{"id":24278,"date":"2022-02-22T10:00:12","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T09:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edwinm29.sg-host.com\/?p=24278"},"modified":"2024-01-16T01:56:36","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T00:56:36","slug":"f-major-scale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/f-major-scale\/","title":{"rendered":"The beginner&#8217;s guide to the F major scale on piano"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #103133;color:#103133\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #103133;color:#103133\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/f-major-scale\/#Understanding_the_F_major_scale\" >Understanding the F major scale<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/f-major-scale\/#What_notes_are_in_the_F_major_scale\" >What notes are in the F major scale?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/f-major-scale\/#Playing_F_major_pentatonic_scales\" >Playing F major pentatonic scales<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The more time you spend around musicians, the more words you will hear that have only to do with music. A very common term said by musicians is \u201cmajor scale\u201d. Major scales are incredibly common, and are one of the first steps to learning about music in a sophisticated way. Scales related to music of all kinds and styles. We\u2019re going to investigate another in our beginner\u2019s guide today: The F major scale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--><\/style>\n<p><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;&lt;div class=&quot;componentContainer&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;row&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;column&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;h2Notable&quot;&gt;Start your musical journey&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fall in love with the music -&lt;\/strong&gt; Learn your favorite songs, at a level suitable for you.&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Enjoy interactive piano lessons -&lt;\/strong&gt; Explore courses covering music theory, technique chords &amp; more.&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get real-time feedback -&lt;\/strong&gt; Skoove&#039;s feedback tells you what went well and what needs practice.&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/li&gt;&lt;\/ul&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;column&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/optimized\/iPhone15-1A-3-800.webp&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;1024&quot; height=&quot;846&quot; class=&quot;alignnone size-large&quot; \/&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;\/small&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;skooveButton skooveButtonWithin&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Book a trial lesson&quot; href=&quot;https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/auth\/register_promotion?coupon=7d-blog-npd&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=btf&amp;utm_campaign=7d-blog-npd&amp;t=Start%20a%207%20day%20free%20trial&amp;st=No%20credit%20card%20required!&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;Book a trial lesson&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;small&gt;No credit card details required&lt;\/small&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:577,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;9&quot;:1,&quot;12&quot;:0}\"><div class=\"componentContainer\"><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"column\"><div class=\"h2Notable\">Start your musical journey<\/div><ul><li><span><strong>Fall in love with the music -<\/strong> Learn your favorite songs, at a level suitable for you.<\/span><\/li><li><span><strong>Enjoy interactive piano lessons -<\/strong> Explore courses covering music theory, technique chords & more.<\/span><\/li><li><span><strong>Get real-time feedback -<\/strong> Skoove's feedback tells you what went well and what needs practice.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"column\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/optimized\/iPhone15-1A-3-800.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"846\" class=\"alignnone size-large\" \/><\/div><\/div><small><\/small><a class=\"skooveButton skooveButtonWithin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Book a trial lesson\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/auth\/register_promotion?coupon=7d-blog-npd&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=btf&utm_campaign=7d-blog-npd&t=Start%20a%207%20day%20free%20trial&st=No%20credit%20card%20required!\" rel=\"noopener\">Book a trial lesson<\/a><small>No credit card details required<\/small><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Understanding_the_F_major_scale\"><\/span><strong>Understanding the F major scale<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the F major scale? This is our first step into complicated music because we are leaving the comfort of <a href=\"\/blog\/c-major-scale\/\">the C major scale<\/a> and only using white keys. We instead are now moving into the first key with a flat in it. Don\u2019t forget about your <\/span><a href=\"\/blog\/scale-degrees-explained\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">scale degrees<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">! Our first scale degree that\u00a0 flat is Bb. Bb is the note just below B, moving from a half step below. Look at our piano diagram: <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-24280\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Bb-note-piano-diagram-268x300.png\" alt=\"Bb note\" width=\"500\" height=\"561\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Bb-note-piano-diagram-268x300.png 268w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Bb-note-piano-diagram-768x861.png 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Bb-note-piano-diagram.png 858w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why is it that we need to use a Bb note here, instead of a B natural, like in our C major scale? It is because every major scale uses the exact same pattern of whole steps and half steps. That relationship is very important to remember:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Root &#8211; Whole Step &#8211; Whole Step &#8211; Half-Step &#8211; Whole-Step &#8211; Whole-Step &#8211; Whole-Step &#8211; Half-Step<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So a major scale starting on F needs to use one black key in order to keep the same pattern as our C major scale. This can be complicated at first, but what you have to do is very simple. Find your root note, then apply the pattern. Follow the note names alphabetically, and play all <a href=\"\/blog\/piano-scales\/\">the piano scales <\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">notes according to our pattern.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_notes_are_in_the_F_major_scale\"><\/span><strong>What notes are in the F major scale?\u00a0<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is simple, but unlike our C major scale and our <\/span><a href=\"\/blog\/how-much-do-you-know-about-the-chromatic-scale\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chromatic scale<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that is only white tones, we are now using a flat symbol, and playing our Bb. Here is how our music looks like on the grand-staff that a piano uses. Remember that the intervals between the notes are exactly the same as they are in C major, we have just changed our root notes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first note we look for is F, and each hand will play the same notes. Sometimes our key signature will be changed to show the flat note in the key signature, but we are going to leave the key as C natural, and write the flats in the measure instead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Right hand fingerings for F major scale treble clef<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scale as it is written on <a href=\"\/blog\/treble-clef-notes\/\">the treble clef <\/a>example looks like this: <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-24288\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/F-major-scale-treble-clef.png\" alt=\"F major scale\" width=\"675\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/F-major-scale-treble-clef.png 679w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/F-major-scale-treble-clef-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key to playing this scale well is noticing that the fingering for the right hand is different. Playing white keys is simple, however, when we move to play black keys we run into problems with the way our hand works.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Typically for fingering scales on the right hand we play the note names:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>F G A Bb C D E F G\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: left;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1-2-3, 1-2-3-4-5\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, for an F major scale, we cannot play all seven notes with this fingering. We need to instead play:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: left;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is to account for the fact that if we were to use our normal 1-2-3, 1 pattern, our thumb would have to land on the black key a step higher than A, which is called Bb. This is simply impossible and impractical to play on the piano. For this reason we move to play the fourth finger on Bb, then we swing our right hand thumb under to play the note C.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Left hand fingerings for F major scale bass clef<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A keen player will notice in this F Scale, the next example the left hand is unlike the right hand fingering. The left hand thumb does not run into the same issues that the right hand does, so instead we use the more common fingering for scale patterns. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-24296\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Left-hand-F-Major-Scale-Bass-Clef.png\" alt=\"F major scale\" width=\"673\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Left-hand-F-Major-Scale-Bass-Clef.png 662w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Left-hand-F-Major-Scale-Bass-Clef-300x145.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 673px) 100vw, 673px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our notes are exactly the same as the right hand, except written on <a href=\"\/blog\/bass-clef-notes-on-piano\/\">the bass clef<\/a>. Our note names are as follows:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>F G A Bb C D E F\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure to notice that the fingering here is written in the same way as the C major fingering:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1-2-3, 1-2-3-4-5<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Practicing hands together with a contrasting scale exercise<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the best ways to practice F major scale piano finger independence is by learning to play scales with both hands. Unfortunately, because playing scales are challenging for students, we typically play them one note at a time. However, once a student has independence, we can then add both hands playing at the same time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike our easy C major scale on piano, our contrasting scales do not use the same fingering. Once again we must remember that unlike most scales on the piano, we need to use different fingerings in the right hand than the left hand, because of our B flat note. The bass clef hand does not change, it just plays the same pattern as previous.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look at our contrasting F scale example here, and pay attention to the fingering on the treble clef and the bass clef:<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24706\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Contrasting-F-major-scale.png\" alt=\"f major scale\" width=\"636\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Contrasting-F-major-scale.png 636w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Contrasting-F-major-scale-300x182.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Notice that unlike our typical scale patterns, because we have a Bb here, the left hand and right hand do not mirror each other like in other scale patterns. Do not be intimidated by this detail. The differences make these scales easier to remember, they will help you become a better pianist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Playing_F_major_pentatonic_scales\"><\/span><strong>Playing F major pentatonic scales<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The F <a href=\"\/blog\/pentatonic-scales-on-piano\/\">major pentatonic scale<\/a> is incredibly useful to know how to play. It is a scale pattern that can easily be played over a number of different chord progressions, in lots of situations, and can be used to improvise with your friends or solo!<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-24304\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/F-major-pentatonic-scale.png\" alt=\"F major pentatonic scale\" width=\"675\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/F-major-pentatonic-scale.png 761w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/F-major-pentatonic-scale-300x188.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/>Here is the right hand fingering for the F major pentatonic scale. Notice that the 4th finger and 5th finger are playing a bit of a gap between the other fingers. Be careful about this and though it may be uncomfortable at first, slowly it will become a very easy scale for you to play.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container\"><iframe title=\"Skoove\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/479012867?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"231\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class='maxbutton-1-container mb-container'><a class=\"maxbutton-1 maxbutton maxbutton-christmas\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Start free trial\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/en\/promotions\/1m-blog-npd\"><span class='mb-text'>Start free trial<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Author of this blog post:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong style=\"font-size: 16px;\">\u00a0<\/strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22738\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/PNG_1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"212\" height=\"224\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text\">\n<div class=\"c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text\">\n<div class=\"p-block_kit_renderer\" data-qa=\"block-kit-renderer\">\n<div class=\"p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first\">\n<div class=\"p-rich_text_block\" dir=\"auto\">\n<div class=\"p-rich_text_section\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Alvin Shipp is a Multi-Instrumentalist Composer, Performer, Producer, and Educator from Portland, Oregon currently based in Berlin, Germany. He\u2019s worked extensively in the USA and Germany, has released Over 15 Albums. He has been teaching upper-level students for over 15 years, and currently lives as a Freelance Composer, Mixing &amp; Mastering Engineer and Teacher.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The more time you spend around musicians, the more words you will hear that have only to do with music. A very common term said by musicians is \u201cmajor scale\u201d. Major scales are incredibly common, and are one of the first steps to learning about music in a sophisticated way. Scales related to music of &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"\/blog\/f-major-scale\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The beginner&#8217;s guide to the F major scale on piano<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":24576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"The beginner&#039;s guide to the F major scale on piano","_seopress_titles_desc":"Understanding an F Major Scale is one of the first steps to playing interesting and challenging music on Piano. Explore the exciting combinations with Skoove!\r\n","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-piano-fundamentals"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}