The Major Scale

In this article we will look at the major scale.  The major scale is the same as the Ionian mode, which is a diatonic scale made of the following intervals:

W-W-H-W-W-W-H

So if we wanted to figure out the notes in say G Major, we would apply the above intervals and obtain:

G-A-B-C-D-E-F♯

Try it out for yourself.  Here is a chromatic list of the notes:

C

C♯/D♭

D

D♯/E♭

E

F

F♯/G♭

G

G♯/A♭

A

A♯/B♭

B

C

Major Guitar Scale Positions

The guitar scale diagrams below show G Major.  Root notes are shown in black.  Notes that are below the root note, and still within the scale are shown in light blue.  Numbers denote recommended left hand fingerings (1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=little).