Scales

Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Whole-Half
W  W  H  W  W  W  H

C major: C  D  E  F  G  A  B  C
         W  W  H  W  W  W  H

G major: G  A  B  C  D  E  F# G
D major: D  E  F# G  A  B  C# D
F major: F  G  A  Bb C  D  E  F
Bb major: Bb C  D  Eb F  G  A  Bb

Natural minor (Aeolian):
  W  H  W  W  H  W  W
  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  A

Harmonic minor (raised 7th):
  W  H  W  W  H  W+H  H
  A  B  C  D  E  F  G# A
  Creates V7 chord (dominant with leading tone)
  Characteristic: augmented 2nd (F→G#) — Middle Eastern sound

Melodic minor:
  Ascending: W  H  W  W  W  W  H
  A  B  C  D  E  F# G# A
  Descending: natural minor (classical rule)
  Jazz: same ascending and descending

Major pentatonic (5 notes, no half steps):
  1  2  3  5  6
  C  D  E  G  A      (remove 4th and 7th from major)

Minor pentatonic (the workhorse):
  1  b3  4  5  b7
  A  C   D  E  G     (remove 2nd and 6th from natural minor)

Relative relationship:
  C major pentatonic = A minor pentatonic (same notes)

Minor pentatonic is the foundation of:
  Blues, rock, soul, funk, hip-hop
  Works over almost any chord in the key
  The "safe" scale for improvisation

Minor pentatonic + blue note (b5):
  1  b3  4  b5  5  b7
  A  C   D  Eb  E  G

The b5 (blue note) creates the characteristic blues tension
Bend up from b5 to 5 for classic blues feel

Extended blues scale:
  1  2  b3  3  4  b5  5  6  b7
  Mix major and minor — this is the full blues vocabulary

All modes use the SAME notes as a major scale, starting from different degrees:

C Ionian:     C D E F G A B     (major — happy)
D Dorian:     D E F G A B C     (minor with major 6th — jazzy)
E Phrygian:   E F G A B C D     (minor with b2 — dark, Spanish)
F Lydian:     F G A B C D E     (major with #4 — dreamy)
G Mixolydian: G A B C D E F     (major with b7 — dominant, rock)
A Aeolian:    A B C D E F G     (natural minor — sad)
B Locrian:    B C D E F G A     (diminished — unstable)

Whole tone scale (all whole steps):
  C  D  E  F#  G#  A#
  Symmetric — only 2 distinct whole tone scales exist
  Dreamy, ambiguous, no resolution

Diminished scale (alternating W-H):
  C  D  Eb  F  Gb  Ab  A  B
  Symmetric — only 3 distinct diminished scales exist
  Used over diminished chords in jazz

Chromatic scale (all half steps):
  C  C#  D  D#  E  F  F#  G  G#  A  A#  B
  12 notes, every semitone
  Used for chromatic runs and passing tones

Sequential:      1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Thirds:          1-3, 2-4, 3-5, 4-6, 5-7, 6-8
Fourths:         1-4, 2-5, 3-6, 4-7, 5-8
Triads:          1-3-5, 2-4-6, 3-5-7, 4-6-8
Sequences:       1-2-3, 2-3-4, 3-4-5 (ascending pattern)

Tempo progression:
  Start at 60 BPM (quarter notes)
  Increase by 5-10 BPM when clean
  Target: 120+ BPM for fluency

All 12 keys:
  Follow circle of fifths: C, G, D, A, E, B, F#/Gb, Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, F
  Don't just practice easy keys