MUSICAL SCALES

[llamekuf]

On the musical scale on the Treble Cleff : C D E F G A B - does this mean that C is the lowest note and that B is the highest?

On the musical scale on the Bass Cleff : E F G A B C D - does this mean that E is the lowest and that C is the highest?

[tamborine]

Yes, on a keyboard/piano

[mike11111]

It doesn't matter which clef it is. Scales are written in ascending order, so in any given scale the first letter is the lowest and the last the highest. On the treble clef the lines and spaces in ascending order run from E to F, while on the bass they run from G to A.

[llamekuf]

Thank you TAMBORINE and MIKE11111

[llamekuf]

So does this mean that on the Treble Clef Middle C is the lowest note and on the Bass Clef Midde C is the highest note?

[mike11111]

Yes, but notes can be written in either clef. The B below Middle C can be written as one space above the line on the Bass Clef or two spaces below the line on the Treble Clef.

[llamekuf]

My thanks again MIKE11111

[saxy_jag]

Right on the first part, wrong on the second.

If you were to run straight up the white (or natural) keys/notes on a piano from E up to the note before the octave (i.e. the next E), you'd end up on D. However, that's not a real scale. An E major scale runs from E through F#, G#, A, B, C# and D to D#.

You can make a real scale running from C up to D using only the natural keys because in the key of C major there are no #s or bs.

[saxy_jag]

Sorry, that should have read 'from C up to B'. Boy, I wish we could edit posts in this forum.

[mike11111]

Sorry saxy-jag but you are wrong. A scale runs from the original note to the same note an octave above. Thus the scale of E major runs from E to E via F#, G# ,A, B, C# and D# (no D). It is important not to confuse scales with clef notation. Minor scales are a different kettle of fish, inasmuchas the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes are flattened relative to the major scale. Best not go there though, could get too technical.

I should have added earlier that, as far as keyboard instruments are concerned, which clef the note is written on depends on which hand is meant to be used for playing it.

[saxy_jag]

Of course, Mike. Now that I actually have a keyboard in front of me to work that out, I see you're right.

I guess E to E all on the 'white' notes does make a scale of sorts (modal?) but I wasn't about to confuse llamekuf (and myself) even further by attempting to go into it.

[mike11111]

E to E all on the white notes is not really a scale. You need F# to get the scale of E minor. The only scales which can be played on the white notes alone are C major (C to C) or A minor (A to A).

It's rather complicated, but if you consider the keyboard as a whole (black and white notes together) each key is a semitone higher than the one before it. Whichever key you start on, a major scale will ascend as follows: tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone. A minor scale goes tone, semitone, tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone.
Tone means go up two keys, semitone means go up one. This probably sounds horribly confusing and is probably much simpler to demonstrate than explain.

As an example, suppose you start on G. The sequence for the major scale is G A B C D E F# G. The minor scale goes G A Bflat C D Eflat F G.

[19891988]

Hang on, it isn't true that e to e on white notes isn't really a scale, It just isn't a major/minor. Saxy_jags is right, it would be a modal scale, phrygian in fact.

[mike11111]

I stand corrected.