F# Major Scale - Emily Learning Music

F# Major Scale it starts and ends with F. The relative minor of F# Major is D# minor. Both of these keys have F#, C#, G#, D#, A# and E#. In other words, apart from B, all other notes have a sharp.

F# Major Key Signature

Here’s the key signature for F# Major – F#, C#, G#, D#, A# and E#.

Key signature of F# Major in treble clef. This is also the key signature of D# minor.

Key signature of F# Major in bass clef. This is also the key signature of D# minor.

Key signature of F# Major in alto clef. This is also the key signature of D# minor.

Key signature of F# Major in tenor clef. This is also the key signature of D# minor.

Notes in the Scale of F# Major

When we play a scale, we usually start off with an ascending scale (the notes get higher), followed by descending scale (the notes get lower).

Ascending scale of F# Major: F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D#, E#, F#

Descending scale of F# Major: F#, E#, D#, C#, B, A#, G#, F#

Degrees of the Scale

Degrees of the scale refers to the number we assign to each note of a scale. When we are assigning degrees of a scale, we look at the scale in ascending order. Here are the notes for the various degrees of the F# Major scale:

1st degree: F#

2nd degree: G#

3rd degree: A#

4th degree: B

5th degree: C#

6th degree: D#

7th degree: E#

Technical Names of Notes in F# Major

Instead of using the degree of the scale, we can also use technical names of notes.

tonic – F#

supertonic – G#

mediant – A#

subdominant – B

dominant – C#

submediant – D#

leading note – E#

Semitones and Tones

In all major scales, they follow this:

Pairs of notes	Tone or semitone apart?
1st -> 2nd	tone
2nd -> 3rd	tone
3rd -> 4th	semitone
4th -> 5th	tone
5th -> 6th	tone
6th -> 7th	tone
7th -> 8th	semitone

Most adjacent pairs of notes in the major scale are a tone apart, except for the 3rd to 4th note, and the 7th to the 8th note. This doesn’t apply just to F# Major scale, but for ALL major scales. By knowing the distance between the notes in a Major scale, we can form any major scale even if we do not know its key signature.

In this case, the semitones are found here:

From A# to B (3rd to 4th note)
From E# to F (7th to 8th note)

F# Major Scale on different clefs.

Here’s how the F# Major scales look like in treble clef (without key signature). I’ve also included the fingerings:

F# Major ascending and descending scales in treble clef with fingerings included.

Here’s how the F# Major scales look like in bass clef (without key signature). I’ve also included the fingerings:

F# Major ascending and descending scales in bass clef with fingerings included.

Here’s how the F# Major scales look like in alto clef.

F# Major ascending and descending scales in alto clef.

Here’s how the F# Major scales look like in tenor clef (without key signature).

F# Major ascending and descending scales in tenor clef.

How to play the F# Major scale on the piano

The fingerings for the right hand part of the F# Major scale are:

F# -2

G#- 3

A# – 4

B -1

C# – 2

D# – 3

E# – 1

The fingerings for the left hand part of the F# Major scale are:

F# -4 /2 (use the 4th finger for the lowest note, the rest, use the 2nd finger or index finger)

G# – 3

A#- 2

B -1

C# – 3

D# – 2

E#- 1