How many sharps or flats does C major have?

None — C major has no accidentals.

What is the interval pattern of the C major scale?

Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half (the standard major-scale pattern, often abbreviated W-W-H-W-W-W-H).

What is the relative minor of C major?

A minor — same seven notes, but centred on A instead of C.

The C major scale — notes, intervals, and pattern

The C major scale is the simplest in Western music — seven white keys, no sharps, no flats. It's where every theory student starts: the natural reference for what "major" sounds like. Every other scale is, in some sense, measured against this one.

Interval pattern

The C major scale is built from this fixed pattern of whole steps (W) and half steps (H):

Wwhole
Wwhole
Hhalf
Wwhole
Wwhole
Wwhole
Hhalf

Every major scale uses this same pattern, transposed to start on a different tonic. The half-steps fall between scale degrees 3–4 and 7–8.

Scale degrees and intervals

Each note of the scale, with its scale-degree name and interval from the root:

Degree	Note	Interval from root	Function
1	C	Root	Tonic
2	D	M2	Supertonic
3	E	M3	Mediant
4	F	P4	Subdominant
5	G	P5	Dominant
6	A	M6	Submediant
7	B	M7	Subtonic / Leading tone

In melody and improvisation

Beginning piano repertoire from Bach to The Beatles is full of C major. It's the default key for sight-singing, ear-training drills, and theory examples because there's no key-signature distraction — every note is exactly what it looks like. The relative minor (A minor) shares the same notes; only the centre of gravity shifts.

Relative key

The C major scale shares its notes with A minor. Same seven pitches, different tonal centre — when a piece moves between them, no accidentals change.

Common mistakes

Beginners sometimes assume "white keys = C major", but A natural minor uses the same seven notes. What makes a scale a *scale* is its tonic — the note the music resolves to. Watch for B → C as the half-step that gives the scale its strong leading-tone pull.

Drill it

The Interval Trainer gives you a root note and an interval, and asks you to name the result. Practising the intervals of the C major scale is the fastest way to internalise it as a melodic shape rather than a memorised string of notes.

Open the Interval Trainer →Or drill key signatures

Frequently asked

What are the notes in the C major scale?: C, D, E, F, G, A, B.
How many sharps or flats does C major have?: None — C major has no accidentals.
What is the interval pattern of the C major scale?: Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half (the standard major-scale pattern, often abbreviated W-W-H-W-W-W-H).
What is the relative minor of C major?: A minor — same seven notes, but centred on A instead of C.