Music Theory - Scale and Chord Theory




www.facebook.com/kimgrosemusic


Scale
Theory
Part
I
–
Mapping
Out
The
Basics
 
 Scales
are
simply
are
a
series
of
notes
set
to
a
particular
pattern.
This
sheet
will
map
out
all
of
the
 major
scales
in
a
simple
and
easy
to
use
format
then
move
on
to
the
minor
scales.

 
 First
we
need
to
define
what
semi‐tones
and
whole‐tones
are.

For
a
guitarist
the
simplest
way
to
 explain
a
semi‐tone
is
when
we
move
from
one
fret
up
(or
down)
to
the
next
fret,
moving
from
C
up
 to
C#
is
a
semi‐tone.

A
whole
tone
is
when
we
move
up
(or
down)
two
frets,
so
from
C
up
to
D.

 
 The
major
scale
is
8
notes
(technically
there
are
7
different
notes
and
the
8th
note
is
the
same
as
the
 first
so
we
will
call
it
1/8)
that
follow
a
pattern
of
semi
and
whole
tones:
whole‐tone,
whole‐tone,
 semi‐tone,
whole‐tone,
whole‐tone,
whole‐tone,
semi‐tone.

 
 Below
I
have
written
out
all
the
notes
(in
bold
moving
up
in
semitones)
starting
on
C.
Underneath
 that
I
have
written
out
the
C
major
scale
so
you
can
clearly
see
the
pattern
of
whole
and
semi
tones.
 We
start
with
C
because
it
does
not
have
any
sharps
of
flats
in
it.
Underneath
that
is
the
degree
of
the
 scale,
that
is
the
number
that
note
has
in
the
C
major
scale.

 
 C
 C
 1st



C#/Db
 
 


D
 D
 2nd



D#/Eb
 
 


E
 E
 3rd



F
 F
 4th



F#/Gb
 
 


G
 G
 5th



G#/Ab
 
 


A
 A
 6th



A#/Bb
 
 


B
 B
 7th



C
 C
 1st/8th




 Remember
moving
up
two
frets
is
called
a
whole‐tone,
moving
up
one
fret
is
called
a
semi‐tone.
After
 the
C
(1st/8th
)
the
pattern
repeats
D
(9th),
E
(10th),
F
(11th)
,
G
(12th)
etc.
Also
notice
that
the
scale
 moves
up
through
the
notes
in
alphabetical
order
C,
D,
E,
F
etc.

 
 Now
to
figure
out
all
the
other
major
scales
we
just
have
to
simply
follow
the
pattern.
But
before
we
 do
that
we
have
to
understand
a
few
simple
concepts.

 
 Simple
scales
like
the
major
and
minor
scales
like
to
use
either
all
sharps
(#)
or
all
flats
(b),
they
also
 like
to
use
each
letter
once
rather
than
repeat
the
same
letter
(e.g
F
&
F#).

Below
are
all
the
scales
 that
use
sharps
(including
C
major).
 
 C
 C
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#


C#/Db
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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


D#/Eb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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


F
 F
 C
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#


F#/Gb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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


G#/Ab
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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


A#/Bb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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


C
 C
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#




 There
are
a
few
things
you
need
to
notice
in
the
table.

Firstly
we
add
a
new
sharp
with
each
scale,
e.g
 G
major
has
one
sharp
(F#),
D
major
has
two
sharps
(F#,
C#)
and
A
major
has
three
sharps
(F#,
C#,
 G#).
Once
a
note
has
been
made
sharp
is
remains
so
for
the
rest
of
the
scales
in
the
table.
Also
notice
 that
the
new
sharp
is
added
to
the
scale
is
at
the
7th
note,
e.g
G
major
–
F#
(7th),
D
major
–C#
(7th),
A
 mojor
–
G#
(7th).
Finally
the
last
two
scales
(F#
&
C#)
are
interesting
due
to
the
use
of
E#
and
B#.
For
 the
E#
we
technically
play
an
F
there
but
because
scales
try
to
avoid
repeating
letters
we
call
it
E#.
 The
B#
is
technically
a
C
but
to
maintain
using
different
letters
in
the
scale
we
call
it
B#.

 
 One
final
thing
to
notice
is
that
the
first
note
of
each
scale
is
the
same
as
the
fifth
note
of
the
previous
 scale
e.g
G
is
the
5th
of
C
major,
D
is
the
5th
note
of
G
major
etc.
This
is
called
the
circle
of
5ths
,
it
sets
 the
order
of
the
scales
that
have
sharps.




www.facebook.com/kimgrosemusic


Now
we
can
move
on
to
the
scales
that
use
flats.
The
only
difference
is
we
will
use
the
4th
note
to
find
 out
what
the
1st
note
of
the
next
scale
is
e.g
C
majors
4th
note
is
F,
setting
the
next
scale
as
F
major.
 This
is
called
the
circle
of
4ths.
 
 C
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb
 Cb


C#/Db
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


D
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db


D#/Eb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


E
 E
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb


F
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb
 Cb
 Fb


F#/Gb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


G
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb


G#/Ab
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


A
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab


A#/Bb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


B
 B
 E
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb


C
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb
 Cb



 As
you
can
see
flats
work
a
little
differently
to
sharps.
First
off
the
new
flat
added
to
each
scale
is
the
 4th
note
(which
also
sets
the
next
scale)
e.g
F
major
‐
Bb
(4th),
B
major
–
Eb
(4th)
etc.
The
Gb & Cb
major
 scales
feature
a
Cb &
Fb
for
the
same
reason
as
the
E#
in
F#
major.
Each
scale
wants
to
use
different
 letters
rather
then
have
two
different
types
of
B’s
or
E’s.

 
 We
can
sum
up
our
circle
of
5ths
and our circle of 4ths to the following: From
C
Major
Scale
 Circle
of
5ths

 G
 F#
 D
 F#,
G#
 A
 F#,
G#,
C#
 E
 F#,
G#,
C#,
D#
 B
 F#,
G#,
C#,
D#,
A#
 F#
 F#,
G#,
C#,
D#,
A#,
E#
 C#
 F#,
G#,
C#,
D#,
A#,
E#,
B#





Cirlce
of
4ths

 F
 Bb
 Bb
 Bb,
Eb
 Eb
 Bb,
Eb,
Ab
 Ab
 Bb,
Eb,
Ab,
Db

 Db
 Bb,
Eb,
Ab,
Db,
Gb

 Gb
 Bb,
Eb,
Ab,
Db,
Gb,
Cb
 Cb
 Bb,
Eb,
Ab,
Db,
Gb,
Cb,
Fb


Below is the circle of 5th’s and the circle of 4th’s represented in its most common form – a circle.


 
 Now
we
are
ready
to
take
on
the
minor
scales.


www.facebook.com/kimgrosemusic


Scale
Theory
Part
II
–
The
Sad
Relatives
 
 Minor
scales
follow
the
same
principles
as
the
major
scales,
they
just
follow
a
different
pattern
of
 semi
and
whole
tones.
To
begin
with
I
will
map
out
the
A
minor
scale
because
it
has
no
sharps
or
 flats.
 
 A
 A
 1st


A#/Bb
 
 


B
 B
 2nd


C
 C
 3rd


D
 D
 4th


C#/Db
 
 


E
 E
 5th


D#/Eb
 
 


F
 F
 6th


G
 G
 7th


F#/Gb
 
 


G#/Ab
 
 


A
 A
 1st/8th




 Notice
that
the
pattern
is:
whole‐tone,
semi‐tone,
whole‐tone,
whole‐tone,
semitone,
whole‐tone,
 whole‐tone.
The
A
minor
uses
only
natural
notes
just
like
C
major
scale
only
uses
natural
notes.
This
 means
the
two
scales
are
using
the
same
notes,
they
just
start
at
different
points.
We
call
A
minor
the
 relative
minor
to
the
C
major
scale.

 
 C
 A



 


D
 B



 C


E
 


F
 D



 


G
 E



 F


A
 



 G


B
 


C
 A




 If
we
look
at
C
major
we
can
see
A
is
the
6th
degree.
This
is
how
we
can
find
out
what
the
relative
 minor
is
of
a
major
scale,
simply
find
the
6th
degree
of
the
major
scale.
If
we
look
at
the
A
minor
scale
 we
can
see
that
C
is
the
3rd
degree.
This
is
how
we
can
find
the
relative
major
scale
our
minor
scale,
 simply
find
the
3rd
degree
of
the
minor
scale.
 
 Below
are
all
the
minor
scales
from
the
circle
of
5ths
(using
sharps
only)
To
find
out
the
relative
major
 scale
just
identify
the
3rd
degree
of
each
scale
(in
turn
you
could
go
back
to
the
major
scales
and
 identify
their
relative
minor
by
checking
what
the
6th
degree
of
each
scale
is).

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


A#/Bb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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


C
 C
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#


C#/Db
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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


D#/Eb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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


F
 F
 C
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#


F#/Gb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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


G#/Ab
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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


E
 E
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F


F
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb
 Cb
 Fb


F#/Gb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


G
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb


G#/Ab
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


A
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab



 And
here
are
the
minor
scales
from
the
circle
of
4ths.
 
 A
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab


A#/Bb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


B
 B
 E
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb


C
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb
 Cb


C#/Db
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


D
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db


D#/Eb
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Bb
 Eb



 In
the
next
two
tables
I
have
compiled
all
the
major
scales
and
minor
scales
together.


www.facebook.com/kimgrosemusic


Major
Scales
 1
 C
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb
 Cb



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


2
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 D#
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


3
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 D#
 A#
 E#
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb


4
 F
 C
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb
 Cb
 Fb



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


5
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


*6
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 D#
 A#
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


7
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 D#
 A#
 E#
 B#
 E
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F


*3
 C
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 F



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


4
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 D#
 G
 C
 F



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


5
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 D#
 A#
 E#
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F


6
 F
 C
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb
 Cb
 Fb


1/8
 C
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 F


Bb


Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb
 Cb



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


7
 G
 D
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1/8
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 D#
 A#
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab


*Relative
minor
 
 Minor
Scales

 1
 A
 E
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 D#
 A#
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb
 Eb
 Ab



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


2
 B
 F#
 C#
 G#
 D#
 A#
 E#
 B#
 E
 A
 D
 G
 C
 F
 Bb


Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db
 Gb
 Cb


Bb
 Eb
 Ab
 Db


Bb
 Eb


*Relative
major





www.facebook.com/kimgrosemusic


Intervals
–
The
Space
Between
 


An
interval
is
the
space
between
one
note
to
another.
Intervals
have
specific
names
that
we
use
like
a
 short
hand
to
explain
the
distance
e,g
C
to
G
is
a
perfect
5th
rather
then
saying
C
to
G
is
7
semi‐tones.


 
 Below
is
a
table
of
intervals,
the
1st
column
is
the
name
of
the
interval,
the
second
column
is
the
 distance
in
semi‐tones
the
interval
is
from
the
start
note.
The
third
column
is
what
the
note
would
be
 using
C
as
a
start
point.
This
is
very
important
to
remember:
the
interval
is
the
distance
from
the
 start
point
and
the
other
note
e.g
F
is
a
perfect
4th
above
C.



 
 Interval

 Unison

 b2nd

 2nd

 Min
3rd

 Maj
3rd

 Perfect
4th

 b5
(or
dim
5th
or

aug
4th)

 Perfect
5th

 Min
6th
(or
#5th
or
aug
5th)

 Maj
6th

 Min
7th
(or
b7th) 
 Maj
7th

 Octave
 b9th

 9th

 Min
10th
(or
#9th)
(min
3rd
up
1
octave)

 Major
10th
(maj
3rd
up
1
octave)
 11th

 Augmented
11
 Perfect
12th
(perf
5th
up
1
octave)
 b13th

 13th



ST
 0
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
 10
 11
 12
 13
 14
 15
 16
 17
 18
 19
 20
 21


Note

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


www.facebook.com/kimgrosemusic


Chord
Theory
–
It’s
All
A
Numbers
Game
 


Chords
can
be
as
simple
or
as
complex
as
you
want.
First
it
is
important
to
remember
that
a
chord
 starts
with
the
major
or
minor
triad.
The
maj
triad
is
made
up
of
the
1st,
3rd
and
5th
notes
of
the
 respective
major
scale
and
the
min
triad
is
made
up
of
the
1st
3rd
and
5th
notes
of
the
respective
minor
 scale.

 
 So
the
C
major
chord
is
built
from
C
(1st),
E
(3rd)
and
G
(5th)
and
the
C
minor
chord
is
built
from
C
 (1st),
Eb (3rd)
and
G
(5th)
(If
you
are
having
trouble
with
this
concept
read
through
the
“Scale
Theory”
 section).
Once
you
have
your
triad
it
is
simply
adding
on
numbers
from
the
scale.

 
 Below
is
a
table
of
chords
and
what
they
are
made
up
of.
I
have
used
C
as
the
base
note
for
each
chord
 (known
as
the
root
or
the
tonic).
If
the
chord
has
the
word
min
in
the
name
it
means
it
is
from
the
C
 min
scale,
all
others
are
from
the
C
maj
scale.

The
first
column
is
the
name
of
the
chord,
in
the
second
 column
are
the
notes
that
make
up
that
chord
and
the
third
column
is
degree/interval
(straight
 numbers
are
the
degree
of
the
scale,
names
are
the
interval
from
C).

 
 Name

 C
maj
 C
min
 C
sus
2

 C
sus
4
 C
maj
7


 C
min
7
 C
dom
7
 C
min/maj
7
 C
6
 C
min
6
 C
6/9
 C
min
6/9
 C
9
 C
maj
9
 C
min
9
 C
11
 C
maj
11
 C
min
11
 C
13
 C
maj
13
 C
min
13
 C
diminished

 C
half
dim
 C
augmented
 C
add


Notes
 Degree/Interval
 C
E
G
 1
3
5

 1
min3
5

 C
Eb
G
 C
D
G
 1
2
5

 C
F
G
 1
4
5

 C
E
G
B

 1
3
5
7

 1
min3
5
min7

 C
Eb
G
Bb C
E
G
Bb
 1
3
5
b7
 1
min3
5
7

 C
Eb
G
B

 C
E
G
A
 1
3
5
6

 1
min3
5
6

 C
Eb
G
A C
E
G
A
D

 1
3
5
6
9

 1
min3
5
6
9

 C
Eb
G
A
D

 C
E
G
Bb
D

 1
3
5
b7
9
 C
E
G
B
D

 1
3
5
7
9

 1
min3
5
min7
9

 C
Eb
G
Bb
D
 C
E
G
Bb
F

 1
3
5
b7
11
 C
E
G
B
F

 1
3
5
7
11
 1
min3
5
min7
11

 C
Eb
G
Bb
F
 C
E
G
Bb
A

 1
3
5
b7
13
 C
E
G
B
A

 1
3
5
7
13
 1
min3
5
min7
13
 C
Eb
G
Bb
A

 C
Eb
Gb
A

 1
min3
b5
bb7
 C
Eb
Gb
Bb

 1
min3
b5
b7
 C
E
G#
 1
3
#5
 Add
the
degree
to
the
triad:
C
add
9
‐
C
E
G
D



Other
Info

 
 The
3rd
must
be
replaced
with
either
the
2nd
or
the
4th
to
 make
a
suspended
chord.
 


Always
use
the
major
6th
interval
for
each
of
these
chords.



You
can
leave
out
the
5th
but
the
1st,
3rd,
7th
9th/11th/13th
 must
be
present

in
the
chord.





1
3
5
9






www.facebook.com/kimgrosemusic