Level 2 (like Grade 2) · Unit 9 of 24

Major scales and key signatures

The pattern of whole steps and half steps that makes a major scale, and the key signatures that come from it.

By the end you will be able to:

write a major scale with the right sharps or flats
read key signatures up to three sharps or flats
name the key of a key signature

Learn

The major scale pattern

A major scale climbs eight notes from its key note (the tonic) to the same letter an octave higher, using every letter once. The steps always follow the same pattern: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. C major fits the pattern on white keys only; other scales need sharps or flats to fit it.

C major: the half steps are E–F and B–C.

Key signatures

Instead of writing the same sharps or flats again and again, music puts them at the start of every line: the key signature. Each sharp or flat in it applies to every note of that letter, in every octave, all the way through.

G major: one sharp (F♯).
D major: two sharps (F♯, C♯).
A major: three sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯).
F major: one flat (B♭).
B♭ major: two flats (B♭, E♭).
E♭ major: three flats (B♭, E♭, A♭).

G major with its key signature: the F is sharp without a sign of its own.

Finding the key

Sharps always come in the same order: F C G D A E B. Flats come in the reverse order: B E A D G C F. With sharps, the key note is one half step above the last sharp. With flats, the key is the second-to-last flat (and one flat is F major).

Your turn

Watch and listen, then practice with new questions every time – reading questions, and writing tasks you answer on the staff. Take the check when you are ready: 80% passes the unit.

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Level 2 is like Grade 2 music theory. These are Classfern’s own levels, not an exam board’s. Questions are made and graded by rules in your browser.