How Do You Read A Musical Scale?
The discipline of studying scales is great for developing the mind as well as for building the foundation of a well-rounded musical education. Scales form the basis of the composition of most Western music. Playing scales helps a musician recognize patterns in musical compositions. Although there are many types of scales, the three most important for the musician to conquer are the chromatic scale, the major scale and the harmonic minor scale. If you know how to read music, you can read a scale. Learn the chromatic scale by understanding that it is made up of all the notes in one octave. The octave is arranged in half steps so that any one note on the piano keyboard is one half step away from the note closest to it; therefore, a one octave chromatic scale will be made up of the 12 notes that are arranged between the bottom note and the top note. A chromatic scale can start on any pitch, but for this purpose, the chromatic scale will go from C to C. See keyboard illustration with notes
