The Chromatic Scale
You now know all the different notes used in western music (twelve in all). This includes all the natural notes (A B C D E F G), plus Bb, as well as F#, C#, G# and D#. Because each sharp notes has another name as a flat, you also know Gb, Db, Ab and Eb. Bb can also be called A#, so when you add them all together, you have covered every possible note. If you play all twelve notes in succession, you get the chromatic scale, which contains all possible notes between a given note and its next repeat an octave higher or lower. All of the notes in a chromatic scale are one semitone apart. To get to know all possible ways of describing any note in a given key, it is a good idea to call notes all notes which are not natural to the key sharps when ascending and flats when descending.
The following example demonstrates two octaves of the C chromatic scale. Take it slowly at first and memorise all the fingerings so you can play it smoothly and easily without hesitation. It is a good idea to make the chromatic scale part of your daily practice, as a good knowledge of the chromatic scale makes it easy to quickly transpose any melody, as well as making it easier to learn any new scale.
C Chromatic Scale
Once you can play the C chromatic scale, you already know all other chromatic scales, e.g. to play the E chromatic scale, you simply start on the note E and play all possible notes until you arrive at the next E note one octave higher or lower, as demonstrated in the following example which contains two octaves of the E chromatic scale. You can find the fingerings for the top two notes (D# and E) on page 85.
E Chromatic Scale
