Scales to Learn

Here is your second Jazz Theory lesson on scales to learn in all 12 keys. There are a lot of different scales out there but I will focus on the major ones you are going to want to have down solid. I will stick to the key of C for all examples, just apply the same scale degrees for all other keys.

Major

C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Dominant

C D E F G A Bb C
1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 8

Minor

C D Eb F G Ab Bb C
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8

Half Diminished

C D Eb F Gb Ab Bb C
1 2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 8

Diminished

C D Eb F Gb Ab Bb B C
1 2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 7 8

Whole Tone

C D E F# G# A# C
1 2 3 #4 #5 #6 8

Blues

C Eb F Gb G Bb C
1 b3 4 b5 5 b7 8

Pentatonic Major

C D E G A C
1 2 3 5 6 8

Pentatonic Minor

C Eb F G Bb C
1 b3 4 5 b7 8

Harmonic Minor

C D Eb F G Ab B C
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 8

Bebop

C D E F G A Bb B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 7 8

Chromatic

C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C
1 b2 2 b3 3 4 b5 5 b6 6 b7 7 8

Some tips to keep in mind

Major and minor scales are essentially the same thing starting a Minor 6th up. So C Major and A Minor are exactly the same.
Diminished scales are the beginning of two minor scales a tritone apart. C Diminished is the combination of C minor and F# minor. Since they are stacked minor 3rds you’ll only need to learn 3 different diminished scales depending on what note you start on.
Pentatonic Major and Minor are essentially the same thing starting a Minor 6th up. So C pentatonic major is the same as A pentatonic minor.
Whole tone scales are a whole step apart so you only need to learn is in 2 keys depending on what note you start on.
There are only slight differences in the half diminished, harmonic minor, dominant, and bebop scale. It should not take you long to learn them.

A simple approach to practicing scales

Simply go up and down the scale one or two octaves. You’ll want to practice starting on different chord tones. So instead of playing the C major scale starting on C, play the same scale starting on E or G, etc… Go through all 12 keys in half steps, whole steps, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, etc…

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