Chromatic Scale Practicing...How?

The chromatic scale is just the total collection of notes in an ocatve range. It's every half-step.

If you want to be really nit-picky, it includes every sharp and every flat, so the A chromatic scale would look like this:

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

Some folks would argue that B#, Cb, Fb and E# are spurious and don't belong ..

In terms of practing it .. I have no idea.. I don't practice playing a chromatic scale.

You can practice a chromatic scale the same way you would any other, but with substantially greater ease. All the intervals are just one fret apart, so you just set down one finger after the other. You can do this with the same starting string and position as with normal major and minor scales.
Maybe I don't know what the question is. Sorry if this is too obvious.

I think your answer is about the same as what I got at ibreathemusic.com. I've been freakin' out about how to practice chromatic scales for the past 3 weeks without knowing what it was.

My teacher had given me two chord shapes each for major, minor, and diminished to use with the A chromatic scale and had me go through shifting up and down the neck starting at either the E or A string. This is probably what you were explaining to me.

If keep writing any longer on this I'll be lost again. I'm just hoping to have made some small break through in understanding music theory.

:roll:

are you sure he told you chromatic scale?

If he's giving you chord shapes, I have a feeling he might mean diatonic . . .

Sort of didn't tell me what it was or I don't remember.

Would it help if I put this down?

"1. decide if you need major or min or dim"
"2. decide if you will start on the E or A string"
that's how my teacher wrote it.

I don't mean to confuse anyone that reads this post, just would like to know what I'm doing. Or is it just not helping any?

I'm so sorry if anyone is reading this. :oops:

As already noted, the chromatic scale contains every note - so if you need to decide if you'll play major/minor/dim, you're not doing a chromatic scale.

My guess is you're trying to create a diatonic scale based on the chord. For example, if the chord is A, you'd play:

A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A

if the chord is Am, you'd play:

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A (you might do this one with G# instead of G for the harmonic minor scale)

if the chord is A dim, you'd play:

A-B-C-D-Eb-F-Gb-Ab-A

If you really want the chromatic scale, there's no major/minor involved, since it has every note. In open position, that's:

-------------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-
---------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4-----------
-------------------------------0-1-2-3---------------------
---------------------0-1-2-3-4-----------------------------
-----------0-1-2-3-4---------------------------------------
-0-1-2-3-4-------------------------------------------------


In other positions, you need to shift to play it continuously:

-----------------------------------------1-2-3-4-
---------------------------------2-3-4-5---------
-------------------------2-3-4-5-----------------
-----------------3-4-5-6-------------------------
---------4-5-6-7---------------------------------
-5-6-7-8-----------------------------------------


The examples of chromatic scales you give Noteboat, without the maj/min are what I've been practicing almost everyday and what I think of as chromatic scales.

It might be wise for me to just e-mail my teacher or visit him at the store to figure out what he was teaching me. I was wondering if maybe he was showing me how to find different chords in a key or something.

Oh well....