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Music scales dictionary: every common scale, every key

Choose a root and a scale and get everything on one page: the notes, the formula, the pattern of whole and half steps, the scale on a keyboard and on a guitar fretboard, and the chords built from it. Twelve roots times twelve scales make 144 pages, and you can hear each scale played. Free, no account.

All 144 scales

major scale

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

natural minor scale

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

harmonic minor scale

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

melodic minor scale

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

major pentatonic scale

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

minor pentatonic scale

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

blues scale

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

Dorian mode

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

Phrygian mode

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

Lydian mode

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

Mixolydian mode

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

Locrian mode

C · C♯ · D · E♭ · E · F · F♯ · G · A♭ · A · B♭ · B

What each scale page gives you

Every page in the dictionary follows the same layout:

The notes, spelled for the key (D major has F# and C#, never G♭ and D♭).
The formula in degrees, such as 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7 for dorian.
The steps between neighbouring notes.
A keyboard and a guitar fretboard with the scale highlighted.
The chords of the scale, built on each degree.
A play button to hear it.

The twelve scales are major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, blues, and the modes dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian and locrian. The most visited page for guitarists is A minor pentatonic, and for good reason.

How scales are built from whole and half steps

A scale is a pattern of distances. A half step is one semitone, one fret on guitar or the next key on piano; a whole step is two. Learn the pattern once and you can start it on any note.

Scale	Steps (W = whole, H = half)	Degrees	Example
Major	W W H W W W H	1 2 3 4 5 6 7	C D E F G A B
Natural minor	W H W W H W W	1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7	A B C D E F G
Harmonic minor	W H W W H W+H H	1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7	A B C D E F G#
Melodic minor	W H W W W W H	1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7	A B C D E F# G#
Major pentatonic	W W W+H W W+H	1 2 3 5 6	C D E G A
Minor pentatonic	W+H W W W+H W	1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7	A C D E G
Blues	W+H W H H W+H W	1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7	A C D E♭ E G
Dorian	W H W W W H W	1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7	D E F G A B C
Phrygian	H W W W H W W	1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7	E F G A B C D
Lydian	W W W H W W H	1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 7	F G A B C D E
Mixolydian	W W H W W H W	1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7	G A B C D E F
Locrian	H W W H W W W	1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7	B C D E F G A

Notice how small the differences are. Dorian is natural minor with a raised 6th. Mixolydian is major with a lowered 7th. The harmonic minor raises the 7th of natural minor so that the V chord becomes major (E instead of Em in A minor), which gives that strong pull back to the tonic. In classical practice the melodic minor descends as a natural minor; in jazz the ascending form is used in both directions.

Which scale for which style

No scale belongs to one genre, but some are the first choice in practice:

Blues and rock: the minor pentatonic and the blues scale, which adds the ♭5 as a passing note. Our guide to the five pentatonic positions shows how to cover the neck.
Country and pop: the major pentatonic, bright and singable.
Funk, soul and minor jazz vamps: dorian, over a chord like Am7 or Dm7. Try D dorian over a Dm7 groove.
Rock and blues over dominant chords: mixolydian, over A7 or a I-♭VII-IV rock riff (A, G, D).
Metal and Spanish flavours: phrygian, with its dark ♭2 just above the root.
Film music and dreamy pop: lydian, whose ♯4 floats above a major chord.
Neoclassical and minor-key melodies: harmonic minor.
Jazz: melodic minor, and locrian over m7♭5 chords.

To practise any of them, set a groove on the online drum machine and play the scale over it, one note per beat, then two.

Modes and the chords of a scale

The modes share notes with the major scale but start on a different degree. C major, D dorian, E phrygian, F lydian, G mixolydian, A natural minor (aeolian) and B locrian all use the white keys only. What changes is the tonic, so the colour changes completely.

The chords of the scale come from stacking every other note. In C major you get C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and B°, or with sevenths Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7 and Bm7♭5. These diatonic chords tell you which chords will sound at home in a key, and which scale fits a chord progression: if a song only uses C, F, G and Am, the C major scale (or A natural minor, its relative minor) works over all of it.

Going further in the free workshop

The dictionary shows one scale at a time. With a free account, the GuitarHarmony workshop's scales and chords tool displays every common scale and mode over the whole neck, in note names or intervals, in any key, and can find the scale that fits your chords. Seeing intervals instead of dots is what turns a box shape into a scale you can actually use.

How to use it

Choose the root. Pick the tonic of your song or the note you want to start from, among the twelve roots.
Choose the scale. Major, one of the three minors, a pentatonic, the blues scale or a mode. The page opens with the notes and the formula.
Find it on your instrument. Use the keyboard or the guitar fretboard view. Play the scale slowly from root to root, saying the degree numbers.
Listen and use the chords. Play the scale with the play button, then try the chords of the scale to hear the key around it.

What you can do with it

Improvising over a backing groove

Your band plays Am7 to D7 for minutes. A dorian contains both chords' notes: open its page, learn one fingering and stay on chord tones at each change.

Understanding a mode name

A lesson mentions lydian. Open F lydian, compare it with F major and you see the single difference: B instead of B♭, the ♯4.

Checking the key of a song

A song uses G, C, D and Em. Look at G major: the chords of the scale include all four, so G major is the key and E minor pentatonic is a safe start for a solo.

Frequently asked questions

How many scales are in the dictionary?

144: twelve roots times twelve scales. Each page shows the notes, formula, steps, keyboard, guitar fretboard and chords of the scale, and you can hear it.

What is the difference between natural, harmonic and melodic minor?

Natural minor is 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. Harmonic minor raises the 7th (1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7). Melodic minor raises both the 6th and the 7th (1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7).

Which scale should a beginner learn first?

On guitar, the minor pentatonic: five notes, one easy box (A minor pentatonic at the 5th fret) and it works over blues and rock straight away. Then the major scale, which explains everything else.

What are whole and half steps?

A half step is the smallest distance in Western music: one fret on guitar, the next key on piano. A whole step is two half steps. Each scale is a fixed pattern of these steps.

Do I need an account?

No. The scales dictionary is on the public site, free and unlimited. A free account only opens the workshop tools, such as the full-neck scale explorer.

More free tools

Ready to go further than the chart?

The free GuitarHarmony workshop shows every scale on the whole neck, names any chord you play and builds progressions with you. Free account, no card.

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