Folk Piano Scales

Traditional melody tends to avoid the sharpest dissonances, which is why pentatonic scales appear independently in music from Scotland to west Africa to east Asia. Dorian and mixolydian cover most of the rest of the British and Irish tune repertoire, where the leading tone is often simply absent.

48 scales carry this tag, across 4 scale types: major, major pentatonic, dorian, mixolydian. Each one has its notes spelled for that key, a fingering worked out for that key, and a piano you can play it on.

Major Scales

The foundation of Western music. Bright, happy, and resolved.

C
C – D – E – F – G – A – B
Db
Db – Eb – F – Gb – Ab – Bb – C
D
D – E – F# – G – A – B – C#
Eb
Eb – F – G – Ab – Bb – C – D
E
E – F# – G# – A – B – C# – D#
F
F – G – A – Bb – C – D – E
F#
F# – G# – A# – B – C# – D# – E#
G
G – A – B – C – D – E – F#
Ab
Ab – Bb – C – Db – Eb – F – G
A
A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G#
Bb
Bb – C – D – Eb – F – G – A
B
B – C# – D# – E – F# – G# – A#

Major Pentatonic Scales

A five-note scale that sounds universally pleasant — used in folk, pop, and rock.

C
C – D – E – G – A
Db
Db – Eb – F – Ab – Bb
D
D – E – F# – A – B
Eb
Eb – F – G – Bb – C
E
E – F# – G# – B – C#
F
F – G – A – C – D
F#
F# – G# – A# – C# – D#
G
G – A – B – D – E
Ab
Ab – Bb – C – Eb – F
A
A – B – C# – E – F#
Bb
Bb – C – D – F – G
B
B – C# – D# – F# – G#

Dorian Scales

A cool minor mode popular in jazz, funk, and Latin music.

C
C – D – Eb – F – G – A – Bb
C#
C# – D# – E – F# – G# – A# – B
D
D – E – F – G – A – B – C
Eb
Eb – F – Gb – Ab – Bb – C – Db
E
E – F# – G – A – B – C# – D
F
F – G – Ab – Bb – C – D – Eb
F#
F# – G# – A – B – C# – D# – E
G
G – A – Bb – C – D – E – F
G#
G# – A# – B – C# – D# – E# – F#
A
A – B – C – D – E – F# – G
Bb
Bb – C – Db – Eb – F – G – Ab
B
B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A

Mixolydian Scales

A dominant-sounding mode — the sound of classic rock and funk.

C
C – D – E – F – G – A – Bb
Db
Db – Eb – F – Gb – Ab – Bb – Cb
D
D – E – F# – G – A – B – C
Eb
Eb – F – G – Ab – Bb – C – Db
E
E – F# – G# – A – B – C# – D
F
F – G – A – Bb – C – D – Eb
F#
F# – G# – A# – B – C# – D# – E
G
G – A – B – C – D – E – F
Ab
Ab – Bb – C – Db – Eb – F – Gb
A
A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G
Bb
Bb – C – D – Eb – F – G – Ab
B
B – C# – D# – E – F# – G# – A

Other tags

The same 120 scales, sorted a different way.

StyleClassical60Romantic24Jazz36Blues36Rock48Folk48Pop36Funk & Soul24Film Score36Middle Eastern12Modal24
MoodBright36Dark12Dramatic24
UseImprovisation60Technique12
LevelBeginner42Intermediate57Advanced21

Back to the full scale library for all 120 scales grouped by type.