Scales and Keys: What are they and how do keys help me play freely?
Scales – whether major or minor – will always accompany you on your journey as a pianist. And that’s a good thing. Because keys and scales help you understand the structure behind a piece – allowing you to play even more intuitively. Completely without sheet music. So, you could say: every scale on the piano is your blueprint for intuitive playing.
SHARE:
Gordon November
Gordon November
Navigation
How you can play the piano even better with the help of scales and move more confidently from key to key, you’ll learn, among other things, in my book ‘Mastering Keys Without Sheet Music’.
Don’t want to wait and start playing the piano right away? No problem. You don’t need the book right now. In this article, I’ll introduce you to the topic of scales. You don’t need any prior knowledge for this – so it’s ideal for beginners. Sounds good? Then let’s get started!
What is a scale?
As a first step, I’d like to explain scales on the piano to you.
In total, a piano has 88 different keys and notes. But strictly speaking, there are ‘only’ 12 notes – which repeat themselves over and over on the keyboard. From these notes, a wide variety of melodic sequences can be created.
“A scale is a sequence of always the same notes.”
In my opinion, only two scales truly sound beautiful. One is the classic C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C. That is the major scale.
C – D – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C, on the other hand, is the minor scale.
If you want to understand the exact difference between major and minor, check out my relevant blog post on the topic.
What is a key?
You’ve just learned two scales on the piano. Now I’d like to explain what a key is.
One speaks of a key when only the notes of a specific scale are used in a piece. So, if we play a piece in which only notes from the C major scale appear, the piece is in the key of C major.
“Caution: There are also exceptions. A piece or song in C major can also switch between different keys. Changes are therefore compositionally possible.”
Caution
There are also exceptions. A piece or song in C major can also switch between different keys. Changes are therefore compositionally possible and shape your piano playing.
Good to know
In pop and folk music, one usually stays within a single key. Key changes are generally not to be expected here and are the exception.
Summary
A scale is always a sequence of notes with a fixed root and defined steps. A key, on the other hand, is a framework in which notes are connected in various ways.
What scales are there?
There are many different scales on the piano. Each scale has a unique sound and can be used for various musical pieces and styles. If you want to play the piano, you really only need to know the major scale, the minor scale, and the pentatonic scale.
Major scales consist of 8 notes, with each note being different. They begin with the tonic (the first note) and end on the octave (the eighth note).
Major scales have a distinctly positive atmosphere because they sound very harmonious. This type of scale is frequently used in pop, rock, and jazz pieces.
Minor scales are similar to major scales. In contrast to major scales, minor tonality sounds sadder and more melancholic because the third and sixth notes in this type of scale are lowered by a semitone.
They are often used in blues, country music, or jazz ballads. Minor scales are therefore also often referred to as blues scales.
The pentatonic scale is a five-note scale that contains only five notes. Pentatonic scales sound very harmonious – there are no dissonances. Therefore, they have a calm sound that is easy to play and frequently appears in traditional Asian music.
Building a Pentatonic Scale - Key by Key
And this is how you build a pentatonic scale: You choose a starting note on the piano and build four fifths above it. You then arrange the determined notes next to each other and play them upwards or downwards. Voilà, a pentatonic scale.
There are many other types of keys and scales, but these three are the most commonly used by pianists.
All Scales at a Glance
The C major scale is probably the best-known and simplest piano scale there is. But there are many different scales with different intervals and patterns. What are the differences and which ones should you know?
The C major scale is a so-called diatonic scale and consists of the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The intervals between the notes are always the same: There is a whole step between C and D, between D and E, between F and G, and between G and A. There are half steps between E and F, and between B and C.
Most other scales are based on this principle, but with different notes or intervals. For example, there is the chromatic scale, where all semitones are played, including notes like E♭ or A♭. Or the pentatonic scale, which contains five notes.
Scales with Sharps
Each sharp raises a note by a semitone. The syllable “-is” is appended to the note names. Sharp keys / sharp scales require up to six sharps.
For simplification, let’s name the sharps in the order of their appearance after the clef: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, and E♯.
One sharp: G major (F♯) – The G major scale and E minor scale require this black key.
Two sharps: D major (F♯, C♯) – The D major scale and B minor scale require these two black keys.
Three sharps: A major (F♯, C♯, G♯) – The A major scale and F♯ minor scale require these three black keys.
Four sharps: E major (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯) – The E major scale and C♯ minor scale require these four black keys.
Five sharps: B major (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯) – The B major scale and G♯ minor scale require all black keys.
Six sharps: F♯ major (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯) – The F♯ major and D♯ minor scales require all five black keys.
Scales with Flats
Each flat lowers one of the root notes by a semitone. The syllable “-es” is appended to the note names. Exceptions: H becomes B♭, E becomes E♭, and A becomes A♭.
The prefixes for flat keys / flat scales are: B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, and C♭.
One flat: F major (B♭) – The F major scale and D minor scale require this black key.
Two flats: B♭ major (B♭, E♭) – The B♭ major scale and G minor scale require these two black keys.
Three flats: E♭ major (B♭, E♭, A♭) – The E♭ major scale and C minor scale require these three black keys.
Four flats: A♭ major (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭) – The F minor scale and A♭ major scale require these four black keys.
Five flats: D♭ major (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭) – The D♭ major scale and B♭ minor scale require all black keys.
Six flats: G♭ major (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭) – The G♭ major scale and E♭ minor scale require all five black keys.
By the way: The A minor scale requires no black keys. The A♭ minor scale requires all five black keys.
Bonus: Enharmonic Equivalence
Now comes specialized knowledge that usually only professionals have.
It is possible to play a scale with more than six accidentals. However, enharmonic equivalences can occur here.
For example, an enharmonic equivalence occurs with F♯ major and G♭ major, even though different accidentals and notes are used. Further enharmonic equivalences are B major and C♭ major (seven “flats”) and D♭ major and C♯ major (seven #).
Why should you practice piano scales?
Scales are an important part of any musical education and shape your piano playing. They are the foundation for harmonies, melodies, and many other complex concepts in music lessons.
Although some students find scale exercises boring and tedious, they are enormously important. Those who internalize their structure will become better pianists.
But why should you learn scales?
Firstly: Scales help you develop an understanding of the sound of music and improve your skills as a musician.
Secondly: Keys help you understand, play, or even compose new songs and compositions. Since each key has a specific pattern, you can use it to create different harmonies and melodies. This also gives you more flexibility when creating new songs or interpreting existing ones.
Thirdly: Scales can help you collaborate better with other musicians. If a group of musicians shares the same knowledge – and, for example, knows the different types of modulation – everyone can communicate better and play songs together more smoothly. This is especially important in jazz, where improvisation is common and harmonies are efficiently coordinated in real-time.
There are many benefits to practicing scales for all types of musical genres. Whether jazz, classical, or rock – each musical genre has its own specific structure based on the various types of modulation. For all of them, the fundamental rules of theoretical music theory apply – especially harmony theory – which is the cornerstone of all scales.
4 Tips for Practicing Piano Scales
One of the most important instruments for improving your musical skills is the piano. Those who practice regularly achieve their goal much faster. However, it can quickly become boring to play scales for hours. So: Don’t spend all day practicing scales on the piano, because that’s not only monotonous but also not very productive. Shorter, but regular practice sessions are more beneficial. Just a few minutes a day are enough.
It’s important that you practice regularly on the piano to get your hand and fingers accustomed to the playing techniques. To achieve this, feel free to set a daily practice quota – which you can, of course, adjust individually. Also make room for scale exercises in this practice quota. Important: Please don’t make scales the central focus of your practice activities. However, they are well suited for starting a practice session.
At the beginning, you’re naturally full of motivation and ambition. But be careful. If you force yourself too much to play a scale fluently and master the fingerings perfectly, you can really cramp up. You might not even notice it at first. And suddenly your hand is stiff and painful. It’s best not to let it get that far. So always make sure your hand stays relaxed while playing – and allow yourself and your hand breaks now and then.
If you’re already somewhat familiar with playing scales on the piano, you can vary your exercises: Beginners should start by practicing both hands separately. You can then control the difficulty yourself: play scales in octaves with both hands synchronously, legato or staccato.
Tip for beginners: The first pieces you learn on the piano are usually written in C major. You only play the white keys and can follow the fingering pattern 3 + 5. Meaning: You play the scale with fingers 1 – 2 – 3 (thumb passing under the hand) – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
How do you memorize scales on the piano?
There are a few tricks on how you can memorize and practice scales.
One of the simplest is to memorize the first and last note of each scale. That gives you the basic framework of the scale. You already know the structure of a major and minor scale.
Another trick is to memorize a melody that is played in the respective scale. ‘Alle meine Entchen’ (All My Ducklings) corresponds approximately to the notes of the C major scale.
Alternatively, you can memorize a specific chord that appears in the respective scale. For example, you can memorize the notes of the G minor scale by remembering the D7 chord.
Tip: Learning Scales Made Easy
In my book Mastering Keys Without Sheet Music, you’ll not only learn scales but also how to master entire keys. There’s also a video course that complements the book.
Also feel free to visit piano.university if you want to learn how to play the piano intuitively. Simply by ear. And with the help of scales. Try it out!
Master Keys Without Sheet Music
With the new turbo training, you'll be proficient in every musical key within a few weeks.
(no sheet music knowledge required)
That’s it. Now you know the difference between keys and scales. Keep it up!
Play Piano by Intuition
Share this post:
More topics for you:
Play Piano by Intuition
Master Keys Without Sheet Music
With the new turbo training, you'll be proficient in every key signature within just a few weeks.
(no knowledge of sheet music required)
