Woke up this mornin' with the pillow on my head
twisted up sheets, had me trapped in the bed

Just kept thinkin' 'bout that music theory blog
poundin' in my brain - lost in a fog

Kept repeatin' that pattern, again and again
would it ever stop?  I didn't know when!

Whole-whole-half, whole-whole-whole-half
it's all I could udder, like a momma and her calf

Whole-whole-half, whole-whole-whole-half
made no sense, just made me want to laugh!

"It's a pattern of spaces, memorize it" says Al
I just wanted to tell him to go straight to H..l

Then all of a sudden, I said it once more
that pattern of spaces unlocked the door!

My mind was clear, it felt so free
I could write all the scales in any key!

Whole-whole-half, whole-whole-whole-half
don't need no stinkin' music staff!

Whole-whole-half, whole-whole-whole-half
now I love those spaces, but that Al-just makes me laugh!

This song is dedicated to my good friend Jimmy – who inspired me to write it because I may have shifted in too high a gear too soon.

So, below you will find step one for writing diatonic scales in all 12 keys all completed for you.  They are organized and separated into two groups:  sharp keys first, then flat keys.

Remember, all scales in music have either sharps or flats – never both in the same key.  The key of C has no sharps or flats.

I also indicated how many sharps or flats are required to correctly fit the diatonic major scale space pattern, the number you see in (1).  Key of C is not included, since it requires no sharps or flats.  As you do this, you will also notice the sharps and flats are always assigned in the same order, i.e. if the key has one sharp, it will be F#, if it has two sharps, they will be F#, C#.  etc.  Just to make this even easier, here is the order of sharps and flats:

Order of sharps:  F#   C#   G#   D#   A#   E#   B#

Order of flats:  Bb   Eb   Ab   Db   Gb   Cb   Fb

Have fun filling in the # and b below:

Sharp keys:

G (1): G A B C D E F G
D (2): D E F G A B C D
A (3): A B C D E F G A
E (4): E F G A B C D E
B (5): B C D E F G A B
F# (6): F# G A B C D E F#
C# (7): C# D E F G A B C#

Flat keys:

F (1): F G A B C D E F
Bb (2): Bb C D E F G A Bb
Eb (3): Eb F G A B C D Eb
Ab (4): Ab B C D E F G Ab
Db (5): Db E F G A B C Db
Gb (6): Gb A B C D E F Gb

Memory tip for the assignment order of # and b:

Flats:  B E A D G C F  (the word bead, then G C F)

Sharps:  reverse of flats:  F C G D A E B

If you completed the chart above and got them all right, you are already ahead of about 90% of musicians I know.  Great job!

I know this wasn’t easy, but believe me, the reason I start with this and keep pounding it in is because it will be the foundation of all music theory as we move forward into advanced concepts.  Hang in there, once we get to chords, knowledge of these scales is going to really pay off.

Until next time – I remain

Musically yours,

Al