Chromatic scale: all 12 notes explained
The chromatic scale uses all twelve notes in an octave, each a half step from the next. On a piano it means playing every key, black and white, in order. Going up it is usually written with sharps, and going down with flats.
The chromatic scale is the scale with no gaps. Every step is a half step, so it uses every one of the twelve notes in the octave. On the piano, you play it by pressing every key in order, black and white, from one note up to the same note an octave higher. On a guitar, you play it by moving up one fret at a time.
What does chromatic mean?
The word comes from the Greek word for color. Chromatic notes are the notes that add color to a key, because they are not part of its scale. A melody in C major that includes F♯ is using a chromatic note, since F♯ is outside the C major scale. A chromatic scale simply uses all such notes at once.
The scales made from seven notes in a pattern of whole and half steps, like the major scale, are called diatonic. The chromatic scale is not diatonic: it has no special home note, and every step is the same size.
The chromatic scale formula
There is only one formula: twelve half steps, H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H. Starting on any note gives a chromatic scale, and since all twelve notes appear, the same set of notes is used whatever the start. What changes is the starting note and the spelling.
How to write the chromatic scale
Because the notes have two possible names, writers follow a convention. Going up, the in-between notes are usually written as sharps: C C♯ D D♯ E F F♯ G G♯ A A♯ B C. Going down, they are usually written as flats: C B B♭ A A♭ G G♭ F E E♭ D D♭ C. This convention keeps the notation tidy, because it avoids using the same letter twice in a row.
Other spellings are used when the key calls for them. In a piece in a flat key, the chromatic scale might be written with flats in both directions, and in a sharp key with sharps in both. This is the same idea as with enharmonic notes: one pitch, two names.
Why use the chromatic scale?
- As a finger exercise, because it uses every key or fret in turn.
- To add passing notes between the notes of a regular scale.
- To create tension or a sliding, winding feeling in a melody.
- In film and game music for chases, suspense and comic effects.
Composers use chromatic runs for many purposes, from fast piano passages to the slithering lines of a violin. Because every step is the same size, a chromatic scale can sound as if it has no direction or home, which composers use for uncertainty or suspense.
The chromatic scale and the 12 keys
The twelve notes of the chromatic scale are also the twelve possible starting points for the twelve major keys and the twelve minor keys. The circle of fifths arranges those twelve keys in order of fifths, while the chromatic scale arranges them in order of half steps.
Chromatic notes and chromatic passing tones
In a melody, a chromatic passing tone is a note outside the scale that connects two scale notes a whole step apart. In C major, a melody moving from D up to E may pass through D♯. The note adds a little color without changing the key. A chromatic neighbor is similar, but it steps away from a note and comes back.
Chromatic notes are one of the main ways composers add expression. A few chromatic passing tones in a tune are enough to make it sound jazzy or bluesy, and a long chromatic line can sound like a siren or a swoop.
Fingering and practice
On the piano, the chromatic scale has a standard fingering that uses the thumb on white keys and the longer fingers on black keys, but the details differ between hands and teaching traditions, so follow your teacher. On a guitar or a violin, the scale is a matter of shifting one fret or one half step at a time. A metronome helps keep each note even, since every step is the same size and uneven timing shows at once.
A fun listening exercise is to play the scale slowly and name each note aloud, using sharps going up and flats going down.
Practice tip: Play the chromatic scale with a metronome, starting slowly.Keep the fingers relaxed and the notes even, and let each key sound before the next.
The chromatic scale up and down
Check yourself
1. How many notes are in the chromatic scale per octave?
Answer: Twelve. Every half step counts as a note.
2. What size is each step in the chromatic scale?
Answer: A half step. That is the definition of the chromatic scale.
3. How is the chromatic scale usually written going up?
Answer: With sharps. Going down, it is usually written with flats.
4. What does the word chromatic mean?
Answer: Color. It comes from the Greek word for color.