The Basics of Melody and Chord Construction - The Major Scale

The first concept that we will be exploring will be the fundamental basis for all tuned instruments - The Major Scale.

In order for any of the notes to be understood, first one should learn the notes on the musical staff for the Treble Clef, otherwise known as a G Clef, which is usually the only stave read by guitarists, unless you play bass guitar.



There are only 7 letters in the musical alphabet: A B C D E F G

The lines on the staff represent a rising sequence of pitches. The pitch of a sound can be broadly defined as how high, or how low, it sounds. If something sounds high, like a shriek, it can be classified as high pitched. When something sounds low, like a growl, it can be classified as low pitched.

The lowest line on the staff represents an E above middle C. The space above it is an F. The line above that F is a G. This carries on, through A, B, C, D, and E in the last space before the highest line on the staff, where the cycle repeats itself again.

Hence, one can remember the notes on the staff easily by remembering that the spaces from bottom to top follow the sequence F, A, C, E. The lines from bottom to top follow the sequence E, G, B, D, F. It will appear a little clearer once you are able to put the sound of the note to its name.

For convenience's sake, we will start with the major scale in the key of C.

note: A scale is a sequence of notes ranging from 5 to 12 notes that can be repeated succesively, going higher and higher, or lower and lower. It is from these scales that we derive melodies, or tunes, or construct chords to accompany the existing melody.



This is the Major Scale in the key of C, both ascending and descending. Notice there are no #(Sharp) or b(flat) signs on the staff. We will go into further detail about this later, but for now just accept that a staff without sharps or flats means that we are in the key of C, for simplicity's sake. The notes are : C D E F G A B C

Some of you may be familiar with the sound of this Scale. Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do.

Some technical terms here to accompany the roman numerals above each note, which denote the degrees of the scale, don't be too intimidated:

I - Tonic (Root)
II - Supertonic (Major Second)
III- Mediant (Major Third)
IV - Subdominant (Perfect Fourth)
V- Dominant (Perfect Fifth)
VI- Submediant (Major Sixth)
VII- Leading (Major Seventh)


The bracketed terms are the names of those notes relative to the first note. This will be further explored when we discuss harmony.

The non-bracketed terms are the names of the notes relative to the Key. For example, as the notes in the scale are C D E F G A B C , the notes of the scale could be classified as below.

C - Tonic (Root)
D - Supertonic (Major Second)
E- Mediant (Major Third)
F - Subdominant (Perfect Fourth)
G- Dominant (Perfect Fifth)
A- Submediant (Major Sixth)
B- Leading (Major Seventh)
C- Tonic (Octave)

As you probably noticed, there is an extra note in this chart. That note would be the C that is accompanied by a bracketed "Octave". Octaves are not notes. Octaves are relationships between notes. So if I were to say, the Octave of C, i would mean, either the 8th degree of the scale, or the note 12 semitones above root C.

Okay, that's enough information for today, you'll probably forget most of it, but not to worry, if you refer back to this article now and then, it'll sink in and become second nature.

These concepts can be applied onto guitar, and so i'll leave you with an exercise to concretize this information and give it form. What is most important is that you can hear the difference, rather than only know it on paper.

This is a fretboard diagram:



Eventually you will have to memorise all of these notes. It is like learning what note is what on a keyboard. No more, no less, apart from the fact that you can probably play the same note on 3 different places in the fretboard.

For now, refer to this diagram and play the major scale up and down, saying the letter-name of each note before you play it. Don't try to do it fast, the point of the exercise is knowing how to play the major scale and recognising the sound, and most importantly, being able to recognise when a mistake is made and correct it.

Play each note for an equal period of time, take your time, and if you want to, you can try this one on for size:



I usually discourage the use of tabs, so try to find out where these notes are on your own. Change the rhythm, play around, have fun.

LOVE,
XIAO AN