G major scale on 7-string guitar

G · A · B · C · D · E · F♯

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 15 · One position.

The notes

  1. G1
  2. A2
  3. B3
  4. C4
  5. D5
  6. E6
  7. F♯7

The G major scale is G, A, B, C, D, E, F♯.

You may also see it called Ionian.

On the staff

GABCDEF♯G

On a treble staff, the G major scale is written G A B C D E F♯.

This is one octave of the G major scale, written on the treble clef. Guitar and bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds, and the small 8 under the clef is the sign for that.

Why the G major scale has this sharp

  1. G1
  2. T
  3. A2
  4. T
  5. B3
  6. S
  7. C4
  8. T
  9. D5
  10. T
  11. E6
  12. T
  13. F♯7
  14. S
  15. G8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is T T S T T T S: a tone, a tone, a semitone, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. The pattern is what gives G major its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

The second rule is that a seven-note scale uses each letter name once, from A to G, so its seven notes take seven different letters. That is why G major is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Together, the two rules leave no room for choice. If you walk the pattern up from G, one letter cannot keep up:

  • F♯ — the seventh. The pattern needs a tone from E, but E to F is only a semitone, so F has to rise to F♯.

That accidental was not a choice. Once you pick the note to start on, the pattern decides the rest, and a key signature is a record of the result.

The G major scale is written with F♯, because the T T S T T T S pattern of steps cannot be spelled with plain letters from G.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

4C5D6EF1G2A3B4C5D6EF1G2A3B4C5D6EF1G2A3B4C5D6EF1G2A3B4C5D6EF1G2A3B4CC♯D♯7F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯7F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯7F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯7F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯7F♯G♯A♯C1C2C3C4C5C6

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the G major scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

G major scale on the whole neck

BEADGBE123456789101112131415B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1

105 notes of the G major scale are marked across seven strings.

This is every place the notes of the G major scale fall on the 7-string guitar, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the 4
BEADGBE123456456712345671234456712
Position 2 — starts on the 5
BEADGBE345678567123456712345567123
Position 3 — starts on the 6
BEADGBE5678910671234567123456671234
Position 4 — starts on the 7
BEADGBE789101112712345671234567712345
Position 5 — starts on the 1
BEADGBE8910111213123456712345671123456
Position 6 — starts on the 2
BEADGBE101112131415234567123456712234567
Position 7 — starts on the 3
BEADGBE121314151617345671234567123345671

The G major scale has seven playable positions, at frets 1–5, 3–7, 5–9, 7–11, 8–12, 10–14 and 12–16.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

BEADGBE89101112131415161718192021222324123456712345671234567123456TAB81012131012141512141517141617191617192119202224202224

The climb runs from fret 8 to fret 24 and plays 27 notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.