Before learning the major scales or any scales for that matter, it's important that you have a basic understanding of what "half steps" and "whole steps" are. I don't know about you, but I'm a huge fan of simplicity. So, simply put, whole steps SKIP a key and half step DON'T. For example, if you started on C and went to D, that would be a Whole Step because you skipped a key (C# / Db). Now if you started on C and went to the black key C# / Db that would be a half step because you DIDN'T skip and keys. So, again, Whole Steps= Skip a key. Half Steps= No Key Skip.
Now it's your turn. If you start on E and go to F...is that a whole step or a half step? If you said half step then you nailed it. Why is a half step? Well you know that there was no note that was skipped! Well done.
Now that you know how to find a whole and half step, you can now play a major scale. The formula for any major scale is R W W H W W W H (Root, Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half). The root is the first note that you're starting on. So if we started on C and wanted to play a major scale using the formula above, it would look something like this: C (root), D (whole), E (whole), F (half), G (whole), A (whole), B (whole), C (half). Ta-da!! You can use this formula for any key you pick. Now, try it. Just pick a random key and use this formula.
Now that you have the formula down, lets focus on how to play the Major scale smoothly so you can play it fast without tripping over your fingers. So, assuming you have five fingers on your right hand and not six, your fingers are going to be coded as follows: Thumb=1, Pointer=2, Middle=3, Ring=4, Pinky=5. This will apply to BOTH hands. When you're going from E to F, you'll need to tuck your thumb (1) under your middle finger (3) to make it a smooth transition. There we go! Go ahead and bust out this formula with the right fingers for both the RIGHT HAND and the LEFT HAND. You'll be speedy in no time!
R W W H W W W H
RH 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5
LH 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1
Until Next Time,
Dale Jessee
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