Scale Degrees and Their Names

Each degree of a scale gets a number, 1 through 7, counted up from the tonic, and each number has a traditional name. Scale degree 1 is the tonic, the home note. Degree 2 is the supertonic, meaning just above the tonic. Degree 3 is the mediant, sitting midway between tonic and dominant. Degree 4 is the subdominant, a fifth below the tonic (sub meaning below). Degree 5 is the dominant, the second most important note after the tonic. Degree 6 is the submediant, midway between tonic and subdominant counting down. Degree 7 is the leading tone, because it leads strongly back up to the tonic.

That pull in the leading tone comes from distance, not just position. In a major scale, degree 7 sits only a half step below degree 1. Half steps feel tense and want to resolve to the nearest note, so your ear expects the leading tone to climb straight to the tonic. This is why a major scale played slowly still sounds unfinished if you stop on degree 7: the half step below home is begging to close the gap.

This naming system matters beyond vocabulary drills. Once you know a note's scale degree, you can predict how it behaves, which chords it tends to appear in, and how it resolves, all groundwork for building triads and understanding harmonic motion later. Degree names also travel between major and minor, with one key exception: natural minor's seventh degree is a whole step below the tonic, so it lacks that pull and gets a different name, the subtonic.