There are only twelve pitches in standard western music. After twelve, the pitches repeat but in the next higher register or “octave”. The interval between each pitch to the next is called a half-step. Two half-steps make a whole-step. An easy way to visualize this is to look at the keys on a piano. From one key to the next (including the black keys) is a half step.

A scale is a group of notes in succession. There are many different types of scales but by far the two most common are the major and minor scales. Let’s start with the major scale. All scales can be figured out by knowing the intervals that make up each scale. To make things easier, lets say W=whole step and H=half step. This is what the C major scale looks like:

The major scale can be thought of as the scale that most of the other scales are based off of. A complete list of major scales in every key can be found here.

»Minor Scales