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Explanation
Piano scales have shapes similar to piano chords. Use these shapes as a visual aid to scale structure.
We will use broken lines for scales and solid lines for chords.
Table 1 gives C and the sharp scales.
Table 2 gives C and the flat scales.
Structure of Major Scale (Ionian)
Scales are built in two halves called tetrachords (Lower and Upper.) Each tetrachord contains four notes.
x x xx x x xx R= Root
R 1 1 ˝ 1 1 1 ˝ 1= whole tone (two piano keys)
Lower Upper ˝ = ˝ tone (one piano key)
Interval Whole: Whole: Half: Whole: Whole: Whole: Half
Piano keys R 2 2 1 2 2 2 1
do re mi fa so la ti do
Building Scales
If you take the upper tetrachord of the C major scale and add a tetrachord to the right you get all the scales for the sharp keys.
If you take the lower tetrachord of the C major scale and add a tatrachord to the left you get all the scales for the flat keys.
Observation:
All the scales in the area of the two black keys (C, Db, D, Eb, E) have the same shape for both tetrachords.
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