An INTERVAL is the distance in pitch between two notes
The distance any note and it’s neighbor is known as a half-step. Two white keys with no black key in between are a Half-step apart.
Two white keys with a black key in between? That distance to the black key is a half step and between the white keys is a whole step (half-step + half-step)
Sharps, Flats, Naturals
A Sharp
raises a note by a half steps
A Flat 
lowers a note by a half step.
A natural 
cancels out a sharp or flat for the rest of the measure.
If the sharps or flats are written at the left of the staff, they affect each instance of that note in the music. This is often referred to as the KEY SIGNATURE
Accidentals can also appear directly to the left of a note in which case the affect only instances of that note for that measure.
Accidental Names
So is the name of the black key between the C & D key C sharp or D flat? Well, both names could be correct. We’ll talk more about this when we get into scales, so for now just remember that if we raise a note by a half-step we’ve made it sharp and if we lower a note by a half-step we’ve made it flat.
Notes that sound exactly the same but have different names are called Enharmonic i.e. C#, Db
Major Scale Formula 2212221
Scale Formulas
A scale formula is the pattern of half and whole steps between notes in a scale.
The distance between any key on the keyboard white or black is known as a half-step. E to F = 1 half step. F to G = 2 half-steps or a whole-step
If we count the half-steps between the notes we get a pattern of 2 2 1 2 2 2 1.
Turns out all Major scales follow this exact formula!
Applying the Formula
Try moving your finger up the G string by counting half steps: 2 2 1 2 2 2 1
You’ll notice if you look at the staff that the G Major scale has an F
Now apply the same pattern to the open D String: 2 2 1 2 2 2 1
The D Major scale has two sharps: F & C. Fortunately there’s an easy tool we can use to see how many sharps or flats a Major Scale has called the Circle of 5ths
Circle of 5ths
The Circle of 5ths is a diagram used to help us visualize all the sharps and flats that belong to each Major Scale.
It gets it’s name because it’s a circle and the notes move clockwise by an interval of a Perfect 5th from one point to the next.
Notice that moving clockwise from the top adds on sharp at a time and counterclockwise from the top adds one flat at a time.
The Chromatic Scale
The Chromatic Scale moves up and down the staff in all half-steps. As we go up the scale we’ll use sharps to represent the raised notes and when we come back down we’ll use flats to represent the lowered notes. Click the audio to hear how it sounds or practice playing along using a pick.
Great Job Today! You’re making great progress! Next we’re going to apply what we’ve learned so far to the guitar.
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