Want to learn all about piano scales for free? You've come to the right place. I'll cover the basic scales such as Major scales, Natural Minor scales, Harmonic Minor scales, and then go into the more interesting ones such as Arabian scales, Oriental scales, Hungarian Minor scales, and others.

Scales are the foundation on which songs are composed. Generally a certain key is chosen with a certain type of scale. Sometimes the entire song will be composed in that key. An example of this would be a song composed in the key of F minor, which I believe the new Linkin Park song - New Divide, is composed in.

To begin I'll start with major scales.

Major Piano Scales

Major scales are generally the first scale taught due to their familiarity. An example of a Major piano scale is below.

The major scale follows the pattern of W-W-H-W-W-W-H where W is a whole step and H is a half step. If you notice in the above example there is no black key between E and F, this is because it's a half step. However, there is a black key between C and D, and D and E, this is because these are whole steps. Keep in mind that scales can begin on any note. For example if the major were to begin in the key of D, it would look like this.

Notice again the pattern of W-W-H-W-W-W-H. The single step is between F sharp and G, as well as between C sharp and D. This is how major scales can begin on any note, including the black notes. All you have to do is keep in mind that pattern of W-W-H-W-W-W-H and you'll be able to play major scales on any key.

Major scales are used to produce an uplifting sound. In soundtracks, the triumphant sounding songs are generally major scales. If you are producing a composition, major scales are great for creating climatic phrases.

Most chord progressions are also based on major scales. If you would like to find out more about chord progressions, there is a complete list of chord progressions available. Check it out, it's quite extensive.

Minor Scales are generally the second type of scale taught to students.  There are actually three types of minor scales including Harmonic Minor Scales, Melodic Minor Scales, and the Natural Minor Scales. Minor scales aren't as uplifting as major scales.  They generally exude a mysterious mood or a depressing mood or a pensive mood.  Amazingly, they sound this way due to the initial minor third rather than the initial major third. 

To begin, let us look at the easiest minor scale which is played on all white notes.  A natural minor piano scale.

The pattern for natural minor scales are W-H-W-W-H-W-W. In the above scale there is a half step between B and C, and also between E and F. All the other steps are whole steps. Major and minor scales are related by a minor third. For example, if you're playing A minor, you can easily switch to C major, which is a minor third above A. A minor and C major contain the exact same notes. Natural minor scales can also begin on any key. For example, C Natural Minor Scale.

As you can see, when the key note changes, the pattern still remains the same for natural minor scales.  Composing in minor scales is great because you can easily switch from natural minor to harmonic minor to melodic minor.  These allows you greater freedom in your compositions due to additional notes.  Incorporating notes outside of the scale can sound odd at times, but with minor scales, you can use additional notes outside the scale due to the other minor scales.  That's why I prefer to compose in minor scales :)   

So, this hub is actually getting too long. I thought I could cover all the scales within one hub, but I don't want the hub to take too long to load. Therefore I'll just point you in the direction to the complete list of piano scales. Piano Music Scale - Extensive List. Whether you're looking for whole tones scales, pentatonic scales, blues scales, or Arabian scales, they can all be found on that list.

If you can think of other types of scales, please let me know =D I'd like to compile a complete list of scales.

Thanks,

Avivakova