What is another name for the C in the C-major scale?

What is another name for the C in the C-major scale?

• A. The resting tone, do
• B. The dominant
• C. The leading tone
• D. The subdominant

Answer: (A)

In a major scale, the first note is the tonic—the home pitch that gives the scale its sense of rest and resolution. In C major, that note is C. Saying it’s the resting tone, do ties together both the pitch (C) and its function as the tonic. In solfege, do represents the tonic, so C in C major is do. That’s why this choice is the best one: it identifies the pitch and its role as the starting, stabilizing point of the scale. The other options point to different degrees: the dominant is the fifth note (G), the leading tone is the seventh (B), and the subdominant is the fourth (F). None of those are C, so they don’t describe the note in question.

In a major scale, the first note is the tonic—the home pitch that gives the scale its sense of rest and resolution. In C major, that note is C. Saying it’s the resting tone, do ties together both the pitch (C) and its function as the tonic. In solfege, do represents the tonic, so C in C major is do. That’s why this choice is the best one: it identifies the pitch and its role as the starting, stabilizing point of the scale.

The other options point to different degrees: the dominant is the fifth note (G), the leading tone is the seventh (B), and the subdominant is the fourth (F). None of those are C, so they don’t describe the note in question.