Scales & modes
A scale is a small map of notes a melody draws from. Each page here takes one scale or mode, shows you the formula and the notes, and lets you hear why it sounds the way it does — the blues scale's ache, the major scale's resolve, Dorian's brightness.
5 scales
Genre
Kind
Also
Blues scale
Six notes behind most blues, rock, and jazz solos: the five-note minor pentatonic plus one extra key, the flattened fifth 'blue note.'
1 – ♭3 – 4 – ♭5 – 5 – ♭7ExploreDorian mode
Mode
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The major scale started from its second degree — minor, but with a bright raised sixth.
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7PreviewFreygishפֿרייגיש
Mode
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Flattened second, major third, and the augmented-second leap between them — the signature mode of klezmer, also known as Ahava Rabbah or Phrygian dominant.
1 – ♭2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7PreviewMajor scale
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The seven-note baseline every other scale is measured against: W–W–H–W–W–W–H.
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7PreviewMinor pentatonic
Soon
Five notes, none of them neighbours — the safest scale to solo with, and the blues scale minus its blue note.
1 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭7Preview