Related

Semitone and Whole ToneScaleEnharmonicWhole Tone Scale

The chromatic scale has the least contentious definition of all: twelve semitones, none omitted, in order.

C chromatic: C C♯ D D♯ E F F♯ G G♯ A A♯ B C

Its relationship to every other scale is that of material to selection: other scales pick a few notes out of it; it is the full set of available pitches.

It is not a tonal scale

Because every step is identical, the chromatic scale cannot tell the ear where home is — which is exactly why it gets used for descending sighs, upward surges and restless transitions.

Two notational traditions

The same scale can be written in different ways (sharps or flats, whether a letter name repeats):

• Harmonic chromatic: choose sharps or flats by tonal function (sharps when rising, flats when falling), so

under a strict reading some letter names appear twice.

• Modern practice: all sharps (or all flats), simple but offering less directional information.

This is the same question as enharmonic spelling: the sound is identical while the writing carries function.

Diagram: semitones everywhere

Listen: twelve semitones

Hear the chromatic scale, then the major scale. The first supplies material; the second supplies structure.

Common misconceptions

• "The chromatic scale is a key." It has no tonic and cannot establish one; it supplies material only.
• "It is the opposite of the whole-tone scale." Both divide the octave equally (twelve parts and six), so both lack the unequal structure tonality needs.
• "Sharps and flats are interchangeable when writing it." The sound matches, but spelling signals direction (sharps rising, flats falling) — see enharmonic.
• "Chromaticism is modern." The material is ancient (Greek tetrachords already contained semitones); what is modern is its systematic use as a harmonic device.

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Sources

• 半音阶由十二个半音按序排列构成，属乐理通则
• 半音化的历史发展（从装饰到和声手段）为音乐史通行记载

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.