scale
- twelve notes
- When you are learning how music works it is useful to imagine that there are only twelve different notes (that is, twelve different pitches.)
- octave
- Play middle C. Now play the next C above it (to the right on the keyboard). Notice how alike they sound. The same is true for all D's and all G's, and so on. So I'm going to concentrate on the twelve notes between middle C and the next C above it. Everything you learn about these twelve notes will apply to all notes.
- scale
- Very little music uses all 12 notes. Most of the time we in the West use only 7 of the 12 notes, in arrangements called scales. A scale is a collection of 5 or 6 or 7 (and sometimes more) of the 12 notes. We use two scales, mainly: major and minor.
- major scale
- Start at middle C and play every white note until you get to the next C. You have just played a major scale. It's the scale you use when you sing "do re mi fa so la ti do."