Scales

Piano Scales: Types of Scales & How to Apply Them | Pianote

5/22/2025 1742

84 Piano Scales. The Major Scales, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, Pentatonic Major, Pentatonic Minor, Major Blues, Minor Blues

I can now play these 84 Piano Scales. The Major Scales, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, Pentatonic Major, Pentatonic Minor, Major Blues, Minor Blues in the following 12 keys: C B B♭ A A♭ G G♭ F E E♭ D D♭. What can I do next?

ChatGPT said:

Wow — that's a massive achievement! Mastering 84 scales across 12 keys is no small feat. You've built an incredibly solid technical and theoretical foundation.

Here’s what you can do next to build on your skills:

🎶 1. Learn Modes in All 12 Keys

Start exploring church modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian). They’ll deepen your understanding of harmony and prepare you for jazz, fusion, and modal music.

🧠 2. Apply Scales to Real Music

Pick songs in each genre (jazz, blues, funk, pop, gospel).
Identify the key and the scale(s) used.
Use your scale knowledge to analyze melodies and solos.
Try transcribing short solos by ear — blues licks, jazz phrases, etc.

🎹 3. Improvise Using Specific Scales

Practice improvisation over:

12-bar blues using minor blues, major blues, and mixolydian.
Pop chord progressions using major and minor pentatonics.
Jazz ii-V-I progressions using bebop and mixolydian scales.

🎼 4. Play Chords and Arpeggios Alongside Your Scales

You’ve done scales — now pair them with diatonic chords and arpeggios.

Practice triads and 7th chords built from each scale.
Practice arpeggiating each chord (ascending and descending).
Voice-lead between chords smoothly — especially in jazz.

🎧 5. Start Composing or Arranging

Use your scale fluency to:

Write your own melodies.
Compose short piano pieces or riffs using different scale types.
Create variations on familiar tunes using new scales.

📚 6. Explore Advanced Scales

Ready for a challenge? Try:

Bebop Scales
Altered Scale (Super Locrian)
Diminished (Whole-Half & Half-Whole)
Lydian Dominant
Double Harmonic Major

🧩 7. Integrate Scale Theory with Ear Training

Use tools like ToneGym or Functional Ear Trainer to:

Recognize scales and intervals by ear.
Hear modal and blues variations in context.

✍️ Bonus Idea: Create a “Scale Diary”

Write daily or weekly:

Which scales you practiced
What you discovered (new licks, fingerings, chord voicings)
What you want to explore next

You're in a fantastic place. With this foundation, you're already well on your way toward mastering improvisation, jazz harmony, or even composition.

"What Are Piano Scales?"

Hey everyone! Today, I wanted to talk about one of the
most important building blocks of Music Theory for piano players — scales.

A scale is 'any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch.'

Or more simply: A scale is just a series of notes arranged in a certain order, following specific rules.

(Why They Matter)

The fundamental scales are the major and minor scales.
But rock, blues, pop music use the pentatonic and blues scales.
And then jazz music goes even deeper, modes, bebop scales, and whole tone scales.

(Why Practice Scales?)
Why is practicing scales so important? 2 Big Reason:

1st) Because it improves technique to help you play faster and more smoothly.
2nd) Understanding music theory helps you really 'get' things like key signatures — you know, how many sharps or flats are in a key.

(Real-World Use)
So how are scales actually used? One major way is improvisation.

For example, if you’re jamming over a chord progression in C major,
you can use any notes from the C major scale to improvise your melody.
Blues and pentatonic scales are especially popular for improvising too.

(Relationship Between Scales and Chords)
And here’s something super important: scales and chords are closely connected. Every scale relates to a chord, and vice versa.

(Diving Deeper into Scales)
"Let’s break down the most important types of piano scales:"

1. Major Scales

These are seven-note scales with a pattern of whole and half steps:
W-W-H-W-W-W-H.
They usually sound happy or bright.
There are 12 major scales

2. Minor Scales

Also seven notes, but with a different pattern: W-H-W-W-H-W-W.
There are actually three types of minor scales:
Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, and Melodic Minor.
Minor scales tend to sound sad or emotional.
36 minor scales. 12 for each Natural, Harmonic, and Melodic.

3. Pentatonic Scales

Just five notes! Super common in folk, pop, and blues music.
There are 24 Pentatonic Scales, 12 major and 12 minor.

4. Blues Scales

Six notes, including those famous "blue notes"
that give blues and jazz their unique flavor.
There are 24 Blues Scales, 12 major and 12 minor.

5. Chromatic Scales

All twelve notes — every half step — one after the other.
Creates a feeling of tension or dissonance.

6. 7 Modes

Think of them as different flavors of the major scale,
depending on where you start.
7 modes of the major scale: Ionian (major), Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian (minor) and Locrian.

7. Whole Tone Scales

Six notes, all spaced a whole step apart.
They sound very dreamy or otherworldly.

(Closing)
Scales are way more than just finger exercises —
they’re the foundation of your technique, theory knowledge, and creativity.
So if you want to get better at piano,
learning your scales is one of the smartest things you can do.

Thanks for watching — and happy practicing!

Major scales sound “happy” and you may recognize them
as the do-re-mi scale.

Every minor key has a relative major key and relative keys share the same key signature (number of sharps and flats).

The harmonic minor scale follows the key signature of the relative major key and raises the seventh note of the scale one half-step. For example, the seventh note of D minor, C, is raised to C-sharp.

The chromatic scale is a fun scale to learn because it’s easy to play fast and can sound very impressive.
All we’re doing is playing all twelve tones in an octave.

The major pentatonic scale is built on degrees
1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the major scale.

The major blues scale is based on the following
major scale degrees: 1, 2, ♭3,♮3, 5, 6.

Updated on 4/24/2025 2051

WHAT ARE PIANO SCALES?

According to Wikipedia, “a scale is any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch.”

Here’s a simpler definition that I like:

“A series of notes arranged in an order according to specific rules.”

The fundamental scales every piano player should know are the major and minor scales.

Pianists who want to play rock, blues, pop, and jazz should also learn the pentatonic and blues scales.

Finally, jazz uses even more scales, such as modes, bebop scales, and whole tone scales.

Why is practicing piano scales important?

Piano scales are often associated with technique.

And while it’s true that practicing your scales will help you play faster and more smoothly, scales are important for understanding theory, too.

Practicing scales helps us understand concepts like key signature (how many sharps and flats there are in a key).

How are scales used? What’s the practical application of knowing your scales?

Piano scales also help piano players improvise!

For example, you can use any note from the C major scale to improvise on top of a chord progression in C major.

Blues and pentatonic scales are also popular tools to improvise with.

We must also understand that scales and chords are closely related.

Every scale has a strong relationship with a chord. Scales and chords “imply” each other.

For example, C Mixolydian and C7 share many similarities.

So, knowing what scale is related to what chord will help you improvise over that chord.

The most fundamental piano scales are major and minor scales, which are seven-note scales with distinct patterns of whole and half steps.

These scales can be used in various musical styles and can be learned at different levels of piano proficiency.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

1. Major Scales:

Definition: Seven-note scales with a specific pattern of whole and half steps (W-W-H-W-W-W-H), where W stands for whole step and H stands for half step.
Sound: Generally perceived as happy or bright in sound.

2. Minor Scales:

Definition: Seven-note scales with a pattern of whole and half steps that differs from major scales (W-H-W-W-H-W-W).
Types: Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, and Melodic Minor.
Sound: Often associated with sad or somber emotions.

3. Pentatonic Scales:

Five-note scales, often used in folk and blues music.

4. Blues Scales:

Six-note scales with distinctive "blue notes," commonly used in blues and jazz.

5. Chromatic Scales:

Twelve-note scales with consecutive half steps, often used to create a sense of tension or dissonance.

6. Modes:

Variations of the major scale that start on different notes, creating unique melodic and harmonic sounds.

7. Whole Tone Scales:

Six-note scales with all whole steps, creating a unique, exotic sound.

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