Alright, no time to waste!
Here, we’ll take you through all 12 major piano scales, natural minor piano scales, harmonic minor piano scales, and melodic minor piano scales.
Overview
Major Piano Scales
Natural Minor Piano Scales
Harmonic Minor Piano Scales
Melodic Minor Piano Scales
Alright, let’s jump into it!
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Major Scales - Both Hands
Our first scale category is the major scale, which is typically the first scale pianists learn when they’re starting off.
C Major Piano Scale
G Major Piano Scale
D Major Piano Scale
A Major Piano Scale
E Major Piano Scale
B Major Piano Scale
F# Major/Gb Major Piano Scale
F# major and Gb major are “enharmonic” spellings of each other. This means that while both scales look completely different, they actually sound, and play, the exact same.
Db Major Piano Scale
Ab Major Piano Scale
Eb Major Piano Scale
Bb Major Piano Scale
F Major Piano Scale
Natural Minor (Aeolian) Scales - Both Hands
Next we have our natural minor piano scales.
These tend to sound much darker than our major scales from earlier, and you might notice that these scales are basically just major scales starting on the third to last note.
C Minor Piano Scale
G Minor Piano Scale
D Minor Piano Scale
A Minor Piano Scale
E Minor Piano Scale
B Minor Piano Scale
F# Minor Piano Scale
C# Minor Piano Scale
G# Minor Piano Scale
D#/Eb Minor Piano Scale
Remember our comment from the F#/Gb major scale?
Same applies here. D# minor and Eb minor are enharmonic spellings of each other, which means they have exactly the same notes.
Bb Minor Piano Scale
F Minor Piano Scale
Harmonic Minor Scales - Both Hands
Now we have the harmonic minor scales. These are defined by that raised 7th near the top of the scale.
It’s still a minor scale, but that raised 7th gives it a nice sense of resolution as you approach the top of the scale.
It’s also worth mentioning that whenever a piece is said to be in a minor key, that minor key is actually referring to harmonic minor, rather than melodic or natural.
C Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
G Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
D Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
A Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
E Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
B Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
F# Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
C# Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
G# Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
D#/Eb Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
Bb Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
F Harmonic Minor Piano Scale
Melodic Minor Scales - Both Hands
Our last category is the melodic minor scale.
This scale is defined as a minor scale with a raised 6th and 7th on the way up, and a natural minor scale on the way down.
Composers use this scale to add color to their melodic lines, often switching between the two orientations to achieve their desired tone.
C Melodic Minor Piano Scale
G Melodic Minor Piano Scale
D Melodic Minor Piano Scale
A Melodic Minor Piano Scale
E Melodic Minor Piano Scale
B Melodic Minor Piano Scale
F# Melodic Minor Piano Scale
C# Melodic Minor Piano Scale
G# Melodic Minor Piano Scale
D#/Eb Melodic Minor Piano Scale
Bb Melodic Minor Piano Scale
F Melodic Minor Piano Scale
Want all of these scales on one organized practice PDF?
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Conclusion
And there you go, that’s all of the must know piano scales to get you going on your piano journey!
With all of the major, natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor scales in your back pocket, you should be ready to tackle all sorts of piano repertoire.
However, sometimes it can be daunting to learn all of these scales without any sort of guidance.
On tonebase, you can browse lessons with Grammy winning pianists and high level conservatory instructors on subjects such as piano scale fingerings and technique.
And if this post helped you, we’d love to know!
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