Scale Degrees and Intervals

Once we know a scale, it helps to give its notes numbers. That way we can talk about any scale at once: "the 3rd" means the third note of whatever scale we're in.

Scale degrees

The notes of a scale are its degrees, numbered from the : in C major, C is 1, D is 2, E is 3 and so on. The 1st degree, the root, is also called the tonic: the scale's home note. Each degree also has a traditional name (you'll see them in the table below), but the numbers are what musicians use most.

Intervals: the distance from the root

You've already met , the distance between two notes. An interval's name has two parts:

  • The number counts letters, including both ends: C to E is C, D, E, so it's a 3rd.
  • The quality says exactly how far that is in half steps: C to E is 4 half steps, a Major 3rd; C to E♭ is 3 half steps, a minor 3rd. Unisons, 4ths, 5ths and octaves come in just one usual size, called Perfect.
  • A half step wider than Major or Perfect is augmented; a half step narrower than minor or Perfect is diminished. C to G♯ is an augmented 5th, C to G♭ a diminished 5th.

Here is every degree of C major with its interval from C. Press play to hear each one.

DegreeNameNoteHalf stepsIntervalPlay
1TonicC0Root
2SupertonicD2Major 2nd
3MediantE4Major 3rd
4SubdominantF5Perfect 4th
5DominantG7Perfect 5th
6SubmediantA9Major 6th
7Leading toneB11Major 7th
8Tonic (octave)C12Perfect Octave

Same sound, different name

C to E♭ and C to D♯ are both 3 half steps, so they sound the same. But E♭ is the 3rd letter from C, so C to E♭ is a minor 3rd, while D is only the 2nd letter, so C to D♯ is called an augmented 2nd: a Major 2nd (C to D) made a half step wider. This is why scales are spelled the way they are: in C minor the 3rd note has to be some kind of E, so it's E♭, not D♯.

Major and minor, degree by degree

With numbers, the difference between major and minor becomes easy to see. The natural minor is a major scale with three degrees lowered by a half step, marked with a ♭:

Major1 2 3 4 5 6 7Natural minor1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7

From degrees to chords

Play the 1st, 3rd and 5th degree together and you get a triad, a of three notes, built on the root. From C major you get C E G, the C major chord; from C minor, C E♭ G, the C minor chord.

We'll build all kinds of triads this way in the chords chapter.

Next: Pentatonic and Blues Scales