♪ Episode 2 of 7

Your First Scale

7 notes. One formula. The foundation of every key you'll ever use.
Master this, and you can build any scale from scratch.

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From Episode 1

The chromatic scale has 12 notes. Now you're learning to select 7 of them to form a major scale — using whole steps (W) and half steps (H).

Major Scale Builder

Pick a root note to build its major scale
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Select Root Note

Choose a key to build its major scale

Major Scale Formula:

W → W → H → W → W → W → H

W = Whole step (2 semitones) | H = Half step (1 semitone)

Result — C Major Scale

1 C
2 D
3 E
4 F
5 G
6 A
7 B

The 7 Chords in This Key

Each scale degree builds a chord. The pattern is always the same.

Remember: Every major key has the same chord pattern:

I (major) → ii (minor) → iii (minor) → IV (major) → V (major) → vi (minor) → vii° (diminished)

Scale Degrees Explained

Each note in the scale has a name and a role. Click any degree to hear its chord.

1 I
Tonic Home base. The key center. Feels resolved.
2 ii
Supertonic Adds movement. Often leads to V or vi.
3 iii
Mediant Color note. Bridges I and V. Often meditative.
4 IV
Subdominant Creates forward motion. Wants to move somewhere.
5 V
Dominant Maximum tension. Strongly pulls back to I.
6 vi
Submediant Relative minor. Emotional, introspective.
7 vii°
Leading Tone Urgently wants to resolve up to I. Unstable.
Difficulty:

Fill in the missing scale notes. The keyboard shows only the notes in this key.

Key: C Major
● Middle C (C4)
Click keys or use keyboard: A W S E D F T G Y H U J K