C Major Scale on guitar
The major scale is the most important scale in Western music. It has a bright, happy sound. The pattern of whole and half steps is: W-W-H-W-W-W-H.
The notes of C Major Scale
Built on C, the scale degrees spell out like this. The degree is the number you would call that note relative to C:
Where it lands on the fretboard
Every fret from the open string up to the 12th that belongs to the C Major Scale, string by string. Root notes are highlighted.
- Low E: 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12
- A: 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12
- D: 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12
- G: 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12
- B: 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12
- High E: 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12
Your anchor points: C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. Start every pattern from one of those and you always know where home is.
Start by learning this scale in C (no sharps or flats), then try G and D.
Chords that fit
These chords from RiffRoute's library use only notes inside the C Major Scale, so they will not clash with it:
Same notes, different home
These scales contain exactly the same notes as the C Major Scale. The fretboard pattern is identical — what changes is which note you treat as home:
Other C scales
Same starting note, different colour. Switching between these over one C chord is the quickest way to hear what each scale does:
The Major scale in other keys
Practise it in the app
A list of frets only gets you so far. RiffRoute shows the C Major Scale lit up on a full fretboard, plays it back and lets you practise it against a backing track.