At the end we review all 12 major scales. I also review each of the scales already learned until all 12 major scales are learned. I usually assign 1 to 3 scales a week depending on the student. People will look at you weird but it is worth it…….) The right order of the flats and sharps is important for later music theory work and advanced topics so I make sure they learn the order of flats as BEADGCF and the order of sharps as FCGDAEB, (It helps to spend a week saying BEADGCF FCGDAEB over and over again until it is memorized.

Having the student say what is in each scale makes sure that the student knows the scale mentally as well as being able to perform it. It is especially important for student who tend to play by ear or perform by finger memory without thinking about what is in each scale. The F# major triad is F#, A# and C#.”īeing able to mentally say what is in each scale is as important as being able to play each scale. If I asked them to play the F# major scale they would say “The F# major scale has 6 sharps. The Eb major triad is Eb, G and Bb.” and then they would play the scale from memory with no mistakes the first time. The student would say “The Eb major scale has 3 flats. So for example, I might ask them to play the Eb major scale. I also ask them to memorize what flats or sharps are in each scale from left to right in the key signatures as well as how many flats or sharps are in each key. (If I start a student on saxophone in 4th grade then we would start learning this sheet in 5th grade as part of their weekly lesson assignment). They should be able to play each scale on the sheet immediately when asked without mistakes. When I teach my students the major scales, I teach them to memorize all the scales on this sheet exactly as written.

Here’s a free sheet I give to all my students to learn their 12 major scales and major triads.

A flat major scale alto sax