Piano: Major scales and keys

Major scales

How do I play a scale on a piano? It takes practice, but it can be perfect. You can become skilled at scales over time. According to ScalesChords, learning scales makes music easier for one to play in any key.

Piano Keyboard Guide mentions that pianists most often play major scales of all scales and that students should master the major ones first.

How does a major scale work? According to Piano Keyboard Guide, the major scale formula for steps on the piano is W W H W W W H. W means whole steps and H means half steps. This formula results in the following notes with the C major scale: C D E F G A B C.

Piano Keyboard Guide also states to know whether there is a whole step or half step between keys is to see whether there is a jump with notes. For example, the site indicates that the C major scale has B and C and E and F as half steps because if you look closely at a piano, there are no black keys between these white keys. On the other hand, C to D is a whole step because there is a D-flat (Db), also known as a C-sharp (C#), between those two notes.

In addition, Piano Keyboard Guide lists the following keys and scales, as shown in the video of me playing above:

C major: C D E F G A B C

Db major: Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db (C# major: C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C# is the same scale)

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

Eb major: Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb

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

F major: F G A Bb C D E F

Gb major: Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb (F# major: F# G# A# B C# D# E# F# is the same scale)

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

Ab major: Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab

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

Bb major: Bb C D Eb F G A Bb

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

Major keys

What is a key? According to Hello Music Theory, a key has a combination of notes or pitches that it most often uses from scales. For example, if a song has all of the G major notes, then that song is likely in the key of G major.

HelloMusicTheory also says you can learn a song’s key by looking at the key signature on sheet music after a clef sign at the start.

What are some popular songs in each major key?

The list below shows a few songs in each key which Hooktheory says are in these keys. Hooktheory also helps you learn how to play songs on the piano, as shown in the links below.

C major: Imagine by John Lennon, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen and Piano Man by Billy Joel

Db major: Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For by U2 and Umbrella by Rihanna

D major: I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith, Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Love Story by Taylor Swift

Eb major: When We Were Young by Adele, Fix You by Coldplay and Still The One by Shania Twain

E major: Don’t Stop Believing by Journey, Candle In The Wind by Elton John and Hey Soul Sister by Train

F major: The Scientist by Coldplay, Yesterday by The Beatles and I’m Not The Only One by Sam Smith

F# major (Also known as Gb major): YMCA by Village People, Sky Full Of Stars by Coldplay and Yellow Submarine by The Beatles

G major: All You Need Is Love by The Beatles, The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby and Shake It Off by Taylor Swift

Ab major: Somebody To Love by Queen, Perfect by Ed Sheeran and Over My Head – Cable Car by The Fray

A major: Someone Like You by Adele, Dancing Queen by ABBA and Take On Me by A-ha

Bb major: Rocket Man by Elton John, Purple Rain by Prince and A Thousand Years by Christina Perri

B major: Yellow by Coldplay, Memories by Maroon 5 and Afterglow by Ed Sheeran

I hope you learned a lot about major scales and keys. In the next related article, I will cover minor scales and keys and how they relate to major keys.