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Chromatic scales without a key signatureįor both C major key signature and A natural minor key signature, there are no sharp or flat notes, so since there is no key signature, we have no clue as to whether to use sharp or flat names to identify any non-natural notes.Īlthough there seem to be no generally agreed rules on how to handle this, one common music theory convention is to use sharps when ascending the scale ie. Eb major key signature, where flat note names would be used. The same principle applies to flat-based key signatures, eg. G major key signature, and we want to use the chromatic scale to identify notes outside that scale, sharps would be used for those chromatic scale notes. major scale, or any minor scale), then the key signature will be the guide as to whether to use sharps or flats for the chromatic scale.įor example, if a sharp-based key signature is used, eg. If chromatic scale notes are being used and identified within the context of a scale with a key signature (eg. Chromatic scale naming in the context of a key signature When it comes to naming the notes shown in the last step, the decision to be made is whether to use sharp or flat note names, both ascending or descending. Learning the chromatic scale will help with that.This step gives note names to the piano keys identified in the previous step. Beginners generally learn to visualize intervals up and down a single string very quickly, but it takes some time to see the same intervals going across strings. A critical task for advancing beyond the intermediate level is to be comfortable going across the strings. Practicing the chromatic scale can help you understand exactly how the notes on the guitar work. The chromatic scale contains all 12 notes of the 12-tone A tuning system which causes the octave to be divided into 12 perfectly equal pitches. It’s important to understand this scale because it is the progression of notes that all other patterns are created from. The chromatic scale is the most basic scale in music. There's not necessarily an urgent need to apply it to improvisation or anything like that, but just being aware of how this pattern works will improve your understanding of how the fretboard works. Practice this up and down and you'll improve your intuitive understanding of the guitar neck. Play ONE two three four ONE two three four. Don't play music based on the shape of the guitar. That means that if you were playing it in a pattern of four as I was just now, you'll need to be very careful that you don't mess up the rhythm and accepts.
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Note that on the way back down, the first string has five notes. Don't neglect it.Īnd here's the scale going back down. Many players find that, until they understand this scale, they're just kind of guessing what note they'll land on when they move across strings. A firm intuitive sense of how the chromatic scale works will help clarify the distance we're traveling whenever we switch from one string to another.
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So why practice it on guitar? Well, on guitar we have to negotiate a lot of shifts across the strings of the fretboard. The chromatic scale is a "full" scale that has all 12 notes. All of the notes on that string, in order of lowest to highest, would form a chromatic scale. The simplest way to see a chromatic scale on the guitar is just to look at any guitar string. This is the basic set of notes from which everything else is derived.
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We're going to talk about the Chromatic Scale on guitar.
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