How To Play Or Solo In ANY Key By Remembering Two Notes On Any Instrument

Anyone can remember all of their major and minor scales by remembering just 2 notes and those are C and A.

Those are the two notes and here is how it works.

To begin, since music education is so horrendous in most schools today, let us be reminded that "do, ra, me, fa, so, la, te, do" is a C Major Scale. To hit this scale a person starts on (thinking of a piano) C and hits no black keys (sharps or flats) all the way until arriving at the next C. *Note, for beginners, C is the white note that sits before each pair of black notes.

Well, it just so happens that music is based on math and, thankfully for us, the math is easy enough that child can figure it out... and some, like Mozart, did.

One only needs. after all, to be able to to count to two.

That is because playing that C Major Scale - skipping all black keys - makes a pattern.

If one goes from C, skipping the black key in front of it (C#/Db) to D, that is a whole step (2). The half step (1) would be the C#/Db, which was skipped. So, with this being true, the pattern of "do, ra, me, fa, so, la, te, do" is C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. Skipping, again, all black keys (D#/Eb, F#/Gb, G#/Ab), we are left with the pattern 2,2,1,2,2,2,1 or, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. The latter will be the way that many guitarists will choose to look at this pattern.

That is where our friend, Mr. Math comes to the rescue because if 2,2,1,2,2,2,1 is the pattern for a C Major Scale, then the same pattern MUST (and is) be true for ALL Major Scales!

Therefore, if one does not know the scales in, for example, Bb Major, all that they have to do is remember that C to C with NO half steps or black keys is C Major, and then they can recall (or easily count in their heads) the pattern and suddenly it is clear that:

Bb is the first note. From there, two steps up is (skipping B to make it a "2") C, which is then up two steps to D, then 1 step to D#/Eb, up 2 steps to F, up 2 more to G, up 2 again to A, and 1 last step to Bb.

So, that quickly and without knowing the scale beforehand, it is that easy to see that the Bb Major Scale is Bb, C, D, D#/Eb, F, G, A, and Bb. If soloing, this shows which notes are open in ANY key - in this case Bb Flat Major -and this pattern works for ALL Major Keys.

Oh, and for Minor Keys, hitting A to A with no black keys, just as was done with C to C for Major Scales, makes A Minor. That number is 2,1,2,2,1,2,2, or whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A is an A Minor Scale). This patter, then, can be used to count all minor scales.

The best part of all of this? If this should be forgotten, all that one has to do is remember from C to C, with no half steps, is C Major and from A to A with no half step is A minor. From there, even a child can count to two and figure out the pattern in mere moments.