C major scale, notes and fingering.

The C major scale is C, D, E, F, G, A and B, then C again at the top. It has no sharps or flats, so every note is a white key. Its relative minor is A minor. In steps it goes whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, the same pattern as every major scale.

How to play C major on piano

1. Find C. C is the white key just left of the group of two black keys.
2. Click Right hand and Two octaves. The circles on the keyboard show the finger for each note, starting with finger 1 on C. Finger 1 is the thumb.
3. Press Play scale to hear the scale go up and come back down. Up plays only the way up and Down only the way down. Change Speed if it is too quick.
4. Click Left hand. The left hand plays one octave lower and starts with finger 5 on C.
5. Click One octave to see only the first eight notes, C to C, with the fingers for that run.
6. Under the keyboard, Play on a chord card plays the three-note chord built on that note, such as C on C and G on G.
7. Open Note names. Every note of this scale is a white key, so Sharps and Flats show the same names.

The notes, one by one

Worked example: the right hand starts on C4 on this page. That key is 9 semitones below A4, so on a piano tuned to A4 = 440 Hz its frequency is 440 × 2^(-9/12), which is about 261.63 Hz. The top C, one octave higher, doubles that to about 523.25 Hz. Counting the steps in between, 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 12 semitones. The fifth note, G, is 7 of them above the root.

Key signature of C major

C major has no sharps or flats in its key signature, so the staff is left empty after the clef. A signature is empty here because the whole steps and half steps of the pattern fall on the white keys without help: the half steps are E to F and B to C, and those are the two places where white keys touch.

What is particular about C major

C major is the only major scale that needs no black key at all, which makes it the plainest picture of the pattern. Its two half steps sit at E to F and B to C. Those are the two places on the keyboard where two white keys touch with no black key between them, so you can find the half steps by feel. Every other major scale on this site is this same pattern of steps moved to a different starting key, and the black keys only appear to keep the whole steps and half steps in the right places.

Fingering for both hands

The usual teaching fingering for C major in the right hand is 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 for the first octave, and for two octaves 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5. In the left hand it is 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 for the first octave, and for two octaves 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1. The right thumb lands on C and F and the left thumb on G and C; all of those are white keys. Coming down, use the same fingers in reverse order. Other fingerings exist, and a teacher may change them to suit your hand, so treat this as the standard starting point.

Chords in C major

Stack every other note of the scale and you get a three-note chord on each degree. In every major key the pattern is the same: major on I, IV and V, minor on ii, iii and vi, and diminished on vii. In C major that gives C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim. The three major chords, C, F and G, are the ones that fit most simply together, for example in the order C, F, G, C.

A way to practise it

Start with one octave, one hand at a time, on the Slow speed. Say the finger numbers aloud as you pass the two crossing points: the thumb goes under after finger 3 on the way up, and finger 3 goes over the thumb on the way down. When the thumb crosses without a bump in the sound, move to two octaves, then play both hands together, an octave apart.

A common slip

Starting the second octave on the wrong finger. In the right hand the second thumb lands on the eighth note, C, so count 1 2 3, 1 2 3 4, then 1 again.

Nearby keys

The relative minor of C major is A minor. It uses the same notes and the same key signature, starting on A. The parallel minor, C minor, starts on the same note but has 3 flats in its key signature.

The key a fifth higher is G major and the key a fifth lower is F major. C major shares all but one note with each of them. Keys next to each other on the circle of fifths have signatures that differ by one mark. On this site the neighbours here are F major and G major.

When the scale is steady, play it with the metronome and compare it with the virtual piano. For other scale types, such as minor, modes and pentatonic, use the scale finder.