G major scale on drop D 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

4C5D6EF1G2A3B4C5D6EF1G2A3B4C5D6EF1G2A3B4C5D6EF1G2A3B4CC♯D♯7F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯7F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯7F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯7F♯G♯A♯C2C3C4C5C6

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

DADGBE123456789101112131415D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1A2B3C4D5E6F♯7G1

83 notes of the G major scale are marked across six strings.

This is every place the notes of the G major scale fall on the drop D 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 6
DADGBE23456767134567123456712
Position 2 — starts on the 7
DADGBE45678971256712345671234
Position 3 — starts on the 1
DADGBE5678910123567123456671234
Position 4 — starts on the 2
DADGBE789101112234671234567712345
Position 5 — starts on the 3
DADGBE9101112131434571234567123456
Position 6 — starts on the 4
DADGBE101112131415456123456712234567
Position 7 — starts on the 5
DADGBE121314151617567234567123345671

The G major scale has seven playable positions, at frets 2–6, 4–8, 5–9, 7–11, 9–13, 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

DADGBE567891011121314151617181920123456712345671234567123TAB579105791079101291112141213151714151719

The climb runs from fret 5 to fret 19 and plays 24 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 four notes on every string. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.