All 12 Major Scales

On this page you’ll find 12 major scales (plus a few more). The scales on this page are written in the treble clef.

If you want to see only the bass clef scales, go to bass clef scales. I also have a page of scales with the fingering for piano players at piano music scales.

How the 12 Major Scales Are Made

There are 2 ways to figure out how a scale is made. One is by knowing the key signature. When you know the key signature, you can start and end on the root note of that key.

The other way to figure out a one of the 12 major scales is by steps. In music there are half-steps and whole-steps. A half-step means going to the next closest note – higher or lower. A whole-step skips one note. On the piano, a half-step is usually the next black note from a white note. A whole-step is usually the next white note from a white note.

The Major Scale Formula

The formula for figuring out a major scale using whole-steps (WS) and half-steps (HS) goes like this:

Root – WS – WS – HS – WS – WS – WS –HS (Root)

The Major Scales

Now, here are the scales. (Note there are more than 12 scales written here. Some scales are called by different names but played the same.)

One more note, if you're trying to learn scales - try out the 8 Week Major Scale Challenge. It's free!

C major scale has no sharps or flats.

C major scale written out by note names:

C D E F G A B C.

Click here for C major scale and piano fingering.

G major scale has one sharp - F#.

G major scale written out by note names:

G A B C D E F# G

Click here for more on the G Major Scale, it's notes and fingering for piano.

D major scale has two sharps - F# C#.

D major scale written out by note names:

D E F# G A B C# D

For piano fingering for this scale, click here for the D major scale page.

A major scale has three sharps - F# C# G#.

A major scale written out by note names:

A B C# D E F# G# A

For piano fingering for the A major scale, click here.

E major scale has four sharps - F# C# G# D#.

E major scale written out by note names:

E F# G# A B C# D# E

Click here for piano fingering for the E major scale.

B major scale has five sharps - F# G# C# D# A#.

B major scale written out by note names:

B C# D# E F# G# A# B

F sharp major scale has 6 sharps: F# C# G# D# A# E#

F sharp major scale written out by note names:

F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#

C sharp major scale has 7 sharps - F# C# G# D# A# E# B#.

C sharp major scale written out by note names:

C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C#

F major scale has one flat - Bb.

F major scale written out by note names:

F G A Bb C D E F

Click here for piano fingering for F major scale.

B flat major scale has two flats - Bb Eb.

B flat major scale written out by note names:

Bb C D Eb F G A Bb

Click here for piano fingering for the B flat major scale.

E flat major scale has three flats - Bb Eb Ab.

E flat major scale written out by note names:

Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb.

A flat major scale has four flats - Bb Eb Ab Db.

A flat major scale written out by note names:

Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab

To learn the fingering for the Ab major scale, click here.

D flat major scale has five flats: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb.

D flat major scale written out by note names:

Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db

G flat major scale has six flats: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb.

G flat major scale written out by note names:

Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Db Eb F Gb

C flat major scale has seven flats: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb.

C flat major scale written out by note names:

Cb Db Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb

As you’ve seen, this page has all 12 major scales. There are also other types of scales. And there are lots of great reasons why to learn your scales.

You can see the piano scales for beginners that I recommend here. (You don't need to learn all of them at once.)

If you’re interested in playing or learning different types of scales, check out the list of musical scales. On this page you’ll find some of the more traditional scales to play.

To see the minor scales, click here. Learn about natural minor vs harmonic minor scales.

There are also different modes for scales. These tend to be the less traditional scales. To check those out, go to music scale modes. Also, you can see the pentatonic scales here.

Happy playing!

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