One scale, 12 starting notes — a page for every root (including enharmonic equivalents)
C Chromatic Scale
C – C# / Db – D – D# / Eb – E – F – F# / Gb – G – G# / Ab – A – A# / Bb – B
C# or Db Chromatic Scale
C# / Db – D – D# / Eb – E – F – F# / Gb – G – G# / Ab – A – A# / Bb – B – C
D Chromatic Scale
D – D# / Eb – E – F – F# / Gb – G – G# / Ab – A – A# / Bb – B – C – C# / Db
D# or Eb Chromatic Scale
D# / Eb – E – F – F# / Gb – G – G# / Ab – A – A# / Bb – B – C – C# / Db – D
E Chromatic Scale
E – F – F# / Gb – G – G# / Ab – A – A# / Bb – B – C – C# / Db – D – D# / Eb
F Chromatic Scale
F – F# / Gb – G – G# / Ab – A – A# / Bb – B – C – C# / Db – D – D# / Eb – E
F# or Gb Chromatic Scale
F# / Gb – G – G# / Ab – A – A# / Bb – B – C – C# / Db – D – D# / Eb – E – F
G Chromatic Scale
G – G# / Ab – A – A# / Bb – B – C – C# / Db – D – D# / Eb – E – F – F# / Gb
G# or Ab Chromatic Scale
G# / Ab – A – A# / Bb – B – C – C# / Db – D – D# / Eb – E – F – F# / Gb – G
A Chromatic Scale
A – A# / Bb – B – C – C# / Db – D – D# / Eb – E – F – F# / Gb – G – G# / Ab
A# or Bb Chromatic Scale
A# / Bb – B – C – C# / Db – D – D# / Eb – E – F – F# / Gb – G – G# / Ab – A
B Chromatic Scale
B – C – C# / Db – D – D# / Eb – E – F – F# / Gb – G – G# / Ab – A – A# / Bb
ANATOMY
Chromatic Scale Formula
The 12 scale degrees that build every chromatic scale — in any key.
The chromatic scale is every one of the 12 notes in Western music played in order, one half step (one fret) at a time — nothing is skipped. Because it contains every pitch, every other scale is a subset of it, and the scale itself is identical from any starting note: only the root you begin and resolve on changes. On guitar that makes it less an improvising scale than the master map of the fretboard — and the standard warm-up exercise.
Applied to C: C – C# – D – D# – E – F – F# – G – G# – A – A# – B. Applied to E: the open low E string played fret by fret up to fret 12 — one string, one full chromatic octave. Ascending runs are conventionally spelled with sharps, descending runs with flats.
About the Chromatic Scale on Guitar
The chromatic scale is all 12 notes, each a half step apart — the complete set of pitches Western music is built from. There is really only one chromatic scale with 12 possible starting points, and each root page here starts and resolves the run on a different note, with its own fretboard anchors and warm-up fingerings. On guitar the scale has a special clarity: the instrument is laid out chromatically, so one fret always equals one half step, and any string played open to fret 12 is a complete chromatic octave. Guitarists use it three ways — as the classic 1-2-3-4 warm-up for finger independence, as a fretboard-memorisation tool (naming every note as you pass it), and as the source of chromatic passing tones that connect chord tones in jazz and blues lines.
- 01Built from all 12 notes — one half step (one fret) between every pair
- 02Scale degrees: 1, ♭2, 2, ♭3, 3, 4, ♭5, 5, ♭6, 6, ♭7, 7
- 03Every other scale and chord is a subset of the chromatic scale
- 04Perfectly symmetrical — the same notes from any of the 12 roots
- 05Any string played open to fret 12 is a full chromatic octave
- 06Spelled with sharps ascending and flats descending
- 07The standard guitar warm-up: the 1-2-3-4 one-finger-per-fret exercise