Guide to the Chromatic Scale and the Whole/Half Method

Before I start to explain about how the different types of scale work, I should explain what a scale is. A Scale is nothing more than a clever way to travel between two Octaves. Music theory, for some reason, always starts of with the key of 'C', even though the notes range from 'A' to 'G'.

At this point. it is a good Idea for me to show you the CHROMATIC SCALE, starting with 'C':

C - C#/Db - D - D#/Eb - E - F - F#/Gb - G - G#/Ab - A - A#/Bb - B - C

For those of you new to music, # represents a sharp note, and b represents a flat note. I should also point out, that in the above CHROMATIC SCALE, the notes separated by a '/', are the same note. The reason they are separated a slash is because those notes can be called two things. e.g.: C Sharp (C#), is the same note as D Flat (Db).

When you are using scales, you must commit to either the Sharp notation, or the Flat notation. You cannot use both in most circumstances as it can get confusing. Also, a note that is neither Sharp nor Flat is called a 'NATURAL' note. Every scale, and there are hundreds of them, is created by taking a certain set of notes from the above CHROMATIC scale.

The CHROMATIC scale is used as a model for creating scales. Now you might be thinking to yourself, that scales are created by randomly taking a few notes out of the CHROMATIC scale and stringing them together. This is wrong. All scales are constructed by following a formula.

This formula consists of a pattern of 'Whole-Tones' and 'Semi-Tones', or 'Whole-Steps' and 'Half-Steps' as they are more often called. You might be thinking that this is starting to get complicated, but it's not.

Here is a definition for the above terms:

Half- Step: Is the distance between two notes in the CHROMATIC scale. e.g. If your were to play a note from the CHROMATIC scale, lets say 'C', then you play the next note up from 'C', which is 'C#/Db', then you will have moved a half-step. If you play a half-step down from 'C', you would be playing the note of 'B'.

Whole-Step: Is the equivalent of two half-steps. If again, you played the note of 'C', but this time play not the next note, but the note after that, you will have performed a Whole-Step. A whole-step up from the note of 'C' is 'D'. A whole-step down from 'C' is 'A#/Bb'

The Chromatic Steps

This stuff is really simple and can be visualized by the above diagram.

When people first start learning the concept of the 'W/H' step method they seem to think that a Whole-Step means that you jump to the next NATURAL note, and that a half-step jumps to the next Sharp/Flat note. This is WRONG. You need to study this concept and memorize it. When the W/H Step method is applied to the guitar, it means the following:

HALF-STEP = 1 FRET
WHOLE-STEP = 2 FRETS

This is important. A Classic example of common error is when you ask a new learner what a Half-Step up from 'B' or 'E' is. Most of the time, they will either say 'B#' or 'E#' respectively. This is wrong. If your not sure why it is wrong, go back and study the CHROMATIC Scale. If you look at it, you'll notice that there is no 'B#' and there is no 'E#'. Now, if you ask a musician that knows their theory the same question, they will tell you that a HALF-STEP up from 'B' is 'C', and that a HALF-STEP up from 'E' is 'F'. They are right.

Now, once you grasp this concept, ask yourself the following question: "What is a WHOLE-STEP up from 'E'?" If your answer is 'F#', then congratulations. Your right. If you answered 'F', you are wrong.

Study the above diagram until you are confident that you know how the 'W/H' Step concept works. This is an essential part of music theory as every type of scale is based on a pattern of WHOLE-STEPS and HALF-STEPS, as you will see in the following sections.

Practice

In order to drive this concept home, draw up a 12x5 table and in the middle column write down all the notes of the CHROMATIC SCALE. In the first column write down the note that lies HALF-STEP down from the note in the middle column. In the 2nd column write down the note that is a WHOLE-STEP down from the note in the middle column.

In the 4th and 5th columns write down the notes that are a HALF-STEP and a WHOLE-STEP up from the note in the middle column.

Here's a sample to start you off.

- whole	- half	Note	+ half	+ whole
A#	B	C	C#	D
B	C	C#	D	D#
C	C#	D	D#	E
D	D#	E	F	F#

Pay close attention to the fact that a whole-step down from C is A#/Bb and not B.

Easy isn't it.