Brainlag Plus

Major and minor scales

Music theory, Keys and scales, 16 minutes

The pattern of tones and semitones in a major scale, the harmonic and melodic minor scales, and how exam questions ask you to complete or correct a scale.

The major scale

Every major scale has the same pattern of steps: tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone. The semitones fall between degrees 3 and 4 and 7 and 8.

D major: semitones between 3 and 4 (F sharp to G) and between 7 and 8 (C sharp to D)

Scales in exam questions are written in semibreves, one octave, with or without a key signature. Without one, each note carries its own accidental.

The rest of this lesson and its 6 practice questions are in Plus.

Screen 1 of 5, free to read.

6 exam-style questions, marked as you go, each with a worked solution
Anything you get wrong is saved to your flashcards

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