Scales & Keys
Building major scales, key signatures, and accidentals.
42 articles · 7 tools
Guides
What is the chromatic scale?
Learn what the chromatic scale is: all 12 pitches an octave apart by half steps, why it has no home key, how to spell it up and down, and how to play it.
Melodic minor scale
Learn what the melodic minor scale is, how it raises the 6th and 7th ascending, why classical practice reverts descending, and the notes of A melodic minor.
Easy piano songs for beginners
The best easy piano songs for beginners use a small hand span, few black keys, and repeating patterns. Here are 12 real pieces and what each one teaches.
The pentatonic scale, explained
What the pentatonic scale is, how to spell the major and minor versions, why dropping two notes makes it sound safe, and how to play one on the piano.
Key signatures, explained
What a key signature is, why it exists, the order of sharps and flats, and two quick tricks for naming the major key — and its relative minor — at a glance.
Major and minor scales: the difference
Major sounds bright, minor sounds shaded — and the difference is a handful of lowered notes. Learn to spell and hear it, plus the three minor scales.
Piano scales for beginners
Learn what piano scales are, why the major scale sounds bright, how to play C major with the right fingering, and a simple practice path to start today.
Circle of fifths
The one diagram that turns key signatures, related keys and chords into something you can reason about — the circle of fifths, explained.
From the books
Scale Construction Table
A quick-reference table of every scale in this book — its tones and step structure at a glance.
Other Exotic and Ethnic Scales
Enigmatic, Hungarian minor, Persian, Arabian, Japanese and more — exotic and ethnic scales with fretboard patterns.
Diminished
The symmetrical eight-note diminished scale (whole-half and half-whole) in positional and diagonal fretboard forms.
Whole Tone
The dreamy six-note whole tone scale and its symmetrical shapes, in positions and three-notes-per-string patterns.
Chromatic
The twelve-tone chromatic scale in positional and single-string fingerings for building speed and dexterity.
Modes of Jazz Minor
The seven modes of the jazz minor scale — Lydian ♭7, Super Locrian and more — shown as full-neck patterns.
Jazz Melodic Minor
The jazz (melodic) minor scale, a natural minor with raised sixth and seventh, in positions and full-neck forms.
Phrygian-Dominant
The Phrygian-dominant scale — the fifth mode of harmonic minor — with its Spanish/flamenco color, across the neck.
Harmonic Minor
The exotic harmonic minor scale and its distinctive raised seventh, in five positions and full-neck patterns.
Locrian
The unstable Locrian mode with flatted second and fifth, mapped in positions and three-notes-per-string patterns.
Mixolydian
The dominant, bluesy Mixolydian mode with its flatted seventh, in positions and full-neck fingerings.
Lydian
The airy Lydian mode with its raised fourth, shown in five positions and three-notes-per-string forms.
Phrygian
The dark Phrygian mode with its flatted second, mapped across the fretboard in positions and full-neck patterns.
Dorian
The Dorian mode — a minor scale with a bright raised sixth — in five positions and three-notes-per-string patterns.
Creating Modes
How the seven modes are created from a parent scale — and how to see and hear each as a scale in its own right.
Major
The major scale in five positional patterns and three-notes-per-string forms, with full-neck fingerings.
Natural Minor
The natural minor (Aeolian) scale in five positions and three-notes-per-string patterns across the whole neck.
Major Blues
The nine-tone major blues scale in all five boxes and full-neck fingerings for guitar.
Minor Blues
The eight-tone minor blues scale mapped across the fretboard in five interconnected box patterns.
Major Pentatonic
The bright, country- and rock-friendly major pentatonic scale in five boxes, diagonals and full-neck patterns.
Blues
The six-note blues scale — minor pentatonic plus the flatted fifth — shown in all five boxes and across the neck.
Minor Pentatonic
The five-tone minor pentatonic scale in all five box patterns, diagonal shapes and full-neck fingerings for guitar.
Construction Basics
How every scale is built from the major scale by altering its steps — the foundation for all the patterns ahead.
How to Learn Scales
How to approach this book and practice scales effectively, so each pattern truly sinks in.
What are Scales?
Scales are the collections of notes behind every key and solo — here's what they are and why understanding them transforms your playing.
Diatonic Four-Part Chords and Progressions
Discover how four-part seventh chords stack onto every degree of the major scale to form the diatonic chords behind countless progressions.
Diatonic Triads and Progressions
Build a triad on every note of the C major scale to reveal its major, minor, and diminished qualities and how Roman numerals map chord function.
Creating Intervals from the Major Scale
Build every interval from the C major scale, hearing major and perfect intervals as you play harmonic pairs of notes together.
Introducing 6/8 and 12/8 Time
Count in eighth notes with the 6/8 and 12/8 time signatures, then play a traditional tune in the new key of B-flat major.
Using Accidentals
Step outside a key signature using sharp, flat, and natural signs called accidentals, and learn how long they stay in force within a measure.
Introducing Key Signatures
Discover how the sharps or flats at the start of a piece form a key signature that tells you which key you're in and which major scale a song is built on.
Building Major Scales
Build a C major scale step by step using the whole-and-half-step formula, discovering why C uses only white keys while other starting notes mix in black ones.
F Position
Set up F Position with both hands, resting your right thumb on F and remembering the B-flat the key of F requires, ready to move beyond the basic five-finger shape.
The Building Blocks of Scales
Explore the major scale, the foundation of most Western melodies, and learn how whole steps and half steps combine to build its distinctive pattern.
Tools
Scales & Keys tools →Interactive tools for Scales & Keys — try them right in your browser.
Accidental calculator
Pick a key and a note letter and it tells you the sharp, flat, or natural that letter carries in that key, spells the note, and shows it on the staff.
Key signature finder
Pick a mode and a key and see its sharps or flats drawn on the staff, the scale spelled out, and its relative key named — then hear it played.
Key signature trainer
A key signature appears on the staff, you pick the major key it belongs to, and you get instant feedback and a running score.
Scale ear trainer
Hear a scale played from a random root and name its type — major, minor, the modes, pentatonic, blues — with instant feedback and a running score.
Scale finder
Pick a root note and a scale type — major, minor, the modes, pentatonic, blues — and see every note light up on the piano, spelled out for you.
Scale reading trainer
A scale is written on the staff, you name its type, and you can hear it played back — with instant feedback and a running score.
Tuning drone
Hold a steady reference pitch on any note, in any octave, at A = 440, 442 or baroque 415, with an optional fifth — tune to it and practice intonation, scales and long tones right in your browser.