31- AUGUST - 2013

GUITARRA 1 - Chromatic Scale

What's the Chromatic Scale? Simply put, it's all of the possible notes in Western
music -- a total of 12 notes -- strung together in order.
Why Is It Called the Chromatic Scale? I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason, but I
have no clue. Nor does it matter. But here's what it looks like.

A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G# A (Sharps #)
OR

A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A (Flats b)

The Intervals Between Notes Are the Same. Each note is a "half-step" higher in tone
than the one before it, or put oppositely, is a half-step lower than the one after it. Makes
sense, doesn't it. A half-step is a specific tonal "distance," so it is the same raising or
lowering of pitch from one to the next note, regardless of the note's name. In other
words, the distance between C and C# is the same as the distance between F# and
G. Sorta like looking at a ruler, where the distance between 4 and 5 inches and 11 and
12 inches is 1 each either way.
Two Places in the Chromatic Scale Have No Sharps or Flats. Why? Doesn't
matter, that's the way it is. The important fact is that the intervals are the same -- one
half-step.
So where are these places? Look at the chart above, and you see it's between B and C
and between E and F.
The Sharps and Flats Are the Same Notes. So A# and Bb are the same, and so
on. These are called "enharmonic notes," although I only remember that occasionally,
and it has no particular use in daily life. In the following table, showing all of the
chromatic scales, we show only the sharps, but you can just as easily talk about the
equivalent or "enharmonic" flats.
The Chromatic Scale Can Start On Any Note. To get it in your head, the above A to
A sequence is probably easiest to use. That will be called the "A Chromatic
Scale." However, you can start on some other note, like F#, in which case it's called the
"F# Chromatic Scale." The Scale Name Is Always The First Note.
Chromatic Scale in G

G G# A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G


31- AUGUST - 2013
MAJOR SCALE
The major scale (in any key) can be formed through a sequence of tones and semitones. Tones and
Semi-Tones are examples of intervals between notes. A Semi-Tone on a guitar would be the
distance between two notes that are one fret apart on the same string, while a tone is the distance
between two notes that are two frets apart.
You can form a major scale by playing a series of notes from the root of the note (or the key of the
scale) that are tones and semi-tones apart according to the following formula.
Major Scale Formula: Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Semitone or we can use
numbers: 2 2 1 2 2 2 1
REMEMBER 2 SEMITONES EQUALS TO 1 TONE
SEMITONE = HALF STEP = 1 FRET
TONE = WHOLE STEP = 2 FRETS
HOW TO BUILD A MAJOR SCALE IN ANY NOTE
First: We need to take our first note which its called ROOT (tonica en espaol) and this note
give the name of the scale
EXAMPLE: if we start in the note C, then our scale will be the C MAJOR SCALE
If we start in the note G, then our scale will be the G MAJOR SCALE
Second: We are going to use the chromatic scale and we are going to circle our ROOT.
A
A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G# A
Third: We are going to apply the MAJOR SCALE FORMULA (2 2 1 2 2 2 1)
A A# B C C# D D# E F
F#
G G#
A



2 2 2 2 2 1 1
31- AUGUST - 2013
RULES IN THE SCALES
1- The first note defines the name of the scale
2- We need to use all the musical notes
3- We must complete the scale with the same note that we started
4- We cant repeat any notes in a scale
5- We can't mix sharps and flats in the same scale



















31- AUGUST - 2013
ENHARMONIC
In music, we have something that is called ENHARMONIC:
ENHARMONIC IS A NOTE WITH 2 OR MORE NAMES, FOR EXAMPLE, LET SEE THE
CHROMATIC SCALE:
A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G# A
We are using sharps because we are going up in the chromatic scale
Remember a sharp is half step above or + 1
Now, let see the same scale but now with flats:
A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A
We are using flats because we are going down in the chromatic scale
Remember a flat is half step below or 1

A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G# A

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


We can see that we have two notes in the same position: for example A# and Bb, this
two notes sounds the same but they have different names.
Other Examples: C# and Db or F# and Gb