Music Theory by Ellis Wright - The Major Scale

All of our music is compose with 12 notes:

A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, then we're back to the note A

Thus, on any string of the guitar there are 12 frets from one note to the same note an octave higher. The first fret on the E string is the note F, the 13th fret is also F (1 + 12).

Scales describe a standard way of dividing up an octave.
Here's another way to think of it, scales are a FORMULAIC way of arranging the 12 notes available, 99.9% of the scales DO NOT use every note available.

On a piano, if we played from middle C (the C in the middle of the piano) and moved to the RIGHT (ascending) until we played the next higher C, we would have played the following:

C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C

Notice, if we played from middle C (the C in the middle of the piano) and moved to the LEFT (descending) until we played next lower C, we would have played the following:

C, B, Bb, A, Ab, G, Gb, F, E, Eb, D, Db, C

Points of Interest:
1) We use sharp signs when ascending and flat signs when descending.
2) There are no sharps or flats between (B & C) and ( E & F )

Sharp: Raise pitch (increase) by 1/2 step (1 fret)
Flat: Lower pitch (decrease) by 1/2 step (1 fret)
H = half step
W = Whole step

Examples: Each pair of notes sounds IDENTICAL
B# = C
Cb = B
F# = Gb
D# = Eb
Db = C#
Fb = E
E# = F

remember: a half-step is 1 fret, a whole-step is 2 frets

Major scale formula: W W H W W W H

If you read the major scale formula aloud, you would say:
Whole-step, Whole-step, Half-Step, Whole-step, Whole-step, Whole-step, Half-step

C Major: C D E F G A B C A Major: A B C# D E F# G# A

Minor scale formula: W H W W H W W

A Minor: A B C D E F G A
C Minor: C D Eb F G Ab Bb C

either E string:
C (C natural) = 8th fret
C# (C sharp) = 9th Fret
Cb (C flat) = 7th fret