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Most Western Music is based on the twelve half steps between the root of the scale and the note of the same name an octave higher. These notes are starting on middle C, C sharp, D, D sharp, E, F, F sharp, G, A flat, A, B flat B, C. Back to C, an octave higher.
Any one of these twelve notes has their own scales consisting of eight notes or steps. Two keys side by side, black or white, are called a half step. (Demonstration)
Two keys separated by another key are referred to as a whole step. C to D separated by a C sharp, the black note there—that is a whole step. F sharp and G sharp separated by G, that is a whole step, anything like that. And of course, E to F, that is a half step. Note that there are no notes in between that one.
Two half steps equal one whole step. C to C sharp is a half step. C sharp to D is a half step. That creates one whole step. C to D is a whole step. When you play all the half steps in succession, like this (Demonstration), it is called a chromatic scale.
Steps are the intervals or distance between the notes. If you play the very next note up or down, it is called a half step, also known as a Semi-tone. Skip a note up or down and it is called a whole step, or a tone. Relationships between the steps and various keys help you work out the kind of scale or chord you want to play—major, minor, diminished, and so on.
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