PIANO LESSONS No.

5A
i'm sure you've read somewhere here at PianistAkOnline
about C-Major scale, right? ito kasi ang pinaka-easiest na
gamitin na scale for illustration purposes coz walang
accidentals present in this scale: no sharps... no flats. so,
anu-ano ba itong major scales na ito? how many major
scales do we have? bakit? saan? paano? kailan?
huwaattttt?!?!?
^_^v

HOW

DO

WE

MAKE

SCALE?

there are two ways on how a scale is made... one is by

knowing the key signature and the other is by steps (
whole step and half step formula ). i'll be using the whole
step-half step formula with the corresponding piano
fingering for each scale para ma-practice mo how to play
it sa piano at para madali ninyo ma-remember ^_^v

Guidelines to remember in making, spelling or

naming a major scale:

start on the letter ( pitch ) from which the scale is

named ascending to its octave;
use all seven letter names ( pitch names ). never skip
a letter name ( pitch name );
do not repeat any letter names ( except the octave or
ending pitch );
never mix sharps and flats in the same scale;
follow the pattern W-W-H-W-W-W-H;

except for F major, all other major scales that

contain flats, have "flat" in their names;
except for C and F, all scale names without sharps or
flats, the letter names are sharp scales.

MAJOR SCALE
major scale is generally the first scale na ginagamit at
itinuturo because of its familiarity. madali lang kasi ito
compared sa ibang types of scale. there are 12 major
scales and it follows the pattern:

W - W - H - W - W -W - H
ano naman yang W-W-H-W-W-W-H? hmmmm hindi ka
ba nagbabasa, kasasabi ko palang na pattern yan eh!
hahahaha Wstands for whole step and H stands for half
step. are you lost? hindi mo alam ang whole step and half
step? hala, sige balik ka sa MUSIC

FOR STARTERS:
TERMINOLOGY
12

Major

READING
SYMBOLS and

Scales

remember last time, i gave you instructions to

remember 7 white keys since the 5 black keys on top of
them are just sharps and flats of those white keys. ilan
lahat sila? 'di ba 12 lahat yung keys.... at sila ang bida sa

mga Scales na yan... let's start sa pinaka madaling Major

Scale...
ang
C
Major
Scale.

C Major Scale
the easiest major scale dahil walang sharp(s) and flat(s).
use the pattern na binigay ko ha: W-W-H-W-W-W-H.
ganito lang yan. see figure 5a.1.

Figure 5a.1.
C Major Scale

where:
from
C
to
D
from
D
to
E
from
E
to
F
from
F
to
G
from
G
to
A
from
A
to
B
from B to C ( octave ) = Half step

=
=
=
=
=
=

Whole
Whole
Half
Whole
Whole
Whole

step
step
step
step
step
step

note:
notice how i named the notes on this scale. if i use the
pattern whole step-half step as basis, the spelling of scale
would be:

Figure 5a.1.a.
incorrect
C D E E# G A B B#

following the guidelines in naming / spelling the scale,

the above spelling of the scale is incorrect although tama
naman kung tutuusin kasi ang half step ng E is E# and B
is B# right?! but according sa guidelines, never repeat
letter names ( except for the octaves ) within a scale. in
other words if you already used E and the next note that
you need is a half-step higher, think of the next note as F.
see figure 5a.1.b.

Figure 5a.1.b.
correct
C D E F G A B C

piano fingering for C Major Scale

Right
Left

Hand 123-1234-5
Hand 5-4321-321

or you can see it here kung hindi mo alam kung para saan
yang numbers na yan.... hindi yan pang-lotto okay
hahahaha read previous topic para maliwanagan ka! hehe
^_^v Piano

Lesson No. 5: Piano Scales.

now let's move on sa different Major Scales. you'd see

here a lot of accidentals ( sharps and flats ) so i hope you
know them already. be aware lang that although sabi ko
there are only 12 Major Scales, you'll be seeing here 15
Major Scale illustrations ( i'll divide this into two parts,
scales with sharps and scales with flats ).

why only 12?

kasi 3 from these 15 are enharmonic scales meaning same
rin sa sound, same keys played on the piano keyboard

pero different lang ang name or tawag kaya 'wag

masyado malito okay... if you're confused about
enharmonics try to read againPiano

Lesson No.

4: Intervals and Accidentals.

Major Scales with Sharps

G

Major

Scale

in this scale, you will see one ( 1 ) sharp present, F. you

might wonder bakit F key or F note ang may sharp,

bakit hindi G key or G note since G Major ang

tawag.... okay, teka lang... 'wag kang high blood! lulz
ganito yun... 'di ba sabi dun sa guidelines in making a
scale, start on the letter name from which the scale is
named... meaning for this major scale, the starting key or
note for this scale eh yung G. kung C Major yan eh 'di C
ang starting key or note. kung Ab ( A flat ) Major yan eh
'di Ab ( A flat ) ang starting key or note ng scale mo... gets
ba?! so in this case, G Major Scale, starting key note is G
and since susundan natin ang pattern ng major scale na
W-W-H-W-W-W-H, si F note ang mapalad na didikitan
ni sharp ( kasi nasa sharp major scales nga itong ineexplain ko, mamaya flats major scales naman )! hehe just
remember that major scale pattern na yan kasi applicable
yan sa lahat ng Major Scales okay... see Figure 5a.2.

Figure 5a.2.
G Major Scale

where:
from
from
from
from
from
from
from

piano
Right
Left

G
A
B
C
D
E
F#

to
to
to
to
to
to
to

A
B
C
D
E
F#
G (

fingering

octave

for

= Whole
= Whole
=
Half
= Whole
= Whole
=
Whole
) = Half

step
step
step
step
step
step
step

Major
Scale
Hand 123-1234-5
Hand 5-4321-321

for the piano fingering, ang ibig sabihin lang ng mga

numbers na yan eh G = 1 A = 2 B = 3 C = 1 D = 2 E = 3 F#
= 4 G = 5. try to play this scale sa piano keyboard and
follow
the
piano
fingerings.

D Major Scale
this time 2 sharps na ang meron sa scale na ito... hulaan
nyo... dali-dali!!!! tsadannnnn it's F and C. don't worry
i'll explain sa coming lessons why ganito ang
pagkakasunod-sunod ng sharps and flats

Figure 5a.3.
D Major Scale

piano

fingering

Right
Left

for

Major
Scale
Hand 123-1234-5
Hand 5-4321-321

A Major Scale
3 sharps: F C and G. i won't be explaining further just
study the pictures since given naman na yung pattern, try
to play it slowly sa piano keyboard, one by one. you'll
notice na hindi sintunado yung sound kahit saang key ka
magstart. laging buo. yung piano fingering.... walang
nabago... tuloy ang practice ^_^v

Figure 5a.4.
A Major Scale

piano

fingering

for

Right
Left

Major
Scale
Hand 123-1234-5
Hand 5-4321-321

E Major Scale
4 sharps: F C G and D. same pa rin ang piano fingering...

Figure 5a.5.
E Major Scale

piano
Right

fingering

for

Major
Scale
Hand 123-1234-5

Hand 5-4321-321

Left

B Major Scale
5 sharps: F C G D and A. dami ng sharps.^_^v

Figure 5a.6.
B Major Scale

piano

fingering

for

Right
Left

Major
Scale
Hand 123-1234-5
Hand 4321-4321

F sharp ( F# ) Major Scale

6 sharps: F C G D A and E. whew kaya pa ba!? ^_^v

Figure 5a.7.
F sharp ( F# ) Major Scale

note:
at this point, different na yung piano fingerings na
gagamitin natin dito... different in a sense na hindi na 1
or yung thumb ang gagamitin natin for the first note
but.... finger number 2 or yung forefinger.

Question: why does F sharp ( F# ) Major Scale starts

with forefinger instead of my thumb? why?!?! why?!?!
Answer:
o ayan ka nanaman ang BP mo hahaha ^_^v well,
generally, we do not use thumb to play black keys or
black notes. the structure of the thumb makes it difficult
and slow to reach a black note. masyadong bansot si
thumb kaya mahirap minsan i-play ang black keys gamit
ito. so usually for the black keys or notes, finger no. 2 or
finger no. 3 ang tumutugtog sa mga yun.the only
exception would be is when you're playing a piano piece
na
puro
black
keys
ang
tutugtugin.

piano fingering for F sharp ( F# ) Major Scale

Right
Hand 234-123-12
Left
Hand 4321-321-2

C sharp ( C# ) Major Scale

7 sharps: F C G D A E and B. this is the last major scale
with sharps.

Figure 5a.8.
C sharp ( C# ) Major Scale

piano fingering for C sharp ( C# ) Major Scale

Right
Hand 23-1234-12
Left
Hand 321-4321-2

Major Scales with Flats

Major

Scale

we will now move on to scales with flats. at itong scale na

ito ang unang-una na may 1 flat: B. still, using the same
pattern W-W-H-W-W-W-H ito ang kalalabasan ng scale:

Figure 5a.9.
F Major Scale

piano

fingering

for

Right
Left

Major
Scale
Hand 1234-1234
Hand 5-4321-321

B flat ( Bb ) Major Scale

2 flats: B and E

Figure 5a.10.
B flat ( Bb ) Major Scale

piano fingering for B flat ( Bb ) Major Scale

Right
Hand 2-123-1234
Left
Hand 321-4321-2

E flat ( Eb ) Major Scale

3 flats: B E and A

Figure 5a.11.
E flat ( Eb ) Major Scale

piano fingering for E flat ( Eb ) Major Scale

Hand 2-1234-123
Hand 321-4321-2

Right
Left

A flat ( Ab ) Major Scale

4 flats: B E A and D

Figure 5a.12.
A flat ( Ab ) Major Scale

piano fingering for A flat ( Ab ) Major Scale

Right
Hand 23-123-123
Left
Hand 321-4321-2

D flat ( Db ) Major Scale

5 flats: B E A D and G

Figure 5a.13.
D flat ( Db ) Major Scale

piano fingering for D flat ( Db ) Major Scale

Right
Hand 23-1234-12
Left
Hand 321-4321-2

G flat ( Gb ) Major Scale

6 flats: B E A D G and C

Figure 5a.14.
G flat ( Gb ) Major Scale

piano fingering for G flat ( Gb ) Major Scale

Right
Hand 234-123-12
Left
Hand 4321-321-2

C flat ( Cb ) Major Scale

7 flats: B E A D G C and F

Figure 5a.15.
C flat ( Cb ) Major Scale

piano fingering for C flat ( Cb ) Major Scale

Right
Hand 123-1234-5
Left
Hand 4321-4321

to summarize these major scales...

C# Major Scale
F# Major Scale
B Major Scale
E Major Scale
A Major Scale

7 sharps ( F C G D A E and B )
6 sharps ( F C G D A and E
5 sharps ( F C G D and A )
4 sharps ( F C G and D )
3 sharps ( F C and G )

D Major Scale
2 sharps ( F and C )
G Major Scale
1 sharp ( F )
C Major Scale
no accidentals present ( no sharps, no
flats )
F
Major
Scale
1
flat
(
B
)
Bb Major Scale
2 flats ( B and E )
Eb Major Scale
3 flats ( B E and A )
Ab Major Scale
4 flats ( B E A and D )
Db Major Scale
5 flats ( B E A D and G
Gb Major Scale
6 flats ( B E A D G and C )
Cb Major Scale
7 flats ( B E A D G C and F)

note:
actually, kung gagamitin ko pa yung ibang enharmonic
notes like E sharp ( which is actually F ) or B sharp (
which is C ) or C flat ( which is B ) or F flat ( which is E )
eh parang pampagulo lang lalo yun... hahaha imagine
this:
if i follow the guidelines in naming scales, i'll end up with
12
major
scales
namely:

C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A

A#/Bb
B
if i include the enharmonic scales, i'll end up with these
major
scales
namely:

C C# Db D D# Eb E F F# Gb G G# Ab A A#
Bb
B
if isasama ko pa yung E# B# Cb and Fb, that's.......
kalokohan! itigil mo na ang pagbibilang lulz

still confused?!
hmmm...
let's
see....
scales
with
sharps: G
D
A
E B F# C#
scales with flats: F
Bb
Eb
Ab Db Gb Cb
no
sharp,
no
flat: C

ito yung 15 major scales. bakit hindi kasama yung ibang

scales like E# or D# etc? una: magreview ka nga ng
previous lessons lulz, pangalawa, basahin mo ulit yung
guidelines in naming scales ( scroll up up up ). applying
everything sa guidelines ito ang kalalabasan 15 major
scales PERO, since 3 dito eh enharmonically equivalent,
magiging 12 major scales nalang sila pag binilang mo.
western music has only 12 unique tones and there are
only 12 possible major scales. out of these 15 major scales
na nilagay ko dito, 3 of which are enharmonic scales:
C sharp ( C# ) Major = D flat ( Db ) Major
F sharp ( F # ) Major = G flat ( Gb ) Major
B
Major
=
C
flat
(
Cb
)
Major
they may differ in the type of accidentals used, number of
accidentals used and different scale names BUT if you
play that scale sa piano keyboard, they sound the same,

the keys are the same kaya nga sila tinawag na

enharmonically
equivalent.

oh please, sana naiintindihan naaaaaa!!!! if not, just

read it again... i challenge you to try reading other piano
lessons online, baka lalo ka mawindang... haha ^_^v

there you have it, 12 Major Scales at kung may Major

siyempre mayroon ding minor. i'll explain it briefly sa
next lesson. if you're good to go then read Piano

Lesson No. 5b: Minor Scales