Major
Also known as Ionian
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7
The most fundamental Western scale — bright, stable, and familiar. The reference point all other scales measure against.
Piano Scales
A scale is a set of notes ordered by pitch, defined by its interval pattern — the specific whole steps and half steps between each scale degree. That pattern is what makes a major scale sound bright and a natural minor sound dark.
Find by feel
Bright-to-dark spectrum
All 24 scales plotted by tonal brightness, with the 5 diatonic modes shown as cross-references. Click any dot to jump to its card.
☀ Brightest · ♯4NeutralDarkest · ♭2 ♭5 ☾
Click any scale to play it in C. Use the ⋯ menu on a card to pick a different root just for that scale.
Major & Diatonic
Learn more →Harmonic Major
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – 7
Major with a flatted 6th — an unusual hybrid of major and minor with a dramatic edge.
Chromatic
1 – ♭2 – 2 – ♭3 – 3 – 4 – ♭5 – 5 – ♭6 – 6 – ♭7 – 7
All 12 semitones of the octave — the complete palette of Western music.
Minor Scales
Learn more →Minor
Also known as Aeolian
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
The natural minor — darker and more introspective than major. The default sound of sadness in Western music.
Harmonic Minor
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – 7
Minor with a raised 7th — exotic, dramatic, and cinematic. The classic Eastern European sound.
Melodic Minor
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7
Minor with raised 6th and 7th ascending — the jazz minor, smoother than harmonic minor.
Pentatonic & Blues
Major Pentatonic
1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 6
Five-note major scale without the 4th or 7th — extremely versatile. The folk and country backbone.
Minor Pentatonic
1 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭7
Five-note minor scale — the go-to for rock, blues, and pop soloing.
Major b6 Pentatonic
1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – ♭6
Five-note scale with a lowered sixth — a darker, more expressive major pentatonic.
Minor 6 Pentatonic
1 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6
Five-note scale with a natural sixth — warm, melodic, and a touch brighter than minor pentatonic.
Major Blues
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 3 – 5 – 6
Major pentatonic with the blue note — a brighter, sweeter blues feel.
Minor Blues
1 – ♭3 – 4 – ♭5 – 5 – ♭7
Minor pentatonic with the blue note — the core sound of rock and blues soloing.
Modal & Jazz
Learn more →Lydian Dominant
1 – 2 – 3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
Major with a raised 4th and flatted 7th — bright, floating, and tense at once.
Whole Tone
1 – 2 – 3 – ♯4 – ♯5 – ♭7
Six equal whole steps — dreamy, ambiguous, and impressionistic. No half steps to anchor it.
Half-Whole Diminished
1 – ♭2 – ♭3 – 3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
Octatonic scale alternating half-whole — bright diminished color over dominant 7♭9 chords.
Whole-Half Diminished
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – ♭5 – ♭6 – 6 – 7
Octatonic scale alternating whole-half — symmetrical, used over diminished 7th chords.
Locrian #2
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – ♭5 – ♭6 – ♭7
Locrian with a natural 2nd — a softer, smoother half-diminished sound.
Phrygian Dominant
1 – ♭2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
Flamenco and Middle-Eastern flavor — exotic and deeply intense. Major third over a flat second.
Altered
1 – ♭2 – ♭3 – ♭4 – ♭5 – ♭6 – ♭7
Maximum jazz tension and dissonance — built for altered dominant 7th chords.
Bebop & Exotic
Major Bebop
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♯5 – 6 – 7
Classic bebop major with an added chromatic passing tone — eight-note swing and bop vocabulary.
Dominant Bebop
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7 – 7
The essential bebop sound — Mixolydian with a chromatic passing tone on the dominant chord.
Minor Bebop
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
Dorian with an added passing tone — smooth, flowing minor swing feel.
Double Harmonic
1 – ♭2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – 7
Arabian/Byzantine scale with two augmented seconds — deeply exotic and unmistakable.
Hungarian Minor
1 – 2 – ♭3 – ♯4 – 5 – ♭6 – 7
Exotic minor with a raised 4th and 7th — Romani and Eastern European flavor.
What is a scale?
A scale is a sequence of notes that share a tonal center. Different intervals between the notes produce different moods — the bright optimism of a major scale, the introspection of a natural minor, the floating uncertainty of whole tone, or the flamenco intensity of phrygian dominant.
Every scale on this page can be played starting on any of 12 root notes. The detail pages include keyboard diagrams, audio, fingering, key signatures, and the chords that belong to each key.
Scale formula reference
| Scale | Notes | Formula | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major | 7 | 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 | major |
| Harmonic Major | 7 | 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – 7 | major |
| Chromatic | 12 | 1 – ♭2 – 2 – ♭3 – 3 – 4 – ♭5 – 5 – ♭6 – 6 – ♭7 – 7 | chromatic |
| Minor | 7 | 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7 | minor |
| Harmonic Minor | 7 | 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – 7 | minor |
| Melodic Minor | 7 | 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 | minor |
| Major Pentatonic | 5 | 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 6 | pentatonic |
| Minor Pentatonic | 5 | 1 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭7 | pentatonic |
| Major b6 Pentatonic | 5 | 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – ♭6 | pentatonic |
| Minor 6 Pentatonic | 5 | 1 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6 | pentatonic |
| Major Blues | 6 | 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 3 – 5 – 6 | blues |
| Minor Blues | 6 | 1 – ♭3 – 4 – ♭5 – 5 – ♭7 | blues |
| Lydian Dominant | 7 | 1 – 2 – 3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7 | modal |
| Whole Tone | 6 | 1 – 2 – 3 – ♯4 – ♯5 – ♭7 | whole tone |
| Half-Whole Diminished | 8 | 1 – ♭2 – ♭3 – 3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7 | diminished |
| Whole-Half Diminished | 8 | 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – ♭5 – ♭6 – 6 – 7 | diminished |
| Locrian #2 | 7 | 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – ♭5 – ♭6 – ♭7 | modal |
| Phrygian Dominant | 7 | 1 – ♭2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7 | modal |
| Altered | 7 | 1 – ♭2 – ♭3 – ♭4 – ♭5 – ♭6 – ♭7 | modal |
| Major Bebop | 8 | 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♯5 – 6 – 7 | bebop |
| Dominant Bebop | 8 | 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7 – 7 | bebop |
| Minor Bebop | 8 | 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7 | bebop |
| Double Harmonic | 7 | 1 – ♭2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – 7 | exotic |
| Hungarian Minor | 7 | 1 – 2 – ♭3 – ♯4 – 5 – ♭6 – 7 | exotic |