Scale library

Guitar scales

Every scale that carries Western popular music, in all twelve keys. Notes, step formulas and a full-neck diagram you can hear.

By Chiye · Updated September 15, 2026

Open the scale finder Practice with the metronome

Which one first

Minor PentatonicFirst solos, blues and rock lead. 5 notes, step pattern m3-W-W-m3-W.
Major (Ionian)Melody, songwriting, everything else. 7 notes, step pattern W-W-H-W-W-W-H.
Major PentatonicCountry, pop and classic-rock solos. 5 notes, step pattern W-W-m3-W-m3.
The seven modesSame seven notes as the major scale, started from a different one. No new shapes to learn.

The C major scale across all fifteen frets, drawn the same way as every chart in this library, from the same note data as its table. Orange marks a C root. Open the C major chart.

Print or save a C major chart

C major scale diagram: the notes C, D, E, F, G, A and B mapped across all 15 frets of the guitar neck, with the C roots highlighted.

940 × 230 px bitmap of the chart above, sized for a phone screen or a printed handout. Tap the image to save it.

The five scale types, compared

This is the whole library in one table. Every scale below is charted in all 12 keys, so the notes change but the shape of the pattern does not.

Scale	Notes	Degrees	Step pattern	Sound	Used for	Learn
Major (Ionian)	7	1 2 3 4 5 6 7	W-W-H-W-W-W-H	Bright, resolved	Melody, songwriting, everything else	Second
Natural Minor (Aeolian)	7	1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7	W-H-W-W-H-W-W	Dark, serious	Ballads, rock, minor-key pop	Later
Major Pentatonic	5	1 2 3 5 6	W-W-m3-W-m3	Open, friendly	Country, pop and classic-rock solos	Third
Minor Pentatonic	5	1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7	m3-W-W-m3-W	Gritty, vocal	First solos, blues and rock lead	First
Blues	6	1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7	m3-W-H-H-m3-W	Bluesy, tense	Blues, rock and country lead lines	Later

The seven modes, and what each one changes

Every mode uses the same seven notes as one major scale, just starting from a different note. Play C major from D to D and you have D Dorian. That is why learning the major scale in every key teaches you all seven modes at once.

Mode	Starts on	Degrees	Changes from the major scale	Sound
Ionian	1st	7 notes	Identical to the major scale.	Bright and settled, because it is simply the major scale. Everything. It is the reference, not a colour.
Dorian	2nd	7 notes	Flat 3rd and flat 7th, natural 6th kept.	Minor, but with a lifted 6th that stops it sounding sad. Modal rock, funk, folk and jazz vamps.
Phrygian	3rd	7 notes	Flat 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th.	Spanish and flamenco, from the half step right above the root. Flamenco, metal and film-score menace.
Lydian	4th	7 notes	Only the 4th is raised.	Dreamy and floating, because the 4th is raised and never resolves down. Film scores, ambient and prog intros.
Mixolydian	5th	7 notes	Only the 7th is flattened.	Major with a flat 7th, which is why it works over dominant chords. Blues, rock and Celtic tunes.
Aeolian	6th	7 notes	Identical to the natural minor scale.	The natural minor scale under its modal name. Any minor-key song that stays diatonic.
Locrian	7th	7 notes	Flat 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th.	Unstable, because the root chord is half diminished. Passing colour over m7♭5 chords, rarely a whole song.

Two of the seven already have full charted pages here: Ionian is the major scale and Aeolian is the natural minor scale. The other five share the same notes, so the scale finder is where you map them on the neck.

Every scale in every key

60 charts, 12 roots, five scale types. Type a note or a scale name to narrow the list, or pick a scale type.

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60 charts shown

Major (Ionian) scale

The bright, resolved sound at the centre of Western music, and the reference every other scale is measured against. Step pattern W-W-H-W-W-W-H, degrees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.

CC D E F G A B C#C# D# E# F# G# A# B#DD E F# G A B C#EbEb F G Ab Bb C D EE F# G# A B C# D#FF G A Bb C D E F#F# G# A# B C# D# E#GG A B C D E F#AbAb Bb C Db Eb F G AA B C# D E F# G#BbBb C D Eb F G A BB C# D# E F# G# A#

Natural Minor (Aeolian) scale

The darker mirror of the major scale, and the home sound of rock ballads, folk and minor-key pop. Step pattern W-H-W-W-H-W-W, degrees 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7.

CC D Eb F G Ab Bb C#C# D# E F# G# A B DD E F G A Bb C EbEb F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db EE F# G A B C D FF G Ab Bb C Db Eb F#F# G# A B C# D E GG A Bb C D Eb F AbAb Bb Cb Db Eb Fb Gb AA B C D E F G BbBb C Db Eb F Gb Ab BB C# D E F# G A

Major Pentatonic scale

The major scale with the two notes that clash removed, leaving five notes that almost never sound wrong. Step pattern W-W-m3-W-m3, degrees 1 2 3 5 6.

CC D E G A C#C# D# E# G# A#DD E F# A B EbEb F G Bb C EE F# G# B C#FF G A C D F#F# G# A# C# D#GG A B D E AbAb Bb C Eb F AA B C# E F#BbBb C D F G BB C# D# F# G#

Minor Pentatonic scale

The first scale most guitarists solo with, and the backbone of blues, rock and metal lead playing. Step pattern m3-W-W-m3-W, degrees 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7.

CC Eb F G Bb C#C# E F# G# B DD F G A C EbEb Gb Ab Bb Db EE G A B D FF Ab Bb C Eb F#F# A B C# E GG Bb C D F AbAb Cb Db Eb Gb AA C D E G BbBb Db Eb F Ab BB D E F# A

Blues scale

The minor pentatonic plus the blue note (♭5), one extra semitone carrying all the tension and release of the blues. Step pattern m3-W-H-H-m3-W, degrees 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7.

CC Eb F Gb G Bb C#C# E F# G G# B DD F G Ab A C EbEb Gb Ab A Bb Db EE G A Bb B D FF Ab Bb Cb C Eb F#F# A B C C# E GG Bb C Db D F AbAb Cb Db D Eb Gb AA C D Eb E G BbBb Db Eb Fb F Ab BB D E F F# A

Scales are the map, chords are the roads

Every chord lives inside a scale. A C major chord is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the C major scale played together, which is why the chords of a song in C major are almost always C, Dm, Em, F, G and Am. They are all hiding inside one shared scale. Learn the scale of the song you are playing and its chord progression stops being a mystery.

NextAll guitar chords NextNotes on the fretboard

Guitar scales: common questions

Which guitar scale should I learn first?

The minor pentatonic. It has five notes, the shapes are forgiving, and it works over blues, rock and pop without sounding wrong. Learn it in A minor and E minor first, because those positions sit at the open strings where you can see them. The major scale comes second, since every other scale is described as a change to it.

What is the difference between a scale and a key?

A key is the home base of a song: the note and the chord it resolves to. A scale is the set of notes that home is built from. A song in C major uses the notes of the C major scale, so the scale is the raw material and the key is the address.

How many guitar scales are there?

Far more than anyone learns. This library charts the five that cover almost all Western popular music, in all twelve keys, which is 60 pages. The seven modes and the harmonic and melodic minor scales are covered in the scale finder tool, because they share the same notes as scales already charted here.

What is the difference between pentatonic and full scales?

Pentatonic scales have five notes per octave: the full seven-note scale with the two most dissonant notes removed. That is exactly why pentatonic solos almost never sound wrong, and why the full scales give you more colour at the cost of more wrong notes.

Are modes different scales?

No, and that is the point. The seven modes are the seven notes of one major scale started from seven different places. C major played from D to D is D Dorian. Learn the major scale in every key and you have learned all seven modes, which is why this site charts major and natural minor as full pages and points the other five modes at the scale finder.

How do I practise guitar scales?

One position at a time, slowly, saying the note names out loud. Use the root notes as landmarks so you can find your place without counting frets. Only connect two positions once each one is automatic on its own. Five slow minutes with a metronome beats thirty fast ones.

Written and diagrammed by Chiye. Each chart is generated from the same note data as its table, and every count on the 60 detail pages comes from the song sheets on openguitarchords.com. How this site is built.