Printable chart
Major scales chart: all 15 major scales
All 15 major scales on one printable chart: note names, sharps and flats, the W-W-H-W-W-W-H step pattern, staff notation and sound. Free PDF, two pages.
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The 15 major scales in one line each
There are 15 major scales in standard notation: C major with no sharps or flats, 7 sharp keys (G, D, A, E, B, F♯, C♯) and 7 flat keys (F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭). Every one is built the same way, from its first note: W W H W W W H (whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step). Only the starting note changes; the sharps or flats are whatever the pattern needs.
- 15 scales written
- 12 that sound different
- 3 enharmonic pairs
- 182 automatic checks on the data
On this page: printable chart with staves · every note in a table · how the pattern builds a scale · enharmonic pairs · keys in real music · questions
Major scales chart page 1 of 2
C major and the seven sharp keys
Pattern, going up from the first note (W = whole step, H = half step): W – W – H – W – W – W – H. The small letters between the note names show each step.
musictheoryprint.com/charts/major-scales-chart · Free to print and share. Each scale is written with the key signature of its key.
Major scales chart page 2 of 2
The seven flat keys
Pattern, going up from the first note (W = whole step, H = half step): W – W – H – W – W – W – H. The small letters between the note names show each step.
musictheoryprint.com/charts/major-scales-chart · Free to print and share. Each scale is written with the key signature of its key.
All 15 major scales, note by note
Read across for one scale, or down a column to compare the same scale degree in every key. Notes with a sharp or flat are in bold: they are exactly the notes of the key signature.
| Major scale | Key signature | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Relative minor | Key page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C major | none | C | D | E | F | G | A | B | A minor | C major |
| G major | 1♯ | G | A | B | C | D | E | F♯ | E minor | G major |
| D major | 2♯ | D | E | F♯ | G | A | B | C♯ | B minor | D major |
| A major | 3♯ | A | B | C♯ | D | E | F♯ | G♯ | F♯ minor | A major |
| E major | 4♯ | E | F♯ | G♯ | A | B | C♯ | D♯ | C♯ minor | E major |
| B major | 5♯ | B | C♯ | D♯ | E | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | G♯ minor | B major |
| F♯ major | 6♯ | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B | C♯ | D♯ | E♯ | D♯ minor | F♯ major |
| C♯ major | 7♯ | C♯ | D♯ | E♯ | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B♯ | A♯ minor | see D♭ major |
| F major | 1♭ | F | G | A | B♭ | C | D | E | D minor | F major |
| B♭ major | 2♭ | B♭ | C | D | E♭ | F | G | A | G minor | B♭ major |
| E♭ major | 3♭ | E♭ | F | G | A♭ | B♭ | C | D | C minor | E♭ major |
| A♭ major | 4♭ | A♭ | B♭ | C | D♭ | E♭ | F | G | F minor | A♭ major |
| D♭ major | 5♭ | D♭ | E♭ | F | G♭ | A♭ | B♭ | C | B♭ minor | D♭ major |
| G♭ major | 6♭ | G♭ | A♭ | B♭ | C♭ | D♭ | E♭ | F | E♭ minor | see F♯ major |
| C♭ major | 7♭ | C♭ | D♭ | E♭ | F♭ | G♭ | A♭ | B♭ | A♭ minor | see B major |
Column numbers are the scale degrees: 1 is the tonic (the key note), 5 the dominant, 7 the leading tone. The octave note repeats the first. The spelling follows one rule: each of the seven letter names is used once, which is why F♯ major has E♯ and C♭ major has F♭.
How W–W–H–W–W–W–H builds a major scale
The same eight steps in four of the scales. Only the notes change; the distance between neighbours never does. On a piano, a half step is the very next key (black or white) and a whole step skips one key.
| Degree | Name | Sol-fa | Step up | Half steps from tonic | C major | G major | F major | E♭ major |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tonic | Do | — | 0 | C | G | F | E♭ |
| 2 | Supertonic | Re | W | 2 | D | A | G | F |
| 3 | Mediant | Mi | W | 4 | E | B | A | G |
| 4 | Subdominant | Fa | H | 5 | F | C | B♭ | A♭ |
| 5 | Dominant | Sol | W | 7 | G | D | C | B♭ |
| 6 | Submediant | La | W | 9 | A | E | D | C |
| 7 | Leading tone | Ti | W | 11 | B | F♯ | E | D |
| 8 | Tonic | Do | H | 12 | C | G | F | E♭ |
Worked example: F♯ major
- F♯ → G♯: W (2 half steps)
- G♯ → A♯: W (2 half steps)
- A♯ → B: H (1 half step)
- B → C♯: W (2 half steps)
- C♯ → D♯: W (2 half steps)
- D♯ → E♯: W (2 half steps)
- E♯ → F♯: H (1 half step)
Seven letters, each once: F, G, A, B, C, D, E. The last note below the octave is E♯, because it must be a form of E; it sounds like F.
One new note for each step around the circle of fifths
Going up a fifth (C to G, G to D, …) keeps six of the seven notes and changes one:
- C♭ major → G♭ major: F♭ becomes F
- G♭ major → D♭ major: C♭ becomes C
- D♭ major → A♭ major: G♭ becomes G
- A♭ major → E♭ major: D♭ becomes D
- E♭ major → B♭ major: A♭ becomes A
- B♭ major → F major: E♭ becomes E
- F major → C major: B♭ becomes B
- C major → G major: F becomes F♯
- G major → D major: C becomes C♯
- D major → A major: G becomes G♯
- A major → E major: D becomes D♯
- E major → B major: A becomes A♯
- B major → F♯ major: E becomes E♯
- F♯ major → C♯ major: B becomes B♯
Enharmonic major scales: three pairs that are one scale on the piano
With 15 written scales but only 12 notes in the octave, three pairs share the same keys. Which spelling is used depends on the key signature a piece needs, and in practice composers choose the one with fewer sharps or flats. The counts show how the 1,462 art songs of the OpenScore Lieder corpus are written: the key signature is read exactly from the score, so the number for each spelling is a direct count (that the song is in the major key is the corpus’s estimate).
| Pair | Spelling | Key signature | Notes | Lieder songs written this way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B = C♭ | B major | 5♯ | B C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A♯ | 40 |
| C♭ major | 7♭ | C♭ D♭ E♭ F♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ | 0 | |
| F♯ = G♭ | F♯ major | 6♯ | F♯ G♯ A♯ B C♯ D♯ E♯ | 13 |
| G♭ major | 6♭ | G♭ A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E♭ F | 14 | |
| C♯ = D♭ | C♯ major | 7♯ | C♯ D♯ E♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ B♯ | 3 |
| D♭ major | 5♭ | D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ C | 46 |
Every spelling in a pair is a different name for the same keys: play B major and C♭ major on a piano and you press the same seven keys. The page for each pair covers both spellings under the name with fewer accidentals (for C♯ major see D♭ major, for G♭ major see F♯ major, for C♭ major see B major).
Which major keys do composers actually use?
There is no single most common key: it depends on what is counted. The leading key is C major in three of the six (Mutopia 18.6%, Open Opus titles 11.6%, AcousticBrainz 8.2%); D major in two of the six (MusicBrainz (key field) 11.4%, MusicBrainz (key in title) 11.0%); F major in one of the six (OpenScore Lieder 8.9%). C major, F major and G major are in the top five of every dataset, and minor keys make up 25.6% to 42.9% of the keyed items (major is always the majority).
| Major key | OpenScore Liedern = 1,462 | Mutopian = 1,974 | MusicBrainz (key field)n = 13,669 | MusicBrainz (key in title)n = 5,340 | Open Opus titlesn = 3,587 | AcousticBrainzn = 63,124 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C major | 6.5% | 18.6% | 10.6% | 8.7% | 11.6% | 8.2% |
| G major | 8.1% | 14.5% | 9.8% | 8.9% | 8.7% | 6.7% |
| D major | 6.8% | 9.9% | 11.4% | 11.0% | 11.0% | 6.0% |
| A major | 5.1% | 6.1% | 6.0% | 6.9% | 5.8% | 5.2% |
| E major | 6.2% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 4.1% |
| B major | 2.7% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 1.7% |
| F♯ major | 1.9% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 1.9% |
| F major | 8.9% | 9.5% | 7.9% | 7.4% | 8.4% | 7.8% |
| B♭ major | 4.8% | 4.8% | 6.1% | 5.2% | 8.3% | 6.4% |
| E♭ major | 8.7% | 4.0% | 5.8% | 5.6% | 7.4% | 3.7% |
| A♭ major | 5.9% | 1.9% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 2.6% |
| D♭ major | 3.4% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 0.7% | 0.3% | 2.7% |
Datasets: 1,462 OpenScore Lieder art songs, 1,974 Mutopia scores with a key, 13,669 MusicBrainz works with an editor-entered key and 5,340 with a key in the title, 3,587 Open Opus titles with a key, and 63,124 recordings with a machine-estimated key. This says which keys are common in these collections, mostly Western classical and art music, not in all music. Enharmonic spellings are merged here: the D♭ major row includes C♯ major, F♯ major includes G♭ major, and B major includes C♭ major. Full tables and method: Most common keys in music.
Sharp keys or flat keys? It depends on the instrument
Of 364 guitar-solo scores in the Mutopia Project, 59.1% have a key signature with sharps and only 11.0% have flats. For 484 piano-solo scores it is the other way round: 43.0% flats against 34.7% sharps. C major is the commonest key for both (24.7% of guitar scores, 15.1% of piano scores), but the guitar then goes G, D, A and E major while the piano goes G major, F major, A minor and B♭ major.
Dataset: the Mutopia Project, 2,129 scores of which 364 guitar-solo and 484 piano-solo scores have a readable key. Solo means the score lists one instrument family. The key is the first key signature of the MIDI file made from the score. This is a collection of free-to-use scores (mostly Baroque to Romantic), not a sample of all guitar or piano music. See Guitar vs piano: which keys do scores really use?
Major scales: questions people ask
How many major scales are there?
Fifteen major scales are written in standard notation: one with no sharps or flats (C major), seven with sharps (G, D, A, E, B, F♯ and C♯ major) and seven with flats (F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭ and C♭ major). On a keyboard they sound like only twelve, because three pairs are the same keys spelled two ways: B and C♭, F♯ and G♭, D♭ and C♯.
What is the formula for a major scale?
Starting on any note, go up whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step (W W H W W W H). On a piano a half step is the next key, black or white, and a whole step skips one key. Every major scale uses this same pattern; only the starting note changes.
Which major scale has no sharps or flats?
C major. It uses only the white keys of the piano: C D E F G A B. Every other major scale needs at least one sharp or flat to keep the W W H W W W H pattern.
Why does F♯ major have an E♯, and C♭ major an F♭?
A scale uses each of the seven letter names once, so after E comes F and the seventh note of F♯ major has to be a form of E. It is a half step below the octave F♯, so it is E♯, which sounds the same as F. The same rule makes the fourth note of C♭ major an F♭, which sounds the same as E.
Are all major scales played with the same fingering?
No, and this page does not give fingerings. Fingering depends on the instrument and the player, so use the scale book or teacher you are working with.
Which major scales are enharmonic?
B major and C♭ major (5 sharps or 7 flats), F♯ major and G♭ major (6 sharps or 6 flats), and D♭ major and C♯ major (5 flats or 7 sharps). Each pair contains the same pitches, so on a piano you play the same keys. Composers normally choose the spelling with fewer accidentals: B, D♭, and F♯ or G♭.
How do I find the major scale for a key signature?
With sharps, the last sharp is the leading tone, a half step below the tonic: go up a half step from it to name the key. With flats, the second-to-last flat is the tonic. One flat is the exception (F major), and no sharps or flats is C major.
What is the relative minor of a major scale?
The minor scale that has the same notes and key signature, starting on the sixth note of the major scale. C major and A minor share a key signature, as do G major and E minor. The minor scales chart lists all fifteen.
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How to read the chart#
Each row is one major scale, written going up from its first note (the tonic) to the same note an octave higher. The sharps or flats at the start of the staff are the key signature of that key, so the notes in the scale do not need a sign of their own. Under the staff, the note names are written out, and the small W and H between them are the steps: W is a whole step (two half steps, two piano keys), H is a half step (one piano key, black or white). Reading the letters left to right gives the same pattern in every row: W W H W W W H.
The chart has no fingerings. Fingering depends on the instrument and the player, so take it from your teacher or your method book.
Memory tricks#
- Order of sharps: F C G D A E B, as in Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle. Each new sharp key adds the next sharp in this order. The order of flats is the same list backwards: B E A D G C F, Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’s Father.
- Name a sharp key from its signature: the last sharp is the leading tone, one half step below the key note, so go up a half step. Three sharps (F♯ C♯ G♯): the last is G♯, so the key is A major.
- Name a flat key from its signature: the second-to-last flat is the key note. Three flats (B♭ E♭ A♭): the second-to-last is E♭, so the key is E♭ major. One flat is F major, the exception to memorise.
- Two matching halves: a major scale is two identical groups of four notes (whole, whole, half) joined by a whole step. C D E F and G A B C are the same shape. The top half of one scale becomes the bottom half of the next one around the circle of fifths, which is why moving up a fifth changes only one note: C major to G major swaps F for F♯.
- Keep the letters in order: every scale uses each of the seven letter names once, so the spelling is never a free choice. F♯ major has E♯ as its seventh note, not F, because the letters have to run F G A B C D E; E♯ and F are the same key on the piano.
Why there are 15 scales and not 12#
A piano octave has twelve different notes, so there are twelve different-sounding major scales. In notation the same key can be named two ways, so the keys at the bottom of the circle of fifths have two spellings: B major is also C♭ major, F♯ major is also G♭ major, and D♭ major is also C♯ major. Keyboard players meet each pair on the same keys; readers of a score need both spellings, which is why the chart shows all fifteen.
Background
Excerpts from open reference works, reproduced as published (references, images and tables removed). Every excerpt names its source, licence and original article.
In brief
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). The notes C–D–E–F–G–A–B form a prototypical major scale.
Source: Wikipedia, “Major scale” — CC BY-SA 4.0 — text excerpted; see the article for the full text and authors. Revision of 2026-06-17.
Major scale
Natural major scale
The natural major scale is the diatonic Ionian mode.
The major scale has a central importance in Western music, particularly that of the common practice period and in popular music.
In Carnatic music, it is known as Sankarabharanam. In Hindustani classical music, it is known as Bilaval.
A major scale may be seen as two identical tetrachords separated by a whole tone. Each tetrachord consists of two whole tones followed by a semitone (i.e. whole, whole, half).
The major scale is maximally even.
Scale degrees
The scale degrees are named:
- 1st: Tonic
- 2nd: Supertonic
- 3rd: Mediant
- 4th: Subdominant
- 5th: Dominant
- 6th: Submediant
- 7th: Leading tone
- 8th: Tonic
Relationship to major keys
If a piece of music (or part of a piece of music) is in a major key, then the notes in the corresponding major scale are considered diatonic notes, while the notes outside the major scale are considered chromatic notes. Moreover, the key signature of the piece of music (or section) will generally reflect the accidentals in the corresponding major scale.
For instance, if a piece of music is in E♭ major, then the seven pitches in the E♭ major scale (E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C and D) are considered diatonic pitches, and the other five pitches (E♮, F♯/G♭, A♮, B♮, and C♯/D♭) are considered chromatic pitches. In this case, the key signature will have three flats (B♭, E♭, and A♭).
Source: Wikipedia, “Major scale” — CC BY-SA 4.0 — text excerpted; see the article for the full text and authors. Revision of 2026-06-17.
Enharmonic equivalence: why B major and C♭ major are one key
Definition
The predominant tuning system in Western music is twelve-tone equal temperament (12 tet), where each octave is divided into twelve equal half-steps, or semitones; each half-step is both a chromatic semitone (a sharp or a flat) and a diatonic semitone (a minor step between two diatonic notes). The notes F and G are a whole step apart, so the note one semitone above F (F♯) and the note one semitone below G (G♭) indicate the same pitch. These written notes are enharmonic, or enharmonically equivalent. The choice of notation for a pitch can depend on its role in harmony; this notation keeps modern music compatible with earlier tuning systems, such as meantone temperaments. The choice can also depend on the note's readability in the context of the surrounding pitches. Multiple sharps or flats can produce other enharmonic equivalents; for example, F 𝄪 (double-sharp) is enharmonically equivalent to G♮.
When other tuning systems were in use, prior to the adoption of 12 tet, the term enharmonic referred to notes that were very close in pitch — closer than the smallest step of a diatonic scale — but not quite identical. In a tuning system without equal half steps, F♯ and G♭ do not indicate the same pitch, although the two pitches would be called enharmonically equivalent.
Sets of notes that involve pitch relationships — scales, key signatures, or intervals, for example — can also be referred to as enharmonic (e.g, in 12 tet the keys of C♯ major and D♭ major contain identical pitches and are therefore enharmonic). Identical intervals notated with different, enharmonically equivalent, written pitches are also referred to as enharmonic. The interval of a tritone above C may be written as a diminished fifth from C to G♭, or as an augmented fourth (C to F♯). In modern 12 tet, notating the C as a B♯ leads to other enharmonically equivalent notations, an option which does not exist in most earlier notation systems.
Enharmonic equivalents can be used to improve the readability of music, as when a sequence of notes is more easily read using sharps or flats. This may also reduce the number of accidentals required.
Examples
At the end of the bridge section of Jerome Kern's "All the Things You Are", a G♯ (the sharp 5th of an augmented C chord) becomes an enharmonically equivalent A♭ (the third of an F minor chord) at the beginning of the returning A section.
Chopin's Prelude No. 15, known as the "Raindrop Prelude", features a pedal point on the note A♭ throughout its opening section.
Enharmonic key
Some key signatures have an enharmonic equivalent that contains the same pitches, albeit spelled differently. In twelve-tone equal temperament, there are three pairs each of major and minor enharmonically equivalent keys: B major/C♭ major, G♯ minor/A♭ minor, F♯ major/G♭ major, D♯ minor/E♭ minor, C♯ major/D♭ major and A♯ minor/B♭ minor.
If a key were to use more than 7 sharps or flats it would require at least one double flat or double sharp. These key signatures are extremely rare since they have enharmonically equivalent keys with simpler, conventional key signatures. For example, G sharp major would require eight sharps (six sharps plus F double-sharp), but would almost always be replaced by the enharmonically equivalent key signature of A flat major, with four flats.
Source: Wikipedia, “Enharmonic equivalence” — CC BY-SA 4.0 — text excerpted; see the article for the full text and authors. Revision of 2026-01-26.
Key signature: major scale structure
Scales with sharp key signatures
There can be up to seven sharps in a key signature, appearing in this order: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯. The key note or tonic of a piece in a major key is a semitone above the last sharp in the signature. For example, the key of D major has a key signature of F♯ and C♯, and the tonic (D) is a semitone above C♯. Each scale starting on the fifth scale degree of the previous scale has one new sharp, added in the order shown.
Scales with flat key signatures
There can be up to seven flats in a key signature, applied as: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭ The major scale with one flat is F major. In all major scales with flat key signatures, the tonic in a major key is a perfect fourth below the last flat. When there is more than one flat, the tonic is the note of the second-to-last flat in the signature. In the major key with four flats (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭), for example, the second to last flat is A♭, indicating a key of A♭ major. Each new scale starts a fifth below (or a fourth above) the previous one.
Source: Wikipedia, “Key signature” — CC BY-SA 4.0 — text excerpted; see the article for the full text and authors. Revision of 2026-06-17.
Sources and licences for the text, scores and recordings on this page are on the credits page.
Sources: Wikipedia: Major scale, Wikipedia: Enharmonic equivalence, Wikipedia: Key signature.