The Chromatic Scale on the Guitar

The chromatic scale is a great scale to practice on guitar. In this article I will explore different ways to practice the chromatic scale and why it is good scale to practice.

The chromatic scale is made up of every note on the guitar (or any instrument) as it moves along by semitone, in the case of the guitar it moves along by fret. The starting note of the chromatic scale you are playing defines the scale you are playing so an E chromatic scale starts on E and so on. The reality is that all chromatic scales are the same because they all contain the same notes.

On the guitar, we generally start the chromatic scale on the open E string or low sixth string. We play every each fret along the string till the fourth fret then shift up to the next open string. This occurs for all strings except the third sting on which you only play till the third string. This is because the intervsl between the third and second string is a Major third, with the rest of the string intervals being a perfect Fourth. Here is a diagram of the chromatic scale:

Play Along Track