The chromatic scale is all twelve notes in order, each one a half step (one fret) from the next. It has no key and no mood of its own: its job is to fill the gaps between the notes of other scales with passing and approach notes, the slinky sound of blues, jazz and rock lines.
Formula
The reference starting note is A, and it's what the diagrams use.
| Degree | 1 | b2 | 2 | b3 | 3 | 4 | #4 | 5 | b6 | 6 | b7 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | A | Bb | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# |
Steps: H H H H H H H H H H H H. Twelve half steps and you're back on A.
Sound and character
Played straight up or down, it sounds like rising or falling tension with no place to land. That's the point: it doesn't settle. One or two chromatic notes inside a normal scale line, though, sound smooth and deliberate, like the line is sliding toward its target.
Where it's used
Everywhere, in small doses: blues and rock players slip a chromatic note between the 4 and 5 of minor pentatonic; jazz and bebop lines approach chord tones from a half step below or above; metal riffs crawl up and down the low E string a fret at a time. It works over any chord as long as the chromatic notes are short and resolve to a chord tone. It's also the classic finger warm-up.
How to move it
The root is the amber dot. In the 5th position you play one finger per fret: index on 5, middle on 6, ring on 7, pinky on 8, and the index reaches back to fret 4 for the fifth note on a string. The G string only needs four notes because it's tuned a major 3rd below the B string. The open position works the same way with open strings. Because every note is in the scale, moving it only changes where you start: begin on the C at the 8th fret of the low E string and you have C chromatic.
The exercises
- One octave from A, up and down, in triplets: 12 notes per bar.
- A minor pentatonic with passing notes added: D# between D and E, and B between C and A.