Music Theory Basics: The Major Scale in 10 Minutes

Music theory doesn’t have to be intimidating. The major scale is the foundation for melodies, chords, and songwriting. Here’s the simplest way to understand it.

The pattern

Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half

Try it in C major

C D E F G A B C

What it unlocks

• Building chords (triads) from scale notes

• Finding the key of a song

• Writing melodies that sound ‘in’

Quick exercise

• Pick any note as your starting point

• Apply the W-W-H-W-W-W-H pattern

• Play it slowly and say the note names

Next up: how to build the 7 chords in a key (the ‘diatonic’ chords) and use them to write progressions.