First strike middle C, then play the next seven white keys in succession, going (to the right) up the keyboard.
C, D, E, F, G, A, B and the next key you played would be a C, oneoctavehigher. This is where the pattern of keys repeats itself. You just played a C major scale, in fact. Here are the note names for the C major scale: Moving up from C, you have the notes D, E, F, G. When you get to G, think “Go” as in “go back to the beginning of the alphabet, A and B.”
The most importantmusical scalesare typically written using eight notes, and the interval between the first and last notes is an octave. For example, the C major scale is typically writtenC D E F G A B C, the initial and final Cs being an octave apart. Two notes separated by an octave have the same letter name and are of the samepitch class.
