Hello could someone explain to me what the degrees of a scale are......please....
Regards Mike
It's probably very simple but I haven't come across this yet.

Yes, easy - the steps up or down a particular kind of scale (major, minor etc).

In C maj, the degrees are
C=1 or roman I
D=2 or II
E=3 or III

They're used in the theoretical sense more - you can talk about sequences and things based on the degrees of the scale without having to talk about a specific key.

So if you said degrees IV V and I, you could be talking about IV V and I in any key.
In C that would be F G, C.
In G it would be C, D, G

Yes?

You don't number or name the degrees of a chromatic scale.

They also have names in regular major and minor.
I tonic
II supertonic
III mediant
IV subdominant
V dominant
VI submediant
VII subtonic
I

Once you start to build chords (triads) on these degrees the number convention is:

if the chord is a major one, use capital letters for the roman.
if a minor one or 'diminished', use lower case for the roman.
so in major scales
I
ii
iii
IV
V
vi
vii

This is touching on deeper theory but as you asked you may as well be forewarned!

Veronique

Hello Wyldbabi
Thank you very much for that explanation.......which fully explains things to me.
I have been learning for one year (adult learner 46...) taking grade two in Feb/Mar 05. (Piano).
I have decided to do the theory starting at grade 2 and a question on degrees of a scale came up..
BFN must write that detail down.....