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Scales, Keys & Modes

Scale Degree

Definition

A scale degree is the position of a note within a scale, numbered from 1 (the tonic) to 7. Each degree also has a name, such as tonic, dominant or leading tone, that describes its role in the key.

A scale degree tells you where a note sits in its scale, counting up from the tonic. In C major, C is degree 1, D is 2, E is 3, and so on up to B, degree 7; the next C is degree 1 again (sometimes labeled 8). Scale degrees describe a note's role in the key rather than its letter name, so they work the same way in every key.

Treble clef in 4/4, four bars of half notes: C D E F G A B C from middle C. Under them, the numbers 1 to 8 and the names tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading tone and tonic.
The C major scale in half notes, with each degree's number and name; the names alternate between two rows so they have room. The top C is the tonic again, degree 8 or 1.

The numbers and the names

Each degree has a traditional name:

  1. Tonic: home
  2. Supertonic: just above the tonic
  3. Mediant: halfway from the tonic up to the dominant
  4. Subdominant: a fifth below the tonic, the "lower dominant"
  5. Dominant: a fifth above the tonic
  6. Submediant: halfway from the tonic down to the subdominant
  7. Leading tone (a half step below the tonic) or subtonic (a whole step below)

In theory books you will often see the numbers with a small caret (^) above them, to show that they mean scale degrees and not intervals or chords. In movable-do solfège, the degrees of a major key are do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti.

Degrees in a minor key

Minor keys use the same names and numbers. In A minor, A is 1, B is 2, C is 3 and so on. The 7th degree is the one that changes: in natural minor it is G, the subtonic; raised to G♯, as minor keys usually do at cadences, it becomes the leading tone. Some musicians number minor keys against major instead (1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7), especially in jazz and pop. Both systems are common, so check which one a book is using.

Treble clef in 4/4, four bars of half notes: A B C D E F G A. Under them, the numbers 1 to 8 and the names tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, subtonic and tonic.
A natural minor in half notes, with each degree's number and name, the names alternating between two rows. Its 7th, G, is a whole step below the tonic, so it is the subtonic; raised to G♯ it would be the leading tone.

Why think in degrees?

Degrees let you see the same pattern in any key. A melody that goes 3–2–1 ends the same way whether it is E D C in C major or B A G in G major. Chords work the same way: the Roman numerals I, IV and V name the chords built on degrees 1, 4 and 5. That makes degrees the key to transposition, to ear training (hearing "that note was the 5th" rather than "that note was G") and to understanding harmonic function.

C major numbered by scale degree. Press play and sing the numbers as you hear them.

Common questions

What are the scale degree names in order?

Tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, and leading tone (or subtonic, when the 7th is a whole step below the tonic).

What does the caret over a number mean in music theory?

A caret (^) over a number marks it as a scale degree: 5 with a caret means the 5th degree of the key, as opposed to the interval of a fifth or the V chord.

Practice it: free worksheets