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C - major

Scale Degrees and Intervals

Scale Degrees and Intervals

This text describes what scale degrees and intervals are, and how that will make playing and understanding scales and chords easier.

;

This is the second part of a three part tutorial on music theory for guitarists, here you can find part one on notes and pitch, the first part will cover everything to understand this second part. Here you can also find part three on harmonizing scales and the Nashville number system, it will use the knowledge acquired in this part to explain what musical key is and how chords in a given key are derived

;

When playing a melody on any single instrument, it does not really matter what note you start at, the melody will be perceived and experienced the same as long as the difference in pitch between the notes played are the same.

;

If you start playing a melody on the third, fifth or seventh fret on the the D string it will still be the same melody.

;

Note names are telling you what pitch you play, but music and melody is about the difference in pitch between the notes you play, so instead of using the names for pitch, A, B, C etc. it is often more convenient to talk about pitch in between notes.

;

One way to describe relative pitch in between notes is to use scale degrees. Scale degrees use figures 1 to 7 to represent notes for the first octave, then 8 to 15 for the second octave, and so on. The first scale degree "1", refers to the tonic and is the reference note from which each octave begin, the rest of the scale degrees tells the distance to the tonic and indicate their particular function within a scale. Below are samples showing how notes are translated to scale degrees, with C and A as tonic.

;
1♯1 ♭22♯2 ♭334♯4 ♭55♯5 ♭66♯6 ♭77
CC♯ D♭DD♯ E♭EFF♯ G♭GG♯ A♭AA♯ B♭B
AA♯ B♭BB♯ CC♯DD♯ E♭EE♯ FF♯F♯♯ GG♯
;

Using only 7 symbols 1, 2, 3 up to 7 to represent all 12 notes in the chromatic scale, the flat "♭" and sharp "♯" symbols are added in front of the scale degrees. Using a flat or sharp sign before the scale degree depends on context.

;

Adjacent scale degrees can be directly translated to adjacent frets on the fretboard, to move one scale degree you move one fret.

;
1.
F - major
Degrees
E
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
B
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
G
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
D
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
A
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
E
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
0123456789101112
2.
F - major
Notes
E
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
B♭
C♭
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
B
C♭
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
B♭
C♭
G
G
A♭
A
B♭
C♭
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
F
G♭
G
D
D
E♭
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
B♭
C♭
C
D♭
D
A
A
B♭
C♭
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
E
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
B♭
C♭
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
0123456789101112

Scales

;

The C-major scale contain the notes, C, D, E, F, G, A and B, and the D-major scale, D, E, F♯, G, A, B and C♯, the two scales contain different notes but the difference in pitch between the notes in both scales are the same, in fact all major scales have the same pitch in between notes and can be represented by the scale degrees 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Often it is enough to just remember the note behind the tonic, this will often tell you what key the scale you play is in, and what chord you play.

;

Instead of learning each and every note in every major scale C to B, and map that out on the fretboard it is a lot easier to learn the scales by looking at the common single scale degree pattern.

;

The thing is that all scale patterns will remain the same no matter what the tonic is, the patterns will just move to another position on the neck.

;
3.
C - major
Major scale octave
E
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
B
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
G
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
D
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
A
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
E
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
0123456789101112
4.
D - major
Major scale octave
E
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
B
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
G
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
D
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
A
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
E
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
0123456789101112

Chords

;

Chords are also described using scale degrees. In a scale the first note, the reference note is called the tonic, when describing chords the first note, the reference note is instead called the root note.

;

The root note for an E chord is the note E, for an A chord the root is A etc. A major chord is described by the scale degrees 1, 3 and 5, and a minor chord, 1, ♭3 and 5.

;
5.
E - major
E Major Triad
o oo
0
1
4
♭7
♭3
5
1
1
♭2
♭5
7
3
♭6
♭2
2
2
5
1
4
6
2
6.
A - minor
A - Minor Triad
xo o
0
5
1
4
♭7
2
5
1
♭6
♭2
♭5
7
♭3
♭6
2
6
2
5
1
3
6

Different scale degrees have different qualities, and will be perceived differently in relation to the tonic and root, one example is when playing a ♭3 or 3 after the tonic, playing 1 then ♭3 will sound sad/minor, and playing 1 then 3 will sound happier/major. Below is a table showing the scale degrees used for the triad and 7th chords.

;
Major135
Minor1♭35
Diminished1♭3♭5
Augmented13♯5
;
Major 7th1357
Minor 7th1♭35♭7
Augmented 7th13♯5♭7
Diminished 7th1♭3♭56
Dominant 7th135♭7
Minor 7th - b51♭3♭5♭7
;

As well as scales chords are movable in the same way, chords that are not played using open strings are easier to move. Below you see a C, F and G chord using the exact same shape.

;
7.
C - major
C
F
G
E
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
B
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
G
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
D
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
A
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
E
3
4
♭5
5
♭6
6
♭7
7
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
0123456789101112
8.
C - major
C
F
G
E
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
B♭
B
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
B
B
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
B♭
B
G
G
A♭
A
B♭
B
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
F
G♭
G
D
D
E♭
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
B♭
B
C
D♭
D
A
A
B♭
B
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
E
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
B♭
B
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
0123456789101112

Intervals

;

Intervals is another way to describe distance between notes, scale degrees use the tonic or root as reference then numbers to describe the relative distance, intervals describes the immediate distance between notes. On guitar intervals can be translated to the number frets in between notes.

;

The major scale contain the scale degrees 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. If you look at the distance between the scale degrees using the chromatic scale as a ruler you find the intervals. If there is one step in the chromatic scale between two scale degrees the interval is said to be one whole step and between two adjacent scale degrees the distance is said to be one half step.

;
1♭22♭334♭55♭66♭77
1234567
wwhwww
12♭345♭6♭7
whwwhw
;

The major scale represented in terms of intervals is the following list: w, w, h, w, w, w, h, where w and h is whole and half-step, on guitar a whole step is one fret in between and a half step is an adjacent fret.

;

This text describes what scale degrees and intervals are, and how that will make playing and understanding scales and chords easier.

;

This is the second part of a three part tutorial on music theory for guitarists, here you can find part one on notes and pitch, the first part will cover everything to understand this second part. Here you can also find part three on harmonizing scales and the Nashville number system, it will use the knowledge acquired in this part to explain what musical key is and how chords in a given key are derived

;

When playing a melody on any single instrument, it does not really matter what note you start at, the melody will be perceived and experienced the same as long as the difference in pitch between the notes played are the same.

;

If you start playing a melody on the third, fifth or seventh fret on the the D string it will still be the same melody.

;

Note names are telling you what pitch you play, but music and melody is about the difference in pitch between the notes you play, so instead of using the names for pitch, A, B, C etc. it is often more convenient to talk about pitch in between notes.

;

One way to describe relative pitch in between notes is to use scale degrees. Scale degrees use figures 1 to 7 to represent notes for the first octave, then 8 to 15 for the second octave, and so on. The first scale degree "1", refers to the tonic and is the reference note from which each octave begin, the rest of the scale degrees tells the distance to the tonic and indicate their particular function within a scale. Below are samples showing how notes are translated to scale degrees, with C and A as tonic.

;
1♯1 ♭22♯2 ♭334♯4 ♭55♯5 ♭66♯6 ♭77
CC♯ D♭DD♯ E♭EFF♯ G♭GG♯ A♭AA♯ B♭B
AA♯ B♭BB♯ CC♯DD♯ E♭EE♯ FF♯F♯♯ GG♯
;

Using only 7 symbols 1, 2, 3 up to 7 to represent all 12 notes in the chromatic scale, the flat "♭" and sharp "♯" symbols are added in front of the scale degrees. Using a flat or sharp sign before the scale degree depends on context.

;

Adjacent scale degrees can be directly translated to adjacent frets on the fretboard, to move one scale degree you move one fret.

;
1.
F - major
Degrees
EADGBE
0
7
3
6
2
♭5
7
1
1
4
♭7
♭3
5
1
2
♭2
♭5
7
3
♭6
♭2
3
2
5
1
4
6
2
4
♭3
♭6
♭2
♭5
♭7
♭3
5
3
6
2
5
7
3
6
4
♭7
♭3
♭6
1
4
7
♭5
7
3
6
♭2
♭5
8
5
1
4
♭7
2
5
9
♭6
♭2
♭5
7
♭3
♭6
10
6
2
5
1
3
6
11
♭7
♭3
♭6
♭2
4
♭7
12
7
3
6
2
♭5
7
2.
F - major
Notes
EADGBE
0
E
A
D
G
C♭
E
1
F
B♭
E♭
A♭
C
F
2
G♭
C♭
E
A
D♭
G♭
3
G
C
F
B♭
D
G
4
A♭
D♭
G♭
C♭
E♭
A♭
5
A
D
G
C
E
A
6
B♭
E♭
A♭
D♭
F
B♭
7
C♭
E
A
D
G♭
C♭
8
C
F
B♭
E♭
G
C
9
D♭
G♭
C♭
E
A♭
D♭
10
D
G
C
F
A
D
11
E♭
A♭
D♭
G♭
B♭
E♭
12
E
A
D
G
C♭
E

Scales

;

The C-major scale contain the notes, C, D, E, F, G, A and B, and the D-major scale, D, E, F♯, G, A, B and C♯, the two scales contain different notes but the difference in pitch between the notes in both scales are the same, in fact all major scales have the same pitch in between notes and can be represented by the scale degrees 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Often it is enough to just remember the note behind the tonic, this will often tell you what key the scale you play is in, and what chord you play.

;

Instead of learning each and every note in every major scale C to B, and map that out on the fretboard it is a lot easier to learn the scales by looking at the common single scale degree pattern.

;

The thing is that all scale patterns will remain the same no matter what the tonic is, the patterns will just move to another position on the neck.

;
3.
C - major
Major scale octave
EADGBE
0
3
6
2
5
7
3
1
4
♭7
♭3
♭6
1
4
2
♭5
7
3
6
♭2
♭5
3
5
1
4
♭7
2
5
4
♭6
♭2
♭5
7
♭3
♭6
5
6
2
5
1
3
6
6
♭7
♭3
♭6
♭2
4
♭7
7
7
3
6
2
♭5
7
8
1
4
♭7
♭3
5
1
9
♭2
♭5
7
3
♭6
♭2
10
2
5
1
4
6
2
11
♭3
♭6
♭2
♭5
♭7
♭3
12
3
6
2
5
7
3
4.
D - major
Major scale octave
EADGBE
0
2
5
1
4
6
2
1
♭3
♭6
♭2
♭5
♭7
♭3
2
3
6
2
5
7
3
3
4
♭7
♭3
♭6
1
4
4
♭5
7
3
6
♭2
♭5
5
5
1
4
♭7
2
5
6
♭6
♭2
♭5
7
♭3
♭6
7
6
2
5
1
3
6
8
♭7
♭3
♭6
♭2
4
♭7
9
7
3
6
2
♭5
7
10
1
4
♭7
♭3
5
1
11
♭2
♭5
7
3
♭6
♭2
12
2
5
1
4
6
2

Chords

;

Chords are also described using scale degrees. In a scale the first note, the reference note is called the tonic, when describing chords the first note, the reference note is instead called the root note.

;

The root note for an E chord is the note E, for an A chord the root is A etc. A major chord is described by the scale degrees 1, 3 and 5, and a minor chord, 1, ♭3 and 5.

;
5.
E - major
E Major Triad
o oo
0
1
4
♭7
♭3
5
1
1
♭2
♭5
7
3
♭6
♭2
2
2
5
1
4
6
2
6.
A - minor
A - Minor Triad
xo o
0
5
1
4
♭7
2
5
1
♭6
♭2
♭5
7
♭3
♭6
2
6
2
5
1
3
6

Different scale degrees have different qualities, and will be perceived differently in relation to the tonic and root, one example is when playing a ♭3 or 3 after the tonic, playing 1 then ♭3 will sound sad/minor, and playing 1 then 3 will sound happier/major. Below is a table showing the scale degrees used for the triad and 7th chords.

;
Major135
Minor1♭35
Diminished1♭3♭5
Augmented13♯5
;
Major 7th1357
Minor 7th1♭35♭7
Augmented 7th13♯5♭7
Diminished 7th1♭3♭56
Dominant 7th135♭7
Minor 7th - b51♭3♭5♭7
;

As well as scales chords are movable in the same way, chords that are not played using open strings are easier to move. Below you see a C, F and G chord using the exact same shape.

;
7.
C - major
C
F
G
EADGBE
0
3
6
2
5
7
3
1
4
♭7
♭3
♭6
1
4
2
♭5
7
3
6
♭2
♭5
3
5
1
4
♭7
2
5
4
♭6
♭2
♭5
7
♭3
♭6
5
6
2
5
1
3
6
6
♭7
♭3
♭6
♭2
4
♭7
7
7
3
6
2
♭5
7
8
1
4
♭7
♭3
5
1
9
♭2
♭5
7
3
♭6
♭2
10
2
5
1
4
6
2
11
♭3
♭6
♭2
♭5
♭7
♭3
12
3
6
2
5
7
3
8.
C - major
C
F
G
EADGBE
0
E
A
D
G
B
E
1
F
B♭
E♭
A♭
C
F
2
G♭
B
E
A
D♭
G♭
3
G
C
F
B♭
D
G
4
A♭
D♭
G♭
B
E♭
A♭
5
A
D
G
C
E
A
6
B♭
E♭
A♭
D♭
F
B♭
7
B
E
A
D
G♭
B
8
C
F
B♭
E♭
G
C
9
D♭
G♭
B
E
A♭
D♭
10
D
G
C
F
A
D
11
E♭
A♭
D♭
G♭
B♭
E♭
12
E
A
D
G
B
E

Intervals

;

Intervals is another way to describe distance between notes, scale degrees use the tonic or root as reference then numbers to describe the relative distance, intervals describes the immediate distance between notes. On guitar intervals can be translated to the number frets in between notes.

;

The major scale contain the scale degrees 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. If you look at the distance between the scale degrees using the chromatic scale as a ruler you find the intervals. If there is one step in the chromatic scale between two scale degrees the interval is said to be one whole step and between two adjacent scale degrees the distance is said to be one half step.

;
1♭22♭334♭55♭66♭77
1234567
wwhwww
12♭345♭6♭7
whwwhw
;

The major scale represented in terms of intervals is the following list: w, w, h, w, w, w, h, where w and h is whole and half-step, on guitar a whole step is one fret in between and a half step is an adjacent fret.

;
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