Whole Steps and Half Steps
A half-step is when you move from one note to the note immediately following it.
The distance between all these pairs of notes is a half-step:
- C - C#
- Gb - G
- B - C
- Abb - Ab
A whole step is two half-steps. These are all whole step jumps:
- C - D
- F# - G#
- B - C#
- Db - D#
The terms half- and whole step are used most often when discussing how to build a scale. There are many different scales in music, and each one is a unique combination of half steps and whole steps.