Music workshop
Scales and keys
Build a path of whole and half steps.
Theory
01
A pattern of steps
A major scale uses whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half steps. From C these are the white keys; from another tonic some black keys are needed.
Move the step pattern from C to D.
Select a note. Drag it, press ↑ ↓ or a piano key to change only that note.
C4 · D4 · E4 · F4 · G4 · A4 · B4 · C5
02
Tonic, mode and key
The tonic is the note that feels like home. Count degrees from it: I, II, III… VIII is the tonic an octave higher. A mode sets a pattern; a key chooses that pattern and its tonic. C major and D major share a pattern from different notes.
Select staff notes. Move the whole scale from C to D: its pattern stays, but F♯ and C♯ appear.
Select a note. Drag it, press ↑ ↓ or a piano key to change only that note.
C4 · D4 · E4 · F4 · G4 · A4 · B4 · C5
03
Major and natural minor
Major: 2–2–1–2–2–2–1. Natural minor: 2–1–2–2–1–2–2. From the same tonic, minor lowers degrees III, VI and VII. Spell C minor C–D–E♭–F–G–A♭–B♭: use each letter once; D♯ instead of E♭ would break that sequence.
Compare two scales from the same tonic.
Select a note. Drag it, press ↑ ↓ or a piano key to change only that note.
C4 · D4 · E4 · F4 · G4 · A4 · B4 · C5
04
The same notes, a different home
C major and A minor use the same white keys and share an empty key signature, but their tonics differ. They are relative keys. Parallel keys, such as C major and C minor, share a tonic but use different notes.
Compare how both scales begin and end. The circle pairs relative keys that share a signature.
Select a note. Drag it, press ↑ ↓ or a piano key to change only that note.
C4 · D4 · E4 · F4 · G4 · A4 · B4 · C5
05
Key signatures
Instead of repeating accidentals, write them beside the clef. An F sharp there applies to every F in every octave. Sharp order: F–C–G–D–A–E–B; flats reverse it.
Find the accidentals each selected key needs.
Sharps: F–C–G–D–A–E–B. Flats reverse that order: B–E–A–D–G–C–F.
Memory sentences: “Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds.” For flats: “Big Elephants Always Dance Gracefully; Cats Follow.”
For major keys, go a half step above the last sharp to find the tonic. With two or more flats, the second-to-last flat names it. One flat means F major. A signature alone cannot tell major from relative minor: find the tonic.
Select a note. Drag it, press ↑ ↓ or a piano key to change only that note.
C4 · D4 · E4 · F4 · G4 · A4 · B4 · C5
06
Mode
A mode organizes degrees around a tonic. A scale plays those notes in order. Here we compare seven diatonic modes from the same tonic.
Switch modes from C. Watch which degrees change.
The familiar major scale: 2–2–1–2–2–2–1.
Select a note. Drag it, press ↑ ↓ or a piano key to change only that note.
C4 · D4 · E4 · F4 · G4 · A4 · B4 · C5
07
Circle of fifths
Sharps increase to the right of C; flats to the left. Neighbouring major keys are a fifth apart. Near the bottom, different spellings can share the same piano keys. The small label is the relative minor: a different tonic with the same key signature.
Tap a key. Hear its scale and see its signature.
+7
Select a note. Drag it, press ↑ ↓ or a piano key to change only that note.
C4 · D4 · E4 · F4 · G4 · A4 · B4 · C5
Practice
Explore freely: no mistakes and no score here.
The familiar major scale: 2–2–1–2–2–2–1.
Select a staff note, then edit it with the piano or arrow keys.
A key-signature accidental applies to that letter in every octave. The labels here list pitches; individual accidentals are shown on notes separately.
Vibrations over 10 ms
Pure tones share a phase origin. All lines use one scale: each voice has amplitude 1/N, where N is the voice count. The sum adds the displayed lines; the loudness envelope is omitted.
For a scale, compare the tonic with the selected degree.
Games
Choose a game. One card holds everything for the task.
The familiar major scale: 2–2–1–2–2–2–1.
Add notes with the keys. Select a staff note to replace it.
A key-signature accidental applies to that letter in every octave. The labels here list pitches; individual accidentals are shown on notes separately.
Vibrations over 10 ms
Pure tones share a phase origin. All lines use one scale: each voice has amplitude 1/N, where N is the voice count. The sum adds the displayed lines; the loudness envelope is omitted.
For a scale, compare the tonic with the selected degree.