This chart shows the Seven Steps of a Major Scale and then applies those steps to the notes/chords of the major scales.
If you don't already have this chart, print it out and follow the explanation below.
The first thing that you can do with this chart is find the Major Chords in any key! Using the Numbering System (sometimes called the Nashville Numbering System) can help you find these chords. The Root chord (or note) is always "1". The three chords used in any Major Key are always "1-4-5". Look at the keys of C and G, which are our most popular keys. In the key of C-- the chords will be C--F--G. In the key of G, they will be G--C--D.
You can use this chart anytime to find your basic chords for each Key. There is an even better way to do it. However, it may require some work. You have to remember, in major keys, the interval (step or space) between the 3rd and 4th notes, and the 7th and 8th notes, are HALF steps, not WHOLE steps. Each step between LETTER notes are WHOLE steps, except for B-C and E-F.
EXAMPLE: You just start out on any LETTER note. Let's pick.. D. Okay we start with the Root Note "D". The first two steps are whole steps. The first step goes from D to E. Then we find that the next whole step cannot be from E--F because E--F is a HALF step. So we must raise it to F#. The next step in the scale (3 to 4) is a HALF step, so it ends up at G.
G--A, A--B are both WHOLE Steps. The last WHOLE step starts at "B" but the next note cannot be "C" because B--C is a HALF step. So again, we have to raise the C up to C#. And once again, the last HALF step (7 to 8) brings us back to D.
If this doesn't make any sense to you, go over it about 3 or 4 times, and if it still doesn't seem to make sense to you, ask me to go over it in person. It's NOT that difficult, once you get the hang of the Musical Alphabet (A--G) the Major Scale pattern (1-8). It's like an overlay. You take the alphabet notes and lay them over the Scale pattern. And if a step from one alphabet letter to the next doesn't fit the Scale pattern, then you have to either go up or down a Half Step to get to the next note. It's quite simple-- don't make it hard!
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At the top of the chart, the row "Seven Major Scale Steps" which shows the seven steps numerically. This is a sliding scale, meaning that we take the seven numeric steps and apply them to each scale, inserting the proper Notes or letter names.
There is a system or pattern to each scale. The Major Scale pattern is----
To understand the Scale Steps of any scale, you have to understand the fundamental logic of the musical alphabet. Look at a piano keyboard. There are white keys (notes) and there are black keys (notes). The white keys are natural notes (A--B--C) and the black keys are sharps and flats of those notes. (A# etc) Normally, from one alphabet note to another is a WHOLE step. (A to B, etc.) There are two places within the musical alphabet where there are basically NO sharp or flat notes. Those are the notes E--F and the notes B--C. Whenever you come to an "E" note or a "B" note, the next step is a HALF step. If you can memorize or remember this, and not forget it, it will allow you to totally understand the concept of scales.
On the guitar, there are no WHITE notes and BLACK notes; therefore, you have to know that a WHOLE step is TWO frets. And therefore, a HALF step is ONE fret. Each fret on the guitar equals to a HALF step. All steps from one alphabet note to the next are TWO frets except from E--F and B--C, which are ONE fret.
The "C" scale is the only PERFECT scale with NO sharps and NO flats. The sequence of the "C" scale aligns the whole steps and half steps in perfect order. Whenever you go from the "C" scale to the other scales, there will always be sharps or flats. You use the scale pattern to figure out where these notes occur.
In the chart above, the scales are listed in Alphabetical Order, not in order of Flats or Sharps. Start at the TOP with the numeric scale (1-8) and then see where those scale steps indicate a flat or sharp. We've made it easy for you by placing the notes in the proper places. Where there is a NOTE under a scale step, it is a natural note (A--B--C--D--E--F--G). Where there is a BLANK SPACE, it indicates that it is a sharp of the preceding note or flat of the following note.
For example, in the "A" scale, you notice there are BLANK SPACES under the 3rd and 6th steps. This indicates that, instead of a "C" or "F" note, those steps are actually "C#" and "F#". Does this make sense? If NOT, keep looking it over. Try to look at it in its simplest form. Don't try to complicate it. It's just seven steps.
Easy enough? If it's not making sense yet, just remember-- this is not Beginner Guitar stuff. This is the Beginning of learning Music Theory. You may be asking, "How does THIS help me be a better guitar player?" It may not help your technique, but it definitely will help your understanding of what you are playing. And this will eventually make a BIG difference in your playing.
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