Writing Scales on Paper Guide
As we dig deeper into the musical theory realm in the GMC Forum, one of the issues I see creeping up a lot is the mixing of sharps and flats when folks are writing out scales, especially modes of the major scale.
So, I thought I would put together a short primer to use as a reference page if you have any questions or get stuck on how to write out any scale.
Major Scales and Modes
When writing out any major scale or one of it’s modes, the rule to follow is only use each letter in the musical alphabet, A-B-C-D-E-F-G, once, and don’t mix sharps and flats in the same scale.
This means, that if you have the F Major Scale, this would be the wrong way to write it out.
F G A A# C D E F
Here, there are two A’s, A and A#, so that’s an error in the writing process.
Instead, use Bb so that you don’t double up on the A’s.
F G A Bb C D E F
The other issue, mixing sharps and flats, comes up in situations like this D Major Scale.
D E F# G A B Db D
Again, there are 2 D’s so that needs to be avoided, and since there is an F#, you can’t have any flats in the rest of the scale.
So, it would be written like:
D E F# G A B C# D
Here are your two rules to live by when writing out Major Modes.
Never double any notes.
Use sharps or flats but never both in the same scale
Other Scales and Modes
When writing out other modes, such as modes of Harmonic Minor or modes of Melodic Minor, you still only want to use each note once, but you can mix flats and sharps in a few of these modes to stick to that first rule.
For example, G Melodic Minor is written as:
G A Bb C D E F# G
So you have Bb and F#, but this avoids you using A and A#. So, mixing sharps and flats in Melodic Minor and Harmonic Minor modes is ok as long as it helps you avoid using 2 of the same notes, such as A and A#.
When writing out these other modes, first ask yourself, “Am I using any of the same note twice?” And if not, then it’s OK to mix sharps and flats. If you are using the same notes twice, such as A and A#, that can usually be fixed by writing A and Bb, two different letter names.
I hope that helps out. If you have any questions about these rules post them below and I’ll be glad to answer them.
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