Scale (music) facts for kids
In music, a scale is a group of musical notes. These notes are played one after another, either going up or down in pitch. Pitch means how high or low a sound is. When notes go higher, it's an ascending scale. When they go lower, it's a descending scale. Sometimes, the notes in an ascending scale are different from the notes in a descending scale. An example is the melodic minor scale.
The distance between notes in a scale is important. These distances are measured in "tones" (also called whole steps) and "semitones" (also called half steps). Different types of scales have different patterns of these steps.
Imagine a piano with its white and black keys. If you start on the note C and play only the white keys going up, you will play a C Major scale. You play until you reach the next C. This scale has eight notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and then the next C. Scales can also go up and then come back down.
Click below to hear a C major scale.
Sometimes, people sing the major scale using special words: "doh, reh, mih, fah, soh, lah, tih, doh." You might remember this from the film The Sound of Music. In the movie, Maria teaches the children to sing with a song called "Doe, a deer, a female deer." Each line of the song starts on the next note of the scale.
Contents
Starting a Major Scale
You can start a major scale on any note. There are twelve different notes you can choose to start from:
- C (or B♯)
- C♯ (or D♭)
- D
- E♭ (or D#)
- E (or F♭)
- F (or E♯)
- G♭ (or F♯)
- G
- G♯ (or A♭)
- A
- B♭ (or A♯)
- B (or C♭)
No matter where you start, the distances between the notes must stay the same. For example, from C to D is a tone. This is because there is a note (C#) in between them. From E to F is a semitone, because there is no note between them.
Major Scale Pattern
The pattern of steps for any major scale is always the same:
- Note 1 to Note 2: tone
- Note 2 to Note 3: tone
- Note 3 to Note 4: semitone
- Note 4 to Note 5: tone
- Note 5 to Note 6: tone
- Note 6 to Note 7: tone
- Note 7 to Note 8: semitone
Let's look at some examples. A major scale starting on D would be: D (tone) E (tone) F♯ (semitone) G (tone) A (tone) B (tone) C♯ (semitone) D.
A major scale starting on E♭ would be: E♭ (tone) F (tone) G (semitone) A♭ (tone) B♭ (tone) C (tone) D (semitone) E♭.
Other Types of Scales
A minor scale often sounds a bit sad. Its pattern of tones and semitones is different from a major scale. There are two main kinds of minor scales: harmonic and melodic.
There are also chromatic scales, where every step is a semitone. And there are whole-tone scales, where every step is a tone.
Why Practice Scales?
Practicing scales is very important for musicians. It helps people who play instruments make their fingers strong and quick. For singers, it helps warm up their voice. Practicing scales also helps you learn many different finger patterns. These patterns will help you play all sorts of musical pieces more easily.
Related pages
See also
In Spanish: Escala musical para niños
