Scale Degrees
A musical scale is a group of notes ordered by the pitch, it can be ascending or descending.
The degrees of the scale are simply the different notes along the scale defined relative to the main note of the scale, called the 'tonic'.
You can show the degrees of the major or minor scales in a variety of ways.
In plain english:
- First
- Second (major or minor)
- Third (major or minor)
- Fourth (perfect,augmented,diminished)
- Fifth (perfect,augmented,diminished)
- Sixth (major or minor)
- Seventh (major, minor or diminished)
By role or function:
- Tonic
- Supertonic
- Mediant
- Subdominant
- Dominant
- Submediant
- Leading Tone (major scale) or Subtonic (natural minor scale)
In numbers:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
In roman numerals:
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII