Since this one is one octave above the starting note, it’s known as the “octave.” How to Play and Learn the A Flat Major Scale on Piano Often, piano players will include A♭ as the last note in the scale. If it is, the key signature will show a flat symbol in place of A, B, D, and E on the staff by the treble clef, bass clef, alto clef, etc.Įach of the individual notes in the A flat major scale has a corresponding scale degree, too: When looking at a piece of music, you’ll be able to tell if it’s in the key of A♭ major. Following that pattern, we get the A♭ major scale:Īs you can see, the scale contains four flats. Each W represents a whole step (or whole tone), and each H represents a half step (or halftone). Start with the root note (A) and follow the pattern W-W-H-W-W-W-H. But if you want to be a well-rounded musician, it’s a good idea to get familiar with how scales, chords, etc., relate to one another.Įven if you don’t know it off the top of your head, you can discover the A♭ major scale using the major scale pattern of whole-step and half-step intervals.

Plenty of musicians simply memorize scales without understanding how they work. Structure and Formula of the A Flat Major Scale These include Beethoven’s Piao Sonata No. That said, quite a few notable musical works have been written in the key. If you write music and want to create a song that sounds unique, you might consider writing it in the key of A♭ major. In 1806, poet and composer Christian Schubart wrote that A flat major was the “key of the grave” and that “death, grave, putrefaction, judgment, eternity lie in its radius.” It’s moody for a major key, and you’ll start to get a sense of that as you practice the A flat major scale on the piano keyboard. However, as you master this and other scales, you’ll become a versatile musician who can write and improvise in any key.

The A flat major scale likely won’t be among the first you learn on the piano.

Mediant of the d flat major scale