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Music scales: major, minor, pentatonic, blues and the modes

A scale is a set of notes in order of pitch, defined by the pattern of whole steps and half steps between them. Change the pattern, and you change the color of the music. In this guide, we'll go through the scales you'll actually meet, one family at a time, each with its pattern and its sound.

Guide9 minUpdated October 2026

The major scale: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half

C major

G major

F major

The half steps fall between degrees 3 and 4, and between degrees 7 and 8. That pattern, the same in every key, is what makes a scale sound major. You'll find all fifteen major scales in the major scale guide.

The three minor scales

Natural minor goes whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. A minor uses only the white keys, from A to A.
In harmonic minor, the 7th degree is raised a half step. This creates a leading tone, and a step and a half between degrees 6 and 7.
In melodic minor, degrees 6 and 7 are raised going up, and in classical practice they're lowered again coming down.

A minor

A minor (harmonic)

A minor (melodic minor (ascending))

Pentatonic and blues scales

The major pentatonic keeps five notes of the major scale and drops the 4th and the 7th, the two notes that form half steps. On C, that leaves C, D, E, G, A. With no half steps, almost any order of its notes sounds consonant, which is why you hear it everywhere, from folk songs to rock solos. The minor pentatonic uses the same notes, starting from A. Add one note, the flatted fifth, and you get the blues scale.

C major pentatonic

A minor pentatonic: same notes, different home

A blues scale: minor pentatonic plus E♭

The chromatic scale

The chromatic scale uses all twelve notes of the octave, one half step apart. It has no home note of its own, so composers use it for color, for runs and for passing notes.

Chromatic scale on C, ascending with sharps

The seven modes

Now play only the white keys, but start on a different note each time, and you get the seven modes. Each one keeps the same notes but moves the half steps, so each has its own character. Dorian is the minor mode of much funk and jazz, and Mixolydian is the major mode with a flat seventh that you hear in rock and folk.

Ionian (the major scale), on C

Dorian, on D: minor with a raised 6th

Phrygian, on E: minor with a flat 2nd

Lydian, on F: major with a raised 4th

Mixolydian, on G: major with a flat 7th

Aeolian (natural minor), on A

Locrian, on B: flat 2nd and flat 5th

WorkshopScale BuilderFull screen

Build any scale or mode on any note, and listen to it.

TonicScale or mode

Steps: 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ (1 = whole step, ½ = half step, 1½ = augmented second)

Scale: C major
Key signature: no sharps or flats
Degrees: 1. tonic · 2. supertonic · 3. mediant · 4. subdominant · 5. dominant · 6. submediant · 7. leading tone
Tetrachords: C D E F | G A B C: two identical tetrachords (whole, whole, half) a whole step apart

Frequently asked questions

What are the main types of music scales?

The main ones are the major scale, the three forms of minor, which are natural, harmonic and melodic, then the chromatic, pentatonic and blues scales, and finally the seven modes.

What is the pattern of a major scale?

It's whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. On C, it uses only the white keys.

What is the difference between the pentatonic and the blues scale?

The blues scale is the minor pentatonic with one extra note, the flatted fifth. In A, that gives A, C, D, E♭, E, G.

How many notes are in a scale?

There are seven in the major and minor scales and in the modes, five in the pentatonic scale, six in the blues scale, and twelve in the chromatic scale.

Keep going

Lesson · 7 minThe Diatonic Scale: Whole Steps and Half Steps Lesson · 7 minThe modes: major and minor Lesson · 9 minHow the minor scale is generated Lesson · 9 minThe chromatic scale Lesson · 12 minOther Scales and the Modes GuideMajor scale GuideMinor scale WorkshopScale Builder

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