Half Steps, Whole Steps & the Major Scale
Practice the building blocks of the major scale, from semitones to key-defining accidentals.
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Study Smart Tips for Half Steps, Whole Steps & the Major Scale
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Active Recall
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Spaced Repetition
Review difficult cards more frequently than easy ones
Multiple Sessions
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Explain Aloud
Verbalize answers to reinforce understanding
Questions Covered in This Set
12 cards to master
What is a half step (semitone)?
The distance from any key to the very next key, black or white, with nothing in between.
Which two pairs of natural (white) notes are only a half step apart?
E–F and B–C — there is no black key between them.
What is a whole step (tone)?
Two half steps stacked together, e.g. C→D (passing over C♯).
What is the major scale step formula?
W – W – H – W – W – W – H (whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half).
Why does C major need no accidentals?
The keyboard's built-in half steps (E–F and B–C) fall exactly where the W-W-H-W-W-W-H formula wants them.
Spell G major and name its accidental.
G A B C D E F♯ G — one sharp, F♯ (needed for a whole step from E).
Spell F major and name its accidental.
F G A B♭ C D E F — one flat, B♭ (needed for a half step from A).
Spell D major.
D E F♯ G A B C♯ D — two sharps.
Spell B♭ major.
B♭ C D E♭ F G A B♭ — two flats.
What is the natural minor step formula?
W – H – W – W – H – W – W, which gives minor its darker sound.
What does a key signature actually tell you?
Which accidentals the major scale formula requires from that starting note, applied to the whole piece.
Which scale degrees create the strongest pull, and why?
7 up to 1 (a half step, like B→C), and the half step between 3 and 4 — half steps are the tension points.
