Guitar Scales in Every Key
Ten essential scales × twelve keys: the notes, the step pattern, what each scale sounds like and the famous songs built on it — and every one opens free on the interactive fretboard.
Pick a scale, then a key. Each page spells out the notes with correct sharps and flats for that key, shows the step pattern and the interval formula, explains where the scale comes from (the modes borrow their notes from a parent major scale), and names famous music built on it.
Major
Bright, resolved, “at home”. The default happy sound of Western music.
Minor
Dark, serious, sad — the default “minor” sound.
Major Pentatonic
Open, bright and singable. With no half-steps left in the scale, there are no “wrong” notes against a major chord.
Minor Pentatonic
Strong, bluesy, vocal. It sounds good loud.
Blues
Gritty and expressive — that ♭5 is the “cry”. It's a passing tone: lean on it, bend through it, but resolve it.
Dorian
Minor, but hopeful and cool rather than gloomy; a little jazzy, a little funky.
Phrygian
Dark and tense with a Spanish / flamenco, “exotic” edge — the ♭2 leaning on the root is the giveaway.
Lydian
Dreamy, floating, wondrous — major but “lifted off the ground”. The ♯4 shimmer is unmistakable.
Mixolydian
Happy but loose and rootsy; major with its tie loosened.
Harmonic Minor
Dramatic and exotic — a classical / Middle-Eastern flavour.
Prefer to explore? The interactive scale finder shows any of these scales across the whole neck, colored by interval, with audio — free, on guitar, bass and ukulele.
Open the scale finderFrequently asked
Which scales should a guitarist learn first?
Start with the minor pentatonic (the backbone of rock and blues soloing), then the major scale (the ruler everything else is measured against). The blues scale is the pentatonic plus one note; the modes and harmonic minor come after.
Are all these scales really free?
Yes — every scale on this page, in all 12 keys, is free in the interactive fretboard tool: full-neck diagrams colored by interval, with fingerings and audio, on guitar, bass and ukulele. Pro is the practice systems built around them, like drills, the Jam backing band and mic Play mode.
What's the difference between a scale and a mode?
A mode is a scale built from another scale's notes with a different home note. D Dorian uses exactly the notes of C major but treats D as home — no new notes, just a shift of gravity that changes the mood completely.