- Learn what music scales are used for
- Find out if a song is in major or minor
- Discover how to find out the scale of a song
- Also, check out our post on musical textures
If you have been learning about music, you have most likely come across the word “scales” in a musical context. The word scale does not just show up in music.
You can step on a scale to see how much you weigh. Fish and reptiles are covered in scales. How does the word “scale” fit into a musical setting?
Different types of musical scales can be used in many ways.
In this article, we will:
- Explain what musical scales are
- Explain different types of scales
- Help you apply scales to your own music
What Is A Music Scale?
- Scales are basically set sequences of music notes moving up or down.
- Some types of scales use every letter in the “Western” musical alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F, G).
- Scales can use anywhere from four to twelve notes.
- Some scales use “sharps” or “flats,” which raise or lower the sound of certain notes.
- Each different scale has a unique sound; the more scales you know, the more sounds in your palette.
Let’s unpack these topics in more detail.
What Are Music Scales Used For, And Why Are They Important?
Scales are one of the most, if not the most, important building blocks of music. Melodies are written by using notes within scales. Chords are created by combining notes of a scale. Intervals measure the distance between two notes from within a scale.
Scales provide a center or home base for a song or piece of music. It is important to keep the following in mind when answering, “what is a music scale?”
Whole Steps and Half Steps (Tones and Semitones)
Scales follow a pattern of whole steps and half steps, or tones and semitones. Looking at a piano, you’ll see white and black keys.
Some of the white keys do not have black keys in between them.
The distance between these two notes is called a half step or semitone. A half step is also one white key up or down diagonally to the nearest black key.
Two half steps or semitones make one whole step or tone.
A half step is the smallest distance between two notes in a lot of music worldwide today (some cultures use quarter tones or other tuning systems).
These half steps divide a keyboard and other instruments into 12 notes before repeating the same 12 notes one octave higher.
The Chromatic Scale
The chromatic scale is each of the 12 half steps played in a row moving up or down.
You can play a chromatic scale on a keyboard if you play every black and white key in a zig-zig pattern.
You can play a chromatic scale on the guitar by playing every fret on one string (left to right or right to left).
A C chromatic scale is written out in both treble and bass clef, ascending and descending. When ascending, you will see some sharp signs (♯), and when descending, you will see some flat signs (♭).
Usually, sharps are used when going up, and flats are used when going down, but they apply to the same notes; for example, F♯ is the same as G♭.
One famous example of the chromatic scale used in a piece of music is Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee.”
The extensive use of half steps represents a bee flying around rapidly.
You may also recognize the chromatic scale from Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused.”
The descending chromatic scale at the beginning creates the effect of literally feeling dazed and confused.
Whole Tone Scale
The whole tone scale comprises only whole steps or tones, without using any half steps or semi-tones. It is also called a hexatonic scale (six notes).
This scale is rarer in a lot of popular music but creates a unique dream-like effect that works well in certain situations.
You can hear the whole tone scale used in Stevie Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” from 0:04-0:07.
Dream Theater also uses the whole tone scale at 1:00 of “Overture 1928.”
Their use of the scale differs from Stevie Wonder’s, but it still shows how you can use the characteristic sound of the whole tone scale for creative ideas.
Combining Whole Steps and Half Steps
You create different scales when you combine whole and half steps in different ways. The most common scales are major and minor scales.
Below are charts for creating major and minor scales. On the left, you will see the terms whole steps (W) and half steps (h).
On the right, you will see tones (T) and semitones (s). They are the same, but different regions are more familiar with different terminology.
Major Scales
Below is the musical notation for a C Major scale in both treble and bass clef. The scales in the two clefs use the same notes but are an octave apart.
|
Pattern of Whole Steps and Half Steps for a Major Scale |
Pattern of Tones and Semitones for a Major Scale |
| Whole, Whole, half, Whole, Whole, Whole, half | Tone, Tone, semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, semitone |
| W W h W W W h | T T s T T T s |
- Check out our full guide to the major scale.
Minor Scales
We have a more comprehensive guide to the types of minor scales here, but we’ll cover the basics below.
Natural Minor Scales
Below is the musical notation for an A minor scale (natural minor) in both treble and bass clef. Once again, the scales in the two clefs use the same notes but are an octave apart.
|
Pattern of Whole Steps and Half Steps for a Minor Scale |
Pattern of Tones and semitones for a Minor Scale |
| Whole, half, Whole, half, Whole, whole | Tone, semitone, Tone, semitone, Tone, Tone |
| W h W W h W W | T s T T s T T |
- Read our full guide to the natural minor scale.
Harmonic Minor Scales
Harmonic minor scales take the natural minor scale shown above and raise the seventh scale degree by a half step.
This gives the scale a characteristic “augmented second” between the sixth and seventh notes of the scale. This larger distance stands out, making it recognizable.
Below is the musical notation for an A harmonic minor scale in both treble and bass clef.
Neoclassical guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen demonstrates the harmonic minor scale in this video.
- Read our full guide to the harmonic minor scale.
Melodic Minor Scales
Melodic minor scales are unique because they change depending on which direction you are moving.
When you go up, you raise the sixth and seventh scale degrees (so it almost sounds like a major scale).
When you come down the scale, it switches to a natural minor scale with the lowered sixth and seventh notes.
Below is the musical notation for an A melodic minor scale in both treble and bass clef.
- Read our full guide to the melodic minor scale.
What Are Modes?
Modes are scales that use a different pattern of whole steps and half steps or tones and semitones to alter the sound of the scale.
People often find comparing modes to altered versions of a major or minor scale easier.
There are three major modes, three minor modes, and one diminished mode, neither major nor minor.
Ionian
The Ionian mode is the same as the major scale. The pattern is W W h W W W h or T T s T T T s.
Dorian
The Dorian mode is based on the second note of the major scale. It is the same as a minor scale with a raised sixth scale degree (major scale with b3, b7).
The pattern is W h W W W h W or T s T T T s T.
Phrygian
The Phrygian mode is based on the third note of the major scale. It is the same as a minor scale with a lowered second scale degree (major scale with b2, b3, b6, b7).
The pattern is h W W W h W W or s T T T s T T.
Lydian
The Lydian mode is based on the fourth note of the major scale. It is the same as a major scale with a raised fourth scale degree (#4). The pattern is W W W h W W h or T T T s T T s.
Mixolydian
The Mixolydian mode is based on the fifth note of the major scale. It is the same as a major scale with a lowered seventh scale degree (b7). The pattern is W W h W W h W or T T s T T T s.
Aeolian
The Aeolian mode is based on the sixth note of the major scale. It is the same as the natural minor scale (major scale with b3, b6, and b7). The pattern is W h W W h W W or T s T T s T T.
Locrian
The Locrian mode is based on the seventh note of the major scale. This is the only diminished scale derived from the original set of notes.
Diminished scales are neither major nor minor since the fifth note is a half step lower than all the other modes (major scale with b2, b3, b5, b6, b7). The pattern is h W W h W W W or s T T s T T T.
Below is a great video by PianoPig explaining more about each musical mode.
The Pentatonic Scale
The pentatonic scale is arguably the most popular worldwide and the scale that transfers to practically any genre seamlessly.
There are major and minor pentatonic scales, but both only use five notes.
A major pentatonic scale removes the fourth and seventh notes from a major scale (1-2-3-5-6). These two notes create a “tritone,” which can create extra dissonance or clash in certain cases.
Removing them makes it safer to use the remaining five notes for a solo or create melodies.
A minor pentatonic scale is a go-to scale when playing blues, jazz, rock, metal, country, or pretty much any genre.
A minor pentatonic scale removes the second and sixth notes from the minor scale, again taking out the “tritone.”
C major and A minor pentatonic scales have the same notes (C-D-E-G-A or A-C-D-E-G).
- Check out our full guide to the pentatonic scale.
How Do You Know If A Song Is Major Or Minor?
Finding out if a song is major or minor can be tricky if you are new to listening to this topic, especially because songs may not stay in major or minor the whole time.
Also, a song in major will likely still use minor chords at times, and a song in a minor key will likely still use major chords at times.
You need to listen for what sounds like the song’s home base: the overall root (also called the tonic).
If the song pulls in a certain direction and reaches somewhere that sounds stable or complete, that will be the deciding factor.
Songs in a major key generally have a more positive tone. People describe songs in major as happy, uplifting, joyful, etc.
This is not always the case, but it is a good place to start narrowing down options if you are new to finding out the key to a song.
Songs in a minor key are usually sad, melancholy, darker, possibly have a more serious sound, or sound more intense.
Keep in mind that the speed or tempo of the music also plays an important role since songs in a slow minor key might sound sad compared to a fast song in a minor key, which can sound more energetic even if it is in a minor key.
Finding songs you know and then learning their key helps you train your ear and develop a library of sounds in your memory.
This will help you remember what major or minor songs sound like, and when you hear something new, it will be easier to figure it out.
It helps to know that most songs will be in major or minor. Anything outside of that will be more noticeable after some practice.
How Do I Figure Out The Scale Of A Song?
Once you can hear if a song is in major or minor, you can find out what scale is used.
If a song is in a major key, the scale options will likely be:
- Major (Ionian Mode)
- Major Pentatonic
- Lydian Mode
- Mixolydian Mode
If a song is in a minor key, the scale options will likely be:
- Minor (Natural minor/Aeolian mode)
- Minor Pentatonic
- Harmonic Minor
- Melodic Minor
- Dorian Mode
- Phrygian Mode
Wrapping Up
Learning about scales may seem complicated at first, but it is just about getting used to hearing certain sounds.
Once you have a certain sound in your memory and can call it something, you will start getting more practice and hearing different things in music.
You will notice scales you like or hear more often. You will pick up on new patterns you don’t hear as much.
Overall, it is an ongoing process that, like any skill, will get easier with time. Best of luck with your music!
Before you go, check out our guide to Homophonic Texture In Music (What Is It?).