Lesson 3
Scales
In this lesson we will learn what a musical scale is and how to formulate and play a scale on the guitar
Scales
A musical scale is a sequence of notes (letters of the musical alphabet played on an instrument), ordered by sound frequency or pitch. Scales form the basis for chords and musical compositions. Understanding scales and their structures is essential to understanding musical theory. Scales are built on intervals. An interval is the space between the notes in a scale (more to come on intervals). Scales can move up or down the musical alphabet. An ascending scale is any scale which moves from a lower to a higher pitch. A descending scale is any scale which moves from a higher to a lower pitch.
So, how do we make a scale? All scales have a formula. A C-Major Scale is a good place to start as an example. The C-Major scale has all natural notes (a natural note is a note that is not sharp or flat, that is: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Not an A# or Bb, C# or Db, D# or Eb, etc.). And whenever we build a scale, we start with the root note (also called the tonic) of the scale. The root or tonic note is what gives the scale it's first or proper name. So guess what the root note of a C-Major scale is? It is a C note. C is the first note of the C-Major scale. So, how do we build a scale?
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The formula for a major scale is:
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W-W-H-W-W-W-H
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The "W" stands for "Whole Tone" and the "H" stands for "Half Tone". These are terms for intervals, which are the spaces between the notes, or distances between them. A Half-Tone is the space from one letter in the musical alphabet to the next letter. Thus, A to A# is a half-tone. A# to B is a half tone. B to C is a half- tone. C to C# is a half-tone. Etc. A Whole Tone is two spaces. Thus, A to B is a Whole Tone (that is, there are two musical letters in that space: A to A# and A# to B). B to C# is a whole tone. C# to D# is a whole tone. etc. Another term for Whole Tone and Half Tone are: Tone and Semi-tone respectively. A Tone is two spaces in the musical alphabet. A Semi-tone is one space.
A chromatic scale is a scale which uses all twelve letters of the musical alphabet and the intervals between the notes are all semi-tones (or half-tones). Whatever note you start on, that is the root note of the scale, and therefore the name of the scale. An A-Chromatic scale would start on the A-note and go through the rest of the musical alphabet: A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, and then back to A (an octave higher). Can you figure out what a C Chromatic scale is? (Hint: start with C). A C Chromatic Scale is:
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C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B
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And then you could end on the C note an octave higher from where you started. So, the chromatic scale is all of the letters of the musical alphabet in succession and whatever note you start on, that is the name of the scale. The chromatic scale forms the basis or building block for building all the other scales.
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Now, let's build the C-Major scale using our formula for the Major Scale. The formula for a Major Scale, once again, is: W-W-H-W-W-W-H. First we start with the C-Chromatic scale: C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, and C. Now, we apply the formula. The root note is C. So, we start on our chromatic scale at C. Next, we move up one whole step, or whole tone. So from C to C# to D is one whole tone. D is the second note in the C-Major Scale. Applying the formula for a Major Scale, the next note is a whole tone up from that. So, we move from D to D# to E. E is the third note in the C-Major Scale. So far we have: C (root note), D (whole tone), and E (whole tone). The next note is a half-tone up. A half tone up from E is F. Now we have C-D-E-F, that is (Root)-W-W-H. The next note is a whole tone up. A whole tone from F is G (F to F# to G). Now, we have: C, D, E, F, G. Next, another whole tone. A whole tone up from G is A (G to G# to A). So, now we have: C, D, E, F, G, A. Next, another whole tone. A whole tone up from A is B (A to A# to B). Finally, to complete the scale, we have a half-step. A half step up from B is C (B to C). So, now we have our C-Major Scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.
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So, how do we apply this to our guitar? We now have the notes of the C-Major Scale, so now how do we find and play them on our guitar?
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(More to come)
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