Notice how the piano keyboard is made up of white and black notes.

The black notes are grouped in twos and threes and you can find middle C in the middle of the keyboard to the left of a group of two black notes. 

Playing the scale in your left hand is also the reverse of your right hand. Your little finger or pinky will start the scale and your middle finger will cross over on note 6 or the (A) on the keyboard.

Again, you will repeat in reverse on the way down, this time your thumb in your left hand will go underneath on the (A) to hit the (G) and you will use your remaining fingers to finish the scale. EASY!

Now that you have mastered the C major scale in both hands (how fast can you do it?) you should move on to learning new major scales in different keys.

You can start with the white note scales, so D Major, E Major, F Major, G Major, A Major, and B Major.

For you to be able to play all the major scales on the white keys, you will need to know which sharps and flats are in each key. See the image below for the exact notes in these major scales.

So you have mastered all the Major scales starting on the white keys? Guess what, you have to learn them all on the black keys too, and they are all completely different!

This is something that may take several days and several more to memorize the patterns completely. 

Tip – Do not push yourself to try and learn all the major scales in all keys immediately as this is a big task.

Try to learn and master the white keys first, and then practice the major scales on the sharps and flats, starting with C sharp, also known as D flat. 

You can also learn your major scales in a different way, which goes up in fifths. This is a preferred method for some, and worth looking at to see if it makes more sense for you. 

The circle of fifths is a method of learning the major scales where you move up a fifth after every scale. You would play your major scales in order of C, G, D, A, E, B, F sharp, C sharp, and G sharp.

Notice how every time you move up a scale you are adding one extra ‘accidental’ or sharpened note. You are moving around the keyboard with the sharp keys. 

You can also do this in reverse by going back in 4ths from any given point and you will have played all keys in order of the flat keys.

Each time you play a scale you are now adding one ‘accidental’ which will be a ‘flattened note’. The order would be C, F, B flat, E flat, A flat, and D flat. 

A diagram of the circle of fifths/circle of fourths:

(Notice how the relative minor keys are also inside the diagram, as you can also use the circle of fifths to play your minor keys in the same way as the major keys)

The most common Minor scale is also known as the ‘Aeolian mode’, (see modes below). You can play all of your Natural minor scales in the circle of fifths and the circle of fourths as well.

The natural minor scale has the same notes as its relative major scale. The relative Minor scale of a Major scale is found by starting on the ‘6th degree’ or 6th note of any major scale. 

When playing C major, the 6th note you play will be an ‘A’. Start your C major scale on the A instead of the C and finish on the A an octave above.

Use the same fingering for this scale as you did with the C major scale, implementing the ‘thumb tuck’ technique. You have now played your first Natural minor scale, ‘The A Natural Minor Scale’.

You can also the relative Major scale for any given Natural Minor scale by moving a ‘Minor third’ above your starting note. You should know a ‘Major Third’ is two whole notes above your starting note, so E is a Major Third above C.

Minor thirds?

A ‘Minor third’ is a flattened third, so one and a half tones or 3 semitones above your starting note. Eb is a minor third above C. C Major is therefore the relative major scale to A Minor and Eb Major is the relative major scale to C Minor. 

This may take a while to get your head around, but once you do, you will have understood the relationships between Major scales and Minor scales. Remember, these are the same scales starting on different notes!

If you want to improvise with your new scales, you must also learn the relationships between chords and scales.

You can use the Natural Minor scales on the Minor chords and Minor 7th chords, or for a unique flavor on Major chords. For a deeper understanding of chord-scale relationships, check out my article:

The Ultimate Guide to Piano Scales: Classical & Jazz

This is the same scale as the Natural Minor but with a raised 7th. This means you ‘sharpen’ the 7th note in the scale, and so A Harmonic Minor would have a G sharp instead of a G natural. Notice how this changes the sound of the scale.

You should practice your Harmonic Minor scales in both hands the same as you did with your major scales and hopefully your Natural Minor scales. Also, try to understand the chords you can use the scale with.

With the raised 7th, you now have to think about what sound you are creating if you are improvising over a minor or minor 7th chord. 

The Harmonic Minor is therefore well suited to the Minor-Major 7th chord, but you should also create some interesting dissonance or use the 7th as a ‘chromatic passing tone’ when improvising over regular minor 7th chords.

Notice how you can also make chords out of your scale starting on different notes. The Harmonic Minor has the same chords as the natural minor except for the major chord built on the 5th degree, again due to the sharpened 7th.

Building chords out of your scale tones will help you understand harmony, and you can use the triadic groupings in improvisation as well. 

The pentatonic scale is made up of only 5 notes! The major pentatonic is the first one we will look at.

It has notes 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the major scale we learned at the start. C major pentatonic uses C, D, E, G, and A. You can learn these patterns in both hands to create unique improvisations. 

The minor pentatonic scale is like a simplified version of the blues scale we just looked at.

It has the 1st, flat 3rd, 4th, 5th, and flat 7th, and is derived from the natural minor scale. C minor pentatonic is therefore comprised of C, Eb, F, G, Bb, and C. 

The chromatic scale uses all the notes on your instrument in succession. If you are on a piano that means starting on C you would play all the notes including the black and white notes.

Interestingly, you can play this scale using just your thumb, index, and third finger. 

Practice this scale in both hands, ascending and descending, across the entire keyboard. Try starting it on different notes as well, though this should not alter the fingering that you need to play it. 

Modes are another set of scales that you can learn and if you are looking into jazz theory and improvisation, they will help you to improvise freely over any given chord progression.

Learning your modes will also allow you to create more interesting musical ideas.

There are 7 modes based on the major scale.

Your Lydian scale is quite straightforward as it is comprised of the same notes as the major scale but with an added sharp 4.

The C Lydian scale is C, D, E, F sharp, G, A, B, and C. As it is the 4th mode of the major scale, you can again think of it as G major starting on C. 

Aeolian is one of the more interesting sounding modes, and you should recognize it, as it is the same scale as the natural minor scale!

As we have already covered the natural minor we can move on to the final mode of the major scale.

The Locrian is an odd-sounding scale that is the least used. It is based on the 7th note of the major scale (so a B natural in the C major scale) and is used on the 7th chord of the major scale which is a diminished chord.

Again you play all the notes of the major scale starting on the 7 note, so B Locrian would be all the white notes, or C major starting on and finishing on a B natural.                                       

In addition to the modes based on the major scale, there are also several modes based on the minor scale that are commonly used in jazz music.

These modes have a darker and more somber sound than the major modes, and they are often used in jazz ballads and slower tunes. 

The  Locrian sharp 6 scale is designed to be used over the diminished chord.

It consists of the same notes as the Locrian scale but with a sharpened 6th (which is a natural 6th in its major scale which was flattened in the regular Locrian scale) added in. 

1, ♭2, ♭3, 4, ♭5, 6, ♭7, 8

A slightly altered version of the Dorian scale from the major modes. Notice that there is a sharpened fourth included in this scale that is not present in the ordinary Dorian scale.

It can be used over minor chords as well as the standard Dorian and works on minor 7th chords with added 9ths, sharp 11ths, and 13ths.

1, 2, ♭3, ♯4, 5, 6, ♭7, 8

The Phrygian dominant scale is a Phrygian scale with a major 3rd instead of a minor 3rd. Play this scale over dominant chords with flat 9s, 11s, and flat 13s. 

1, ♭2, 3, 4, 5, ♭6, ♭7, 8

The Super Locrian scale with a double flat 7. Notice that a double flat 7 is the same as a major 6th note. 

1, ♭2, ♭3, ♭4, ♭5, ♭6, double, flat7, 8

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