Question: I was wondering how to transpose C major into the key of F major, on scales.

– Alana (Dubai)

Albert’s reply: Scales are the way to transpose! You have to make sure you know all your piano scales as well as you know your own name, as the great pianist Josef Lhévhinne once wrote.

Download the major scales for piano worksheet to learn all the major scales. Once you know them all really well, learn the harmonic minor scales by lowering the third and sixth notes of every major scale by a half step.

To transpose a piece of music, you then play the corresponding note in the new scale. For instance, if the piece is in C major and you wish to transpose it to F major, you would recognize C as the first note in the C major scale and play F instead since it is the first note in F major.

But learn all your scales first!