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The Major Scale

In this article, we move from considering intervals between pairs of notes, to the sequences of notes that we call scales – and in particular, at the most important scale in Western music, and the one we will use in singing prostopinije

The major scale

In our discussion of musical intervals, we talked about the following major and perfect intervals:

major second - major third - perfect fourth - perfect fifth - major sixth - major seventh - octave

If we start with a fixed pitch (the tonic) and sort these intervals by increasing size, we get a sequence of eight notes, where the last note is the same as the first but an octave higher; this is called the major scale. A scale is an orderly sequence of musical notes, usually arranged in ascending or descending order.

listen to a major scale

This is the most common scale used in Western music.

Naming the steps (degrees) of the major scale

A major scale can be sung starting on any pitch; this starting pitch is called the tonic. Each of the notes in the scale is called a "degree" of the scale. By tradition, the following names are assigned to the degrees of the major scale:

These names are pronounced:

doh - ray - me - fah - sew - lah - tee - doh

Before continuing, repeat these names for the degrees of the major scale to yourself, in order, until you have them completely memorized. These names for the scale degrees were invented in the Middle Ages as a way to teach and learn the form of a musical melody, independent of any words that were to be sung. It became possible to write down the scale degrees, so that someone else could properly sing a tune they had never heard before. This way of method of singing is called solfeggio or solfege ("sole-fedge"), from the names sol and fa. (In English, we sometimes use "sol" instead of "so.")

Learning the degrees of the major scale

In the Metropolitan Cantor Institute program, we use the following song to help students memorize the relationships between musical intervals, and the sound of the various degrees of the major scale.

The Interval Song

DO up to RE is a major second;
DO up to MI is a major third;
DO up to FA is a perfect fourth;
DO up to SO is a perfect fifth;
DO up to LA is a major sixth;
DO up to TI is a major seventh;
DO up to DO is a perfect octave.

DO down to TI is a minor second;
DO down to LA is a minor third;
DO down to SO is a perfect fourth;
DO down to FA is a perfect fifth;
DO down to MI is a minor sixth;
DO down to RE is a minor seventh;
DO down to DO is a perfect octave.

Print off the interval song and listen to this recording, then practice the song yourself until you can sing it reliably. You can start singing the interval song on any pitch in the middle of your range.

Exercise: Use the Theta Music Trainer games Paddle Pitch and Tone Drops to help you learn to recognize the solfege names of the major scale degrees, and use Vocal Degrees (Major) to practice singing them.

Letter names for scale degrees

Solfege was not the only way invented to "write down" melodies. Other musicians during the Middle Ages assigned the letters A through G to the seven pitches – but for various reasons, they started with C:

Now, in two places on the major scale, the pitch interval between consecutive degrees of the scale is the same a minor second, or half step:

• the interval from mi to fa (E to F)
• the interval from ti to do (B to C)

Everywhere else, the interval between the scale degress is a major second, or whole step.

Raising and lowering scale degrees

Sometimes we need to sing the pitches “in between” two notes separated by a whole step. 

• To represent the pitch a half step above a particular note, we add a small crosshatch after the name of the note; this symbol is called a sharp sign.  So C# (“C sharp”) is a half step above C.
• To represent the pitch a half below a particular note, we add a mark like a small italic b after the name of the note; this symbol is called a flat sign.  So Eb (“E flat”) is a half step below E.

Solfege has its own way to talk about these "altered" scale degrees. For example, do raised by a half-step is sung as di (pronounced "dee"), and so raised by a half-step becomes si ("see"). These altered names are particularly important when we talk about minor scales, and will be be defined as we need them.

Our plain chant, which is neither major nor minor in the Western sense, can be sung using the major scale with just a few variations, which we will teach as necessary.