Semitones are slippery characters! It's a challenge to keep track of them, but they're essential for filling out melodic lines and adding color to chords.

Regular, dedicated work with semitones will develop your aural skills, and these pattern-based finger drills will challenge you to precise listening and thinking.

Your work on the chromatic scales consists of learning and practicing them across five pages, plus practical riff-building in the chromatic dominant scale (Chromatic Dominant Thirds in the nav bar).

Download the PDF for the Scale City Chromatic Scales here.

Symmetrical fingering

We can easily play chromatic scales in contrary motion, with the same fingering in both hands, from anywhere where the keyboard is itself symmetrical - for example, from D, G#/Ab, and the third C-E.

Here's the teaching video for the symmetrically fingered contrary motion chromatic scales.

Now practice the scales using the demonstration videos which follow.

Contrary motion from D

If you start from D (and G#/Ab), the chromatic scale fingering is perfectly symmetrical.

Contrary motion from C-E

The chromatic scale fingering is also perfectly symmetrical if you start from C (left hand) and E (right hand).

More symmetrical chromatic scales

You can also play symmetrically fingered contrary motion chromatic scales from G3/Ab (shown in the teaching video), E-C and Gb-Bb (not demonstrated).

Work the last two scales out yourself.

Asymmetric fingering

Contrary motion from C

The chromatic scale in contrary motion from C is a typical exam requirement, and requires different fingering in each hand.

Watch the teaching video, then practice using the demonstration video for guidance.

Gradually work through the other white keys, playing one-octave contrary motion chromatic scales from each.

Contrary motion from A

Play a one-octave chromatic scale in contrary motion from A.

Try to use the 'official' fingering, but at all costs, keep going! 'Getting out of a tight (fingering) spot' is one of a good improviser's main assets!

Contrary motion from E

Play the chromatic scale in contrary motion from E.

Note that none of these scales is any 'harder' - they all use the same fingering (apart from sometimes not being able to use the 4-3-2-1 alternative).

Contrary motion from B

Play the chromatic scale in contrary motion from B.

Vary your practice different rhythms - group the notes in triplets, for example (stress in threes), or play in 'dotted'/swing quavers.

You should aim to be able to play these scales over two octaves reliably.

Then go on to the next page - chromatic scales at various intervals - or use the series mini-nav to dot about the series.