How A Scale Is Made

 
There are 2 ways to figure out how a scale is made. One is by knowing the key signature. When you know the key signature, you can start and end on the root note of that key. 

The other way to figure out a one of the 12 major scales is by steps. In music there are half-steps and whole-steps. A half-step means going to the next closest note – higher or lower. A whole-step skips one note. On the piano, a half-step is usually the next black note from a white note. A whole-step is usually the next white note from a white note.

The formula for figuring out a major scale using whole-steps (WS) and half-steps (HS) goes like this:

Root – WS – WS – HS – WS – WS – WS –HS (Root)

Now, here are the scales. (Note there are more than 12 scales written here. Some scales are called by different names but played the same.)

 G Major Scale

D Major Scale

A Major Scale

E Major Scale

B Major Scale

F# Major Scale

C# Major Scale

F Major Scale

Bb Major Scale

Eb Major Scale

Ab Major Scale

Db Major Scale

Gb Major Scale

Cb Major Scale

As you’ve seen, this page has all 12 major scales. There are also other types of scales. If you’re interested in playing or learning different types of scales, check out the list of musical scales. On this page you’ll find some of the more traditional scales to play. To see the minor scales, click here.

There are also different modes for scales. These tend to be the less traditional scales. To check those out, go to music scale modes.  Also, you can see the pentatonic scales here. Happy playing!