Scales
A scale is a set of notes that sound good together, arranged from a starting note, the tonic. It’s the raw material of melodies, riffs and solos.
What a scale is for
When you improvise a solo, you don’t pick your notes at random: you draw from a scale that fits the chords being played behind you. If the song is in A minor, the notes of the A minor scale will sound right.
A shape that moves
On the guitar, a scale makes a shape on the fretboard. Good news: that shape doesn’t change from one key to another. To go from A minor to G minor, you just slide the same shape down two frets.
A scale covers the whole neck, so it’s split into positions: blocks of four or five frets that you learn one at a time, then connect.
Where to start
Start with the minor pentatonic. Just five notes, none of them sounds wrong, and it’s the scale behind almost every rock and blues solo.
Families
Minor pentatonic
Five notes, none of them wrong: the scale behind almost every rock and blues solo. It’s the first scale to learn for improvising.
Major pentatonic
The bright side of the pentatonic: five notes with a happy, open sound, all over country, folk and pop. And the same shape as the minor one, shifted.
Major scale
The scale everyone knows without realizing it. It’s the reference point of Western music, where intervals, chords and keys all come from.
Blues scale
The minor pentatonic plus just one note: the diminished fifth, or “blue note.” A passing note that’s all it takes to make a solo sound like the blues.
The modes
The same seven notes, a different starting point: each mode has its own color. Here are the seven modes of the major scale, their characteristic note and the chords to play them over.
Dorian mode
A minor scale that doesn’t cry: thanks to its major 6th, Dorian sounds bright and groovy. It’s the mode of funk, modal jazz and plenty of Latin rock solos.
Phrygian mode
Dark and tense, with that half step right above the root: Phrygian is the sound of flamenco and of countless metal riffs.
Lydian mode
A major scale that floats: with its raised 4th, Lydian sounds dreamy and bright. It’s a favorite color of film composers and some virtuoso guitarists.
Mixolydian mode
A major scale with a bit of grit: thanks to its flat 7th, Mixolydian is the sound of rock, blues and country. It’s the mode of seventh chords.
Natural minor scale (Aeolian mode)
When people say “the minor scale”, this is the one they mean. The natural minor, also called the Aeolian mode, is the melancholy color behind most rock ballads.
Locrian mode
The most unstable mode: its flat 5th means it can never settle. Rare in practice, it’s mostly used over the half-diminished chord and in a few metal riffs.
Harmonic minor scale
The natural minor scale with one note changed: the seventh goes up a half step. It gives minor keys a real dominant chord and an exotic flavor.
Melodic minor scale
A major scale with only the third made minor: minor without the melancholy of the minor sixth. In jazz, it’s simply called jazz minor.
Chromatic scale
Every note, no exceptions, each a half step from the next. It’s not a scale for making music; it’s the number one tool for loosening up your fingers and learning the neck.
Find a scale
One row per root note, one column per scale or mode. Click a note to open its page.
| Root | Minor penta | Major penta | Major (Ionian) | Blues | Dorian | Phrygian | Lydian | Mixolydian | Minor (Aeolian) | Harmonic minor | Melodic minor | Locrian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | C |
| D♭ / C♯ | C♯ | D♭ | D♭ | C♯ | C♯ | C♯ | D♭ | D♭ | C♯ | C♯ | C♯ | C♯ |
| D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| E♭ | E♭ | E♭ | E♭ | E♭ | E♭ | D♯ | E♭ | E♭ | E♭ | E♭ | E♭ | D♯ |
| E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E |
| F | F | F | F | F | F | F | F | F | F | F | F | F |
| F♯ | F♯ | F♯ | F♯ | F♯ | F♯ | F♯ | G♭ | F♯ | F♯ | F♯ | F♯ | F♯ |
| G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G |
| A♭ / G♯ | G♯ | A♭ | A♭ | G♯ | G♯ | G♯ | A♭ | A♭ | G♯ | G♯ | G♯ | G♯ |
| A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | A♯ |
| B | B | B | B | B | B | B | B | B | B | B | B | B |