2.2: The Major Scale
2.2 The Major Scale
A major scale contains a specific succession of whole and half steps. It is helpful to think of the pattern as consisting of two tetrachords. (A tetrachord is a four-note scale segment.) The lower tetrachord consists of the pattern whole step, whole step, half step. A whole step joins the lower tetrachord to the upper tetrachord. The upper tetrachord duplicates the pattern in the lower one: whole step, whole step, half step. If we use W for whole step and H for half step, the major scale pattern is W–W–H, Whole–step connection, W–W–H.
All major scales use the notes of the musical alphabet in order; no notes are skipped and no notes occur twice. In the example above, the first four notes are DD–EE–FF♯–GG, not DD–EE–GG♭–GG. In DD–EE–GG♭–GG, GG erroneously occurs twice and the FF♯between EE and GG is skipped.