Fretboard Evolution Vol. I - Steve Rieck

F# Major Scale
F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#
Once that all seems clear, finally notice something that looks a bit odd. The
seventh note of the F# major scale is called an E#! Remember an E raised a
half-step is merely an F natural. In this case, we need to call this note an E#
in order to be consistent with the idea that each major scale should contain
each of the seven alphabetical letters and never contain two of any letter in
it’s spelling.
Next lets look at the “flat keys”. For these, we need to understand another
term which relates to that last E# = F point and sounds more complicated
than it is – the term is “Enharmonic”. To spell a note enharmonically simply
means to spell it by its “other” name – for example:
C# = Db
Bb = A#
F# = Gb
F = E# etc…
So, if we took our last sharp key (F#) and spelled the entire thing in
enharmonic terms, the result would be the “Gb” major scale. In other words,
these two scales will sound exactly the same but one will be spelled with
sharps and the other with flats.
F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#
Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb
© 2011 Steve Rieck – all rights reserved 23