The following are the scale degree names in major keys. A whole step or whole tone is simply two half steps. This pattern is most commonly a white key to a black key, but the white key notes E to F and B to C are also half-steps. Any two piano keys that are next to one another are a half step apart. An interval is the distance between two notes.

The half step or semitone is the smallest interval in tonal music. Since much of the music we listen to and teach is from this period, we will begin by discussing the major and minor scales. Western music from about 1600-1900, which is called the Common Practice Period, primarily uses major and minor scales.

Scales are successions of pitches arranged in half steps and whole steps. This is the note C4 or middle C in the treble, alto, tenor, and bass clefs. Tenor clef is commonly used by bass clef instruments when playing in their highest registers. The concept can also be illustrated on the piano keyboard. A pitch class includes all the notes with the same name – for example pitch class C. All the pitches from a given C up to, but not including the next C, are in the same octave register. We say “C4” rather than just “C” when we want to identify middle C. Octave register designations allow us to name a specific pitch. Ledger lines are used to extend the range above and below the staff. The grand staff consists of two staves joined by a brace. The treble clef is normally used for higher pitches, and the bass clef is normally used for lower pitches. Pitches are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet, also called the musical alphabet, and are notated on a staff. Pitch refers to how high or low a note sounds.

A flat major scale treble clef