Constructing Major Scales

Spelling Major Scales

Spelling?? You mean spelling counts? …Oh, Man!

I showed you how to convert the natural notes from G to G into a G major scale. And how to convert the natural notes from F to F into an F major scale as I was explaining the whole step and half step pattern for major scales. Now it’s your turn to spell some major scales yourself.

Change the following sets of notes to create major scales. Remember that when construction major scales compare two notes at a time to see if they fit the pattern needed. If they do not fit, then the second of the two notes must be changed by either raising of lowering it.

note: sharps () or flats () come before notes in standard notation, but after the English letters…like B . The whole step and half step patterns that you see underneath your homework below are what they should be once you have finished…not what they are right now.

You will never have both sharps and flats in the same major scale. If you do, then something is wrong. Also the first and last notes should be the same. If you start on a B note, then you should end on one.

And one more thing. You will run into notes like E and F, or B and C. Some times mistakenly people say that there are no such notes. But there are. It’s just that E sounds the same as an F note, and F sounds the same as an E. And B sounds the same as C and C sounds the same as B.

When spelling major scale you need to have every letter represented. So 7 different letters. So you would never have a F and an F in the same major scale. But you may have an E and an F in the same major scale. Yes they sound the same, but they are not the same when it comes to music theory.