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Essential Music Theory  How to build musical scales

Introducing intervals

Scales are made up of intervals. An interval is the space between any two notes. The main scales used in music are made up of tones and semitones.

On a keyboard, the interval between any two adjacent notes is called a semitone (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Semitones.   (Enlarge)

Figure 2. Semitones.

On a keyboard the interval between any two notes which have one note in between them is a tone (Figure 3). These notes would be described as being ‘a tone apart’.

Figure 3. Tones.   (Enlarge)

Figure 3. Tones.

Next: Major scales