Build a Major Scale with Key Signature: Exercise

The way it is done in class: first write the key signature of the key, then the major scale. With the key signature in place, every note inherits it and the scale is written with no added accidentals.

How to use the exercise: Step 1 (key signature): choose Sharp or Flat and click on the staff to place each accidental of the key signature in its order. Step 2 (scale): with the key signature in place, put in the notes of the scale. They inherit the key signature automatically; press ♮ / ♯ / ♭ only when a note needs an accidental of its own. Undo and Clear work in each step. The magnifier shows what you are about to place.

The key signature defines the major scale

Each major key has its own key signature, which shows which notes are altered throughout the piece. Once it is written, the major scale uses the seven natural note positions and each one takes the accidental of the key signature automatically: you never have to write another sharp or flat.

How it is written, step by step

First place the accidentals of the key signature in their standard order (sharps follow the order F-C-G-D-A-E-B; flats follow the reverse order). Then draw the eight notes, from tonic to tonic. The interval pattern of every major scale is W-W-H-W-W-W-H (UK: tone and semitone).

Key	Key signature	Scale
G major	1♯ (F♯)	G A B C D E F♯ G
F major	1♭ (B♭)	F G A B♭ C D E F
D major	2♯ (F♯ C♯)	D E F♯ G A B C♯ D

Printable worksheet (PDF)

The same exercise on paper, for class: eight natural major scales to write with a key signature: first the key signature, then the scale, with only the accidentals that depart from it. With a separate answer sheet, with the answers in red.

It goes from easier to harder: first key signatures with few accidentals in treble clef, then more accidentals and the bass clef.

Printable PDF worksheet for writing natural major scales with a key signature — A4 sheet for writing natural major scales with a key signature.

Download the worksheet (PDF A4) Answers

You may print and photocopy the worksheets freely for the classroom. There are also worksheets of this same type for identifying and writing, and in the scales index you can create custom worksheets, mixing whichever types you like.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the key signature of a major scale?

It is the set of sharps or flats written at the start of the staff, next to the clef, which affect those notes throughout the piece. Each major key has its own, following the circle of fifths.

Do I need to write accidentals on the notes?

No. In a major scale, once the key signature is placed, all the notes inherit it and are written without added accidentals.

In what order are sharps and flats placed?

Sharps in the order F, C, G, D, A, E, B; flats in the reverse order: B, E, A, D, G, C, F.

Why practice the key signature separately?

Because that is how real scores are read and written: the key signature first and the notes afterwards. Knowing it well makes reading faster and avoids unnecessary accidentals.

Practice these scales with the online metronome and check your tuning with the online tuner. You can also try the version with the accidentals written note by note.