Major scale on guitar
The major scale, which the TabTunix app lists as Ionian (Major), has the formula R 2 3 4 5 6 7. In C its notes are C D E F G A B. Below you see it on the whole neck, its seven positions one by one and the chords it makes, in standard tuning or in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD. Check out all 13 guitar scales.
Position
- 1: frets 8 to 13
- 2: frets 10 to 15
- 3: frets 0 to 5, 12 to 17
- 4: frets 1 to 7, 13 to 19
- 5: frets 3 to 8, 15 to 20
- 6: frets 5 to 10, 17 to 22
- 7: frets 7 to 12
C Ionian (Major)
Degrees: R 2 3 4 5 6 7. Notes: C D E F G A B.
Chords
Notes and formula of the major scale
Degrees: R 2 3 4 5 6 7. Notes: C D E F G A B.
Its formula is R 2 3 4 5 6 7, the same in every key: learn it once and you can build the major scale on any root. Players often use it for pop, rock and folk melodies.
A root on a black key goes by one name here: Db major, never C# major. To find each note on the neck on its own, see every note on the fretboard.
Major scale positions on the neck
Nobody learns the whole neck at once. The major scale comes in seven boxes with three notes on each string: position 1 starts on your low string with the root, C at fret 8, and each next box starts on the next note of the scale.
Learn one box, then the next, and play across both: together they cover the neck. Where the neck has room, a box comes back twelve frets higher. These are three-notes-per-string shapes, not CAGED.
Position 1, frets 8 to 13
Position 2, frets 10 to 15
Position 3, frets 12 to 17
Position 4, frets 13 to 19
Position 5, frets 15 to 20
Position 6, frets 17 to 22
Position 7, frets 7 to 12
Chords of the major scale
In C, these are the chords that live in the major scale: a triad and a seventh chord on each note of the scale, so you know what to play under your solo.
They are the chords in the key of C major.
Click a chord to see how to play it.
Scales with the same notes as the major scale
Same notes, same frets, another home note: know the major scale on the neck and you already have these under your fingers.
All seven modes side by side: guitar modes.
The major scale in every key
Your song is in F#? Find its row: the notes of the major scale in that key, and the fret where your first box starts. Click the key and the neck at the top jumps there.
| Key | Notes | Position 1 from fret |
|---|---|---|
| C major scaleon this page | C D E F G A B | 8 |
| Db major scale | Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C | 9 |
| D major scale | D E F# G A B C# | 10 |
| Eb major scale | Eb F G Ab Bb C D | 11 |
| E major scale | E F# G# A B C# D# | 0 |
| F major scale | F G A Bb C D E | 1 |
| F# major scale | F# G# A# B C# D# F | 2 |
| G major scale | G A B C D E F# | 3 |
| Ab major scale | Ab Bb C Db Eb F G | 4 |
| A major scale | A B C# D E F# G# | 5 |
| Bb major scale | Bb C D Eb F G A | 6 |
| B major scale | B C# D# E F# G# A# | 7 |
The major scale in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD
Tune down and the major scale stays the same scale, it just sits on other frets. In Drop D only your low string changes, so every shape on the other five strings stays put. Drop C and Drop B take every string down, so the whole scale shifts, and DADGAD lowers three strings. Here is where its root C sits on the low string in each.
| Tuning | C on the low string |
|---|---|
| Standard | frets 8 and 20 |
| Drop D | frets 10 and 22 |
| Drop C | frets 0 and 12 |
| Drop B | frets 1 and 13 |
| DADGAD | frets 10 and 22 |
In the app
Practice the major scale
Knowing a position is half the job. Turn it into an exercise in the free TabTunix app, play it to a click that speeds up step by step, rate each go, and see on your chart how close you are to your target tempo.
More on how to get a scale under your fingers in how to practice scales, and every other scale under guitar scales.
Questions about the major scale
You know which lick it is. Go get it up to tempo. Free, for Mac and Windows.
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