Major scale

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A major scale is a sequence of musical notes containing a major triad on the tonic. Most commonly, the term "major scale" refers to the natural major scale (or Ionian mode), which is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at double its frequency so that it is called a higher octave of the same note (from Latin "octavus", the eighth). A major scale consists of seven unique note names. They are organized in whole (W) and half (H) steps in the following sequence: W-W-H-W-W-W-H. The first notes is called the tonic and is the pitch the scale is based on. The tonic is repeated at the end of the scale an octave away. The notes C–D–E–F–G–A–B–C form a major scale beginning on C (Do). Some lesser-used scales are also sometimes called major scales, such as the harmonic major scale, the melodic major scale, and the Lydian and Mixolydian diatonic...

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