The notes of a scale often have specific roles - these roles are based on the position, rather than the value of the note. For example, the fifth note of C Major and F# Major perform the same role in their respective scales.

In this context, we refer to the notes as degrees, and assign each degree a name. The seven degrees of the major/minor scale, in order, are:

1. Tonic - This is the first and ‘root’ note of a scale. It’s usually the note that a piece of music starts and ends on. You will often hear that a piece of music is “in the key of [A Major / D Minor etc.]”. This tells you the predominant scale of the piece, and the tonal center - the tonic note.

   You should always aim to resolve to the tonic eg. if a piece of music is in the key of C Major (whose tonic note is C), you can play another notes as the piece progresses, but aim to end on C to resolve any musical tension.

2. Supertonic

3. Mediant - This is the third note of the scale. It forms an important part of triads, which we will cover soon.

4. Subdominant - The fourth note. It is also the fifth note going backwards from the tonic. The subdominant is a very common note in popular music.

5. Dominant - The fifth note. After the tonic, this is the most significant note in a scale, because it resolves to the tonic very nicely. Try it yourself - play a G then a C.

6. Submediant - The sixth note. In contrast to the median (three notes above the root), the submediant is three notes below the root.

7. Leading Tone - The seventh note. This ’leads up’ to the root.