The Major Scale
The major scale is a series of 8 notes in alphabetical order that has the familiar sound:
Thus the C major scale contains the following notes.
The distance between each note is two frets except for EF and BC where the distance is only one fret.
A distance of two frets is called a tone, indicated by T.
A distance of one fret is called a semitone, indicated by ST.
The Octave
An octave is the range of 8 notes of a major scale. The first note and last note of a major scale always have the same name. In the C major scale the distance from the first C to the C note above it is one octave (8 notes). The following example is one octave of the C major scale.
C Major Scale
Each of the 8 notes in the major scale is given a scale number, or scale degree. These are the numbers under the above notation.
The distance between any two notes is called an interval. In any major scale the interval between the 3rd and 4th notes, and the 7th and 8th notes of the scale is one semitone apart; i.e. they are one fret apart. All other notes are one tone (2 frets) apart.
