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Scales… loved by many, but loathed by others. But what are scales? In this article we’ll explore what scales are, the key terms we use to describe them, their role in music and how you can construct some common types of scales in music.
In This Guide
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What Are Scales?
A scale is the group of notes used in a piece of music, and the notes are picked from the 12 tones.
You can think of a scale like a painter’s palette – we pick certain “colors” (notes) which complement each other and set the right mood for our “painting” (music).
How Many Notes Are in a Scale?
There is no singular answer to how many notes are in a scale, though we usually use a 7-note scale and can add or subtract notes from there.
How are Scales Constructed?
When a musical scale is written out for study purposes, we start with the “root” note and go in order from lowest to highest, until we reach the root note again.
The root note is our “home” note, it’s the grounding point of the scale and will be used in its name. But what about the other notes?
Music Scale Degrees
Each note of the scale is described by its numerical place in the sequence. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.
There are also some more technical names for them:
1st = tonic
2nd = supertonic
3rd = mediant
4th = subdominant
5th = dominant
6th = submediant
7th = leading note
The 8th note doesn’t have a name, as it’s just the tonic note but one octave higher.
Intervals in Scales
Each scale has a different formula for the distance between the root note and the next one, and the next one, and so on. There are two options for the distance:
- One note, also known as a half step or semitone
- Two notes, also known as a whole step or tone
By moving upwards from the root note in a specific pattern of half steps and whole steps, we can make all sorts of scales.
Common Types of Scales in Music
Let’s start out by looking at the friendliest scale:
The Major Scale
This is a very familiar 7-note scale and one you’ll hear absolutely everywhere. Usually used as a “happy” musical scale, it sounds bright and pleasant.
The interval for this scale is as follows: W – W – H – W – W – W – H
(Where W = whole step and H = half step).
Let’s choose the note G and construct a G major scale.
G – A – B – C – D – E – F♯ – G
As an example, here’s Miley Cyrus with Flowers in C major.
The Minor Scale
Another very common 7-note scale, we usually use this is as the “dark” or “sad” scale. There are actually 3 types of minor scale:
- Natural minor (also called “Aeolian”)
- Harmonic minor
- Melodic minor
The natural minor scale is the simplest, and follows this formula: W – H – W – W – H – W – W
Katy Perry’s Part of Me is a great example of the natural minor.
Let’s try making an E natural minor scale.
E – F♯ – G – A – B – C – D – E
Another very common 7-note scale, we usually use this is as the “dark” or “sad” scale. There are actually 3 types of minor scale:
- Natural minor (also called “Aeolian”)
- Harmonic minor
- Melodic minor
The natural minor scale is the simplest, and follows this formula: W – H – W – W – H – W – W
Katy Perry’s Part of Me is a great example of the natural minor.
Let’s try making an E natural minor scale.
E – F♯ – G – A – B – C – D – E
Hang on, those are the same notes as the G major scale!
That’s because they are “relative” scales. We’ll come back to that later.
The harmonic minor features a sharpened (raised a half step) 7th, which makes it easier to create chords in a minor key.
W – H – W – W – H – W+H – H
E – F♯ – G – A – B – C – D♯ – E
In order to smooth out this larger interval between the 6th and 7th, we also have the melodic minor scale, which sharpens the 6th as well.
W – H – W – W – W – W – H
E – F♯ – G – A – B – C♯ – D♯ – E
The Pentatonic Scale
Let’s look at a 5-note scale now. Pentatonic scales sound fresh and open, and they’re very easy to improvise with due to their simplicity.
To make a major pentatonic scale, we just take a major scale and remove the 4th and 7th degrees. Here’s C major pentatonic.
W – W – W+H – W – W+H
C – D – E – G – A – C
The iconic hymn Amazing Grace is one example of a major pentatonic scale. Here’s a version by Judy Collins:
To make a minor pentatonic scale, we take a natural minor scale and remove the 2nd and 6th degrees. Here’s C minor pentatonic.
W+H – W – W – W+H – W
C – E♭ – F – G – B♭ – C
Avicii’s 2013 hit Hey Brother focuses its melody around the minor pentatonic scale:
The Blues Scale
The blues music scale has two variations (major and minor) and they’re very closely related to the pentatonic scales.
The minor blues is likely the one you’ll instantly recognize as “blues”. It is structured as follows:
W+H – W – H – H – W+H – W
C – E♭ – F – G♭- G – B♭ – C
The added note is a flat 5th. It’s sometimes called the “blue note”, and it’s what gives this scale the bluesy feel.
Here’s an example: Freddie King’s I’m Tore Down
There is also the major blues, where a different blue note (a flat 3rd) is added to the major pentatonic scale.
W – H – H – W+H – W – W+H
C – D – E♭ – E – G – A – C
The Chromatic Scale
What happens if you use all 12 tones in one scale? This is called the chromatic scale, and it sounds very harsh.
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee famously features a lot of chromaticism.
The Whole Tone Scale
This 6-note scale consists only of whole-tone intervals. It’s one of the more experimental types of scales in music. Due to its strange shape, there are only two possible groups of notes in a whole tone scale.
W – W – W – W – W – W
E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – C – D – E
E♭ – F – G – A – B – D♭ – E♭
It has a really dreamy yet eerie sound – you’ll often hear it played on a harp during “flashback” scenes in TV shows.
Claude Debussy’s Voiles is one of the best examples showcasing this sound.
Other Types of Scales in Music: Modes
Musical modes originated in ancient Greece, and they were how people thought of scales before “key signatures” became common. There are 7 modes:
Ionian = the major scale
Lydian = with a sharpened 4th, very bright and a little unsettling
Mixolydian = with a flattened 7th, a more mellow sound
Dorian = a flattened 3rd and 7th, a gentler version of the minor scale
Aeolian = the minor scale (flattened 3rd, 6th and 7th)
Phrygian = a flattened 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th, sounds like flamenco music
Locrian = a flattened 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th, very unstable and disjointed
Relative vs. Parallel Scales
Earlier, we mentioned relative scales. This is where the scales have the exact same notes but just start on a different root note. The relative minor is always 3 half steps downward from its relative major, for example, C major and A minor.
The modes can also be relative, for example, G Mixolydian is a relative of C major.
Parallel scales are ones that start on the same note, for example, A major, A minor, A Dorian!
Conclusion & Key Takeaways
A scale is like a painter’s color palette, its role is to set the right mood for our music.
The best way to learn scales is to get familiar with the interval patterns used to construct them. You can pick a scale you enjoy the sound of, try building the scale on a few different root notes and thoroughly explore its sounds and shapes.
Alex Martin
Alex is a professional musician and content writer, with a BSc from Leeds Becketts University in Creative Music & Sound Design Technology.
