up and back down. Say the finger numbers out loud for a few rounds. Then play it with a steady beat, a metronome or a slow count of four, and only speed up once every note lands on the click. Put the hands together last.

What to listen for. The two half steps, E to F and B to C. They are the closest notes in the scale, and E to F is also where the right thumb crosses, so it is where unevenness shows first. If E to F arrives on time like every other step, the crossing is working.

What to learn next. G major, which adds one black key, F♯, and A minor, which uses the same seven white keys starting from A.

Questions

What are the notes of the C major scale?

C, D, E, F, G, A and B, then C again an octave up.

What chords are in the key of C major?

C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi and vii°.

What is the relative minor of C major?

A minor. It uses the same notes and the same key signature, starting on A.