Major Scale: Theory & Ear Training

Mastery of the Major Scale is absolutely essential for your development as a musician for at least two big reasons:

(1) It is widely used in music all around the world.
(2) It provides a foundation for building a rich network of scale, chord, and chord progression mastery that integrates theory and ear training.

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C Major Scale Theory

1. The scale structure of the Major Scale is 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1. Always. No matter what key you are in.
2. The Solfege syllables of the Major Scale are Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do. Always. No matter what key you are in.
3. The only thing that changes when you change keys are the letter names.

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Major Scale Solfege Ear Training

Reading, playing, and singing the Solfege Syllables out loud is an extremely effective way to tune up your ears and to internalize the unique sound-feeling of each note in the scale with respect to the key center Do. Make sure to do this slowly enough for the unique sound-feeling of each Solfege Syllable to make a meaningful impression on your mind’s ear.

C Major Scale: Linear, Ascending…

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C Major Scale: Linear, Descending…

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C Major Scale: Do-X-Do, Ascending…

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C Major Scale: Do-X-Do, Descending…

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Note: While it’s possible to continue by singing a bunch of other musical patterns, the 80-20 Principle teaches us that a more efficient approach is to get your ear training material directly from the music that YOU want to play!

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learn more…
Natural Minor Scale: Theory & Ear Training