Scale Degree Guide

Numbering the Scale

In the seven-note scales used in tonal harmony, the tonic is degree 1, and the scale is numbered up from there, through 7, with the octave arriving back at 1. The numbers are relative, not absolute. In the C major scale, the fifth degree is G; in the E major scale, the fifth degree is B. Same role in the key, different pitch on the instrument.

In many theory texts the numbers are written with a small caret above them (1, 2, 3 …) to distinguish a scale degree from a chord member or a figured-bass figure. This guide uses plain numbers for readability.

The Technical Names

In major, each degree also has a traditional name that describes its relationship to the tonic.

Degree	Name	Relationship to the tonic
1	Tonic	The home note, the tonal center the key is named after.
2	Supertonic	The step directly above the tonic (super, above).
3	Mediant	A third above the tonic, between the tonic and dominant.
4	Subdominant	A fifth below the tonic (sub, below), the lower counterpart of the dominant.
5	Dominant	A fifth above the tonic, the upper counterpart of the subdominant.
6	Submediant	A third below the tonic, the lower counterpart of the mediant.
7	Leading tone	A semitone below the tonic, pulling strongly up to it.

The scale is numbered upward, but these names also look downward from the tonic: degree 4 is a fourth above the tonic and a fifth below it, while degree 6 is a sixth above and a third below.

The names mirror each other around the tonic: each sub- degree sits as far below the tonic as its partner sits above. The seventh degree is the one place the mirror bends.

Leading tone or subtonic

The seventh degree earns the name leading tone only when it sits a semitone below the tonic, as it does in the major scale, where its pull toward home is strong. When it sits two semitones below, as in natural minor, that pull weakens and the degree takes the name subtonic instead. Raising it by a semitone, which is exactly what harmonic minor does, restores the leading tone.

Numbers, Names, and Solfège

Numbers are one of several movable systems for the same idea. In major, the technical names give tonic, supertonic, mediant, and so on, while movable-do solfège names the degrees do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti. All three describe notes relative to the tonic rather than as absolute pitches, so their relationships transpose from one key to another.

Scale Formulas

An interval is the distance between two notes. A flat (♭) lowers that distance by one semitone; a sharp (♯) raises it by one. A major third interval spans four semitones, while a minor third interval spans three.

Degree and formula describe a note two different ways:

• Scale degrees count positions within a scale. C is the third note of A minor, so it is degree 3.
• Scale formulas describe each note’s interval above the tonic. C is a minor third above A, so the formula labels it ♭3.

Scale formulas use the parallel major scale as their reference, meaning the major scale with the same tonic. Its formula is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. The table below focuses on major and the three familiar forms of minor:

Scale	Formula
Major	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Natural minor	1, 2, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭6, ♭7
Harmonic minor	1, 2, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭6, 7
Ascending melodic minor	1, 2, ♭3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Relative to the parallel major, all three minor forms lower degree 3; changes to degrees 6 and 7 distinguish them. That fixed reference keeps each formula label tied to one interval, so ♭3 always means a minor third above the tonic. The flat does not mark the note as foreign to the scale; it only compares it with that reference. This convention is used throughout the guide for scale formulas and Roman-numeral degree labels.

Harmonizing the Scale

Degrees also build chords. The root is the note a chord is built from. Take each degree as a root and stack thirds using only notes in the scale, skipping every other degree. The chord on degree 1 uses 1, 3, 5; the chord on degree 2 uses 2, 4, 6; the pattern continues around the scale. Each degree yields a triad, a three-note chord; adding one more third adds the seventh above the root, making a four-note seventh chord.

A triad’s quality comes from the two thirds it stacks from bottom to top.

• A major third followed by a minor third makes a major triad.
• A minor third followed by a major third makes a minor triad.
• Two minor thirds make a diminished triad.
• Two major thirds make an augmented triad.

In major the pattern of qualities is fixed: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished. Roman numerals name these chords by degree and quality at once. An uppercase numeral is a major triad, a lowercase one is minor, a ° marks a diminished triad, and a + an augmented one.

Major Scale Triads

Degree	Roman numeral	Triad quality	Chord in C major
1	I	Major	C
2	ii	Minor	Dm
3	iii	Minor	Em
4	IV	Major	F
5	V	Major	G
6	vi	Minor	Am
7	vii°	Diminished	Bdim

Natural minor follows a different pattern. The Degree column still counts positions within the scale, but flats before the Roman numerals show which chord roots are lower than their parallel-major counterparts. Degree 3 therefore appears as ♭III.

Natural Minor Scale Triads

Degree	Roman numeral	Triad quality	Chord in A minor
1	i	Minor	Am
2	ii°	Diminished	Bdim
3	♭III	Major	C
4	iv	Minor	Dm
5	v	Minor	Em
6	♭VI	Major	F
7	♭VII	Major	G

C major and A natural minor contain the same notes, but changing the tonic reorders the chords and changes their Roman numerals.

Natural minor keeps its subtonic two semitones below the tonic. Harmonic minor raises that note by one semitone to create a leading tone. That change affects three triads: ♭III becomes ♭III+, v becomes V, and ♭VII becomes vii°. The major V is the most important functional result, restoring a strong dominant-to-tonic resolution.

Seventh chords extend the same stack. The major scale gives Cmaj7 on the tonic, Dm7 on the supertonic, the dominant seventh G7 on the fifth, and the half-diminished Bm7(♭5) on the seventh. A Roman numeral, in the end, is just a scale degree carrying a chord.

Degrees and Spelling

Because a conventionally spelled diatonic scale uses each letter once, a degree also fixes the letter its chord’s root is spelled with. The chord a third above the tonic in C is some kind of E; the chord a sixth above is some kind of A; whatever accidentals the key adds, the letter stays put. It holds for altered degrees too: the ♭VI in C is written A♭, not G♯, because it is still the sixth degree, built on the letter A. This is the same enharmonic logic that spells the notes inside a chord, applied to the roots themselves.

Tendency and Function

Scale degrees describe both melodic tendencies and harmonic functions. As a note, the leading tone tends to rise to the tonic. As chord roots, V tends toward I, while ii commonly prepares V. These relationships transpose from one major key to another because they follow degrees rather than letters.

This is why analysis so often reduces to a handful of numerals. A progression of ii-V-I behaves the same in every major key because it is a statement about degrees: the supertonic moving to the dominant, the dominant resolving home.

How WhatChord Uses Scale Degrees

The scale-degree strip highlights the Roman numeral of a chord that fits the current key, whether you selected the key or WhatChord detected it automatically. Chords that do not fit cleanly remain unhighlighted rather than receiving a forced label.

Explore Scales shows every scale’s tones and formula. Where stacked-third harmony applies, it also lays out the diatonic triads and seventh chords with Roman numerals. Selecting a degree shows its technical name and, where appropriate, its resolution tendency.

Thinking in degrees is what makes harmony portable: a note, a chord, or a progression keeps its meaning as you move it from key to key.