C Major Scale (Both Hands)

Both hands play C major an octave apart. The crossings happen at different moments.

Level:
4 of 6
Hands:
Both hands
Key:
C major
Notes:
30
Range:
C3 to C5
One run:
about 12 seconds at 80 bpm

The notes, in order

15 moments, 30 notes in total, some struck together, with the finger to play each one in brackets.

  1. C3 + C4 (5 + 1)
  2. D3 + D4 (4 + 2)
  3. E3 + E4 (3 + 3)
  4. F3 + F4 (2 + 1)
  5. G3 + G4 (1 + 2)
  6. A3 + A4 (3 + 3)
  7. B3 + B4 (2 + 4)
  8. C4 + C5 (1 + 5)
  9. B3 + B4 (2 + 4)
  10. A3 + A4 (3 + 3)
  11. G3 + G4 (1 + 2)
  12. F3 + F4 (2 + 1)
  13. E3 + E4 (3 + 3)
  14. D3 + D4 (4 + 2)
  15. C3 + C4 (5 + 1)

How to practise it

  1. Right hand crosses after E, left hand crosses after G
  2. Practise hands separately until each one is automatic
  3. Start slower than feels necessary

The scale behind it

This one is built on the C Major scale: C D E F G A B (no sharps or flats). Its right-hand fingering runs 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5, and the scale page has the full diagram if you want to hear the shape on its own first.

How to play it here

Play along on the keys with your mouse, your computer keyboard, a touch screen, or a MIDI keyboard you have plugged in. Every key can show its own name, and the metronome will hold the tempo while you work through the 30 notes.

What it trains

  • scale
  • hands together
  • thumb under

More major scales

Passing the thumb under and the hand over, one key signature at a time.

All piano exercises