ESSENT IAL
MUSIC TH EORY
CHE ATSH EE T
V. 2
The Major Scale:
• The major scale is the standard way to think about and communicate music, so it’s very
important to know it well
• It’s created using a pattern of half-steps and whole-steps:
• Wh, Wh, 1/2, Wh, Wh, Wh, 1/2
• Rather that saying the note names all the time (although that’s good too!), we can
simplify the scale into numbers, where “1” is the root note
• This is especially useful for the guitar!
•See the table below for all of the major scales at a glance!
Relative
All Major Scales minor
root
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C D E F G A B
F G A Bb C D E
Bb C D Eb F G A
Eb F G Ab Bb C D
Ab Bb C Db Eb F G
Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C
Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F
Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb
C# D# E# F# G# A# B#
F# G# A# B C# D# E#
B C# D# E F# G# A#
E F# G# A B C# D#
A B C# D E F# G#
D E F# G A B C#
G A B C D E F#
Triads (3 note chords):
• Our most basic chords in music have just 3 notes
• These “triads” are built with notes 1 (root), 3, and 5 for any given chord
• Refer to the table above to see what 1, 3, and 5 would be for every note
• Triads exist in 4 basic forms (called “qualities”), see below for the formulas
• Keep in mind at (b) moves a note down a 1/2 step, and sharp (#) moves a note up a
1/2 step
Major (Maj) 1 3 5 Augmented (Aug, or +) 1 3 #5
C C E G C+ C E G#
minor (min) 1 b3 5 diminished (dim, or °) 1 b3 b5
Cmin C Eb G C° C Eb Gb
• Below are all the diatonic (“of the major scale”) triads. Notice the chord qualities also
follow a pattern: I Maj, II min, III min, IV Maj, V Maj, VI min, VII dim
• This is where number systems, like the “Nashville” system, come from
Diatonic Triads
I IIm IIIm IV V VIm VII°
C Dm Em F G Am B°
F Gm Am Bb C Dm E°
Bb Cm Dm Eb F Gm A°
Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb Cm D°
Ab Bbm Cm Db Eb Fm G°
Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab Bbm C°
Gb Abm Bbm Cb Db Ebm F°
Cb Dbm Ebm Fb Gb Abm Bb°
C# D#m E#m F# G# A#m B#°
F# G#m A#m B C# D#m E#°
B C#m D#m E F# G#m A#°
E F#m G#m A B C#m D#°
A Bm C#m D E F#m G#°
D Em F#m G A Bm C#°
G Am Bm C D Em F#°
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7th Chords (4 note chords):
•Adding one more note to triads, the 7, gives us more chord possibilities
Major 7 (Maj7, Δ7) 1 3 5 7 Dominant 7 (7) 1 3 5 b7
CΔ7 C E G B C7 C E G Bb
minor 7 (min7, -7) 1 b3 5 b7 minor 7b5 (-7b5) 1 b3 b5 b7
C-7 C Eb G Bb C-7b5 C Eb Gb Bb
diminished 7 (dim7, °7) 1 b3 b5 bb7 Dominant 7#5 (7#5) 1 3 #5 b7
C°7 C Eb Gb Bbb (A) C7#5 C E G# Bb
•Notice as the chords get more complex (C7#5), the chord symbol gives us directions
• I.E. “Play C dominant 7 but with a sharp 5”
• There’s plenty of other 7th chords, but they all follow the same logic
•Just as diatonic triads had a pattern, so do diatonic 7th chords!
• IΔ7, II-7, III-7, IVΔ7, V7, VI-7, VII-7b5
Diatonic 7th Chords
I∆7 II-7 III-7 IV∆7 V7 VI-7 VII-7b5
CΔ7 D-7 E-7 FΔ7 G7 A-7 B-7b5
FΔ7 G-7 A-7 BbΔ7 C7 D-7 E-7b5
BbΔ7 C-7 D-7 EbΔ7 F7 G-7 A-7b5
EbΔ7 F-7 G-7 AbΔ7 Bb7 C-7 D-7b5
AbΔ7 Bb-7 C-7 DbΔ7 Eb7 F-7 G-7b5
DbΔ7 Eb-7 F-7 GbΔ7 Ab7 Bb-7 C-7b5
GbΔ7 Ab-7 Bb-7 CbΔ7 Db7 Eb-7 F-7b5
CbΔ7 Db-7 Eb-7 FbΔ7 Gb7 Ab-7 Bb-7b5
C#Δ7 D#-7 E#-7 F#Δ7 G#7 A#-7 B#-7b5
F#Δ7 G#-7 A#-7 BΔ7 C#7 D#-7 E#-7b5
BΔ7 C#-7 D#-7 EΔ7 F#7 G#-7 A#-7b5
EΔ7 F#-7 G#-7 AΔ7 B7 C#-7 D#-7b5
AΔ7 B-7 C#-7 DΔ7 E7 F#-7 G#-7b5
DΔ7 E-7 F#-7 GΔ7 A7 B-7 C#-7b5
GΔ7 A-7 B-7 CΔ7 D7 E-7 F#-7b5
Chord Inversions:
•If we used all the above chords in their 1,3, 5, (or 7) order, music would be boring
• We can switch the order- we call these inversions:
Root position 1st inv. 2nd inv.
135 351 513
CEG EGC GCE
• 7th chords give us an additional inversion
Root position 1st inv. 2nd inv. 3rd inv.
1357 3571 5713 7135
CEGB EGBC GBCE BCEG
• All inversions can be applied to every chord quality
Other Chord Formulas:
Sus2 1 2 5 6 chord 1 3 5 6
C sus2 C D G C6 C E G A
Sus4 1 4 5 min 6 chord 1 b3 5 6
C sus4 C F G C-6 C Eb G A
Lydian Triad (rare) 1 3 #4 Power Chord 1 5
C lyd. C E F# C5 C G
Other Scale Formulas:
Dorian 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 Harmonic minor 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7
Phrygian 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 Melodic minor 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7
Lydian 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 Major Pentatonic 1 2 3 5 6
Mixolydian 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 Minor Pentatonic 1 b3 4 5 b7
Aeolian (Natural
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 Whole tone 1 2 3 #4 #5 b7
minor)
Locrian 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
Observations:
• Notice how all of our chord formulas are derived from the major scales of each note.
• Notice how useful it is (and easier) to use numbers as “placeholders” for those notes.
• If nothing else, I hope this brief (but dense!) document shows how fundamental major
scales are to the language of music theory. They really tell the whole story, and by
understanding the major scale you are one step closer to becoming a music theory
master!
