A scale is defined by its interval pattern. The major scale is W-W-H-W-W-W-H; change the pattern and you change the color.
Natural minor lowers the 3rd, 6th and 7th of major and turns brightness into melancholy. Harmonic minor raises the 7th back, creating its signature exotic step-and-a-half. Melodic minor raises the 6th and 7th on the way up.
Pentatonic scales strip the palette to five notes and remove every semitone clash, which is why they sound open and are everywhere from folk to rock solos.
Hearing a scale means hearing its pattern, not its starting note. The same major pattern from any root sounds equally major; that is the whole point of relative pitch.
| Scale | Pattern | Semitone offsets |
|---|---|---|
| Major | W - W - H - W - W - W - H | 0 2 4 5 7 9 11 12 |
| Natural Minor | W - H - W - W - H - W - W | 0 2 3 5 7 8 10 12 |
| Harmonic Minor | W - H - W - W - H - W+H - H | 0 2 3 5 7 8 11 12 |
| Melodic Minor | W - H - W - W - W - W - H | 0 2 3 5 7 9 11 12 |
| Major Pentatonic | W - W - W+H - W - W+H | 0 2 4 7 9 12 |
| Minor Pentatonic | W+H - W - W - W+H - W | 0 3 5 7 10 12 |
| Blues | W+H - W - H - H - W+H - W | 0 3 5 6 7 10 12 |
Common questions
What is the pattern of the major scale?
Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half: W-W-H-W-W-W-H, or 0-2-4-5-7-9-11 in semitones from the root.
What is the difference between natural, harmonic and melodic minor?
Natural minor lowers the 3rd, 6th and 7th of major. Harmonic minor re-raises the 7th, creating an augmented 2nd between degrees 6 and 7. Melodic minor raises both the 6th and 7th ascending.