We’re continuing the musical theme of our Members’ Corners posts this week following Stella’s fascinating introduction to Habibi Funk. This time, we’re taking things back to basics as Konquest explains two core elements of music theory: notes and scales. He starts off with our favourite kind of metaphor, a food-based one: 

“Imagine a giant cake. That cake represents the entirety of music theory. The cake is so huge that it looks like you’ll never be able to digest it. Every time you take a bite, you discover three more hidden layers of fondant. The truth is, to be able to make music, you only need a slice of the cake. Now I’m not even going to give you a full slice, just the icing: the basics of notes and scales.  

“It’s worth noting that I’m not claiming to be a music professional. I’m just sharing what I’ve learned about notes and scales, and how I use that knowledge. It can be intimidating to look at a piano and see so many keys. But the reality is less scary. All music is essentially made up of 12 repeating notes.  

“They’re most easily visualised on a piano. The white keys are your main notes: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Then there are the black keys between them: Bd, Db, Eb, F#, and Ab. The small ‘b’ means that it’s a flat note, which all of these are apart from the F# (although it can also be known as Gb).

“If two notes are right next to each other on the piano, then the distance between them is known as a ‘half step’. For example, the distance between A and Bb is a half step, as is the distance between an E and an F. If there’s a key in between them, then it’s a full step, as is the case between A and B or between E and F#.   

“That covers that set of 12 keys, which together are called an octave. And then the pattern repeats. The next 12 keys follow the same pattern, only they’re higher notes.

“Next up, we have scales - a series of notes arranged in the order of pitch. Scales come in different keys and types. So you could, for example, have a B major scale or a C minor scale. Major keys and scales are associated with happier emotions in western music, while minor keys and scales are more melancholic. While it’s possible to memorise each individual scale, I find it much easier to remember the underlying formulae. If you can remember the formulae, you’ll be able to play any scale.  

“For major scales, you take the root note (the first note), then you follow this pattern: full step, full step, half step, full step, full step, full step. Let’s take the example of the C major scale. The root note is a C, and so the pattern dictates the following notes are: D (full step) > E (full step) > F (half step) > G (full step) > A (full step) > B (full step).

“For minor scales, you take the root note, then you follow this pattern: full step, half step, full step, full step, half step, full step. So the C minor scale would be: D > Eb > F > G > Ab > Bb.  

“As long as you remember the distance between the notes in the major and minor scales, you’ll be able to play the scales in any key of your choosing. Good luck!”

As any music teacher will tell you, practice makes perfect. So to help memorise Konquest’s lesson, why not choose a different key and tell us the major and minor scales in the comment section? Be sure to check out the expertise in some of our other Members’ Corner posts too, like Laser-Bicep on the benefits of judo, Sturmer on photography, or Lanah Tyra on Final Fantasy XIV.

Our next Members’ Corner call for submissions is open at the time of publication. If you’d like to share a lot of detail about one of your passions, head on over! Some text has been edited for brevity and clarity. You can find the original wording at the bounty post.