C MajorScale · C Ionian
Formula
C Major on the chromatic circle
C Major is the 1st mode of the Major family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.
C Major across the fretboard
Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.
Chords in C Major
Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.
Where C Major fits
Plain major: pop, folk, rock and classical melodies in major keys. Over a maj7 chord, pass through the 4th rather than rest on it.
C Major is mode 1 of the major family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:
Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:
Major scale in every key
C Major scale questions
What notes are in the C Major scale?
C D E F G A B. As degrees from the root: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.
What is the C Major scale formula?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7, or in steps between the notes, W W H W W W H (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).
How do you play the C Major scale on guitar?
This page draws every note of C Major up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the C shape to the A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape.
What chords are in the C Major scale?
Cmaj7 (I), Dm7 (ii), Em7 (iii), Fmaj7 (IV), G7 (V), Am7 (vi), Bm7♭5 (vii°).
When is the C Major scale used?
Plain major: pop, folk, rock and classical melodies in major keys. Over a maj7 chord, pass through the 4th rather than rest on it.