A complete reference guide to every essential scale and mode in Western music — with free printable staff paper to write out each one for practice.
The major scale is the foundation of Western music. Its pattern — whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half — creates the fami...
The natural minor scale (Aeolian mode) follows W-H-W-W-H-W-W. Its flattened third, sixth and seventh give it a darker, more melanc...
The harmonic minor scale raises the seventh note of the natural minor by a half-step, creating an exotic-sounding augmented second...
The melodic minor scale raises both the sixth and seventh notes when ascending (creating a brighter sound) and reverts to natural ...
The major pentatonic scale uses only five notes (scale degrees 1-2-3-5-6), omitting the 4th and 7th. Its lack of half-steps makes ...
The minor pentatonic (1-b3-4-5-b7) is the most-used scale in blues, rock and guitar soloing. Its five-note simplicity makes it the...
The blues scale adds a flat fifth (the 'blue note') to the minor pentatonic: 1-b3-4-b5-5-b7. That one extra note — the tritone — g...
The chromatic scale contains all 12 notes within an octave, each separated by a half-step. It's the complete palette — every other...
Ionian is identical to the major scale. It is the first mode, built on the first degree of the major scale: W-W-H-W-W-W-H. Bright,...
Dorian is built on the second degree of the major scale: W-H-W-W-W-H-W. It's a minor mode with a raised sixth — giving it a jazzy,...
Phrygian is built on the third degree: H-W-W-W-H-W-W. Its flattened second gives it a Spanish/flamenco character. Think of the ope...
Lydian is built on the fourth degree: W-W-W-H-W-W-H. Its raised fourth gives it a dreamy, floating quality. The Simpsons theme and...
Mixolydian is built on the fifth degree: W-W-H-W-W-H-W. It's a major mode with a flattened seventh — the sound of blues-rock, the ...
Aeolian is identical to the natural minor scale, built on the sixth degree: W-H-W-W-H-W-W. It's the default minor sound in popular...
Locrian is built on the seventh degree: H-W-W-H-W-W-W. Its flattened fifth makes it the darkest, most unstable mode — rarely used ...
The whole-tone scale is built entirely of whole steps (six notes per octave), creating a dreamy, ambiguous sound with no clear ton...