If you are fairly new to flute playing, and you want to quickly become a bit more “pro” at the flute, a fantastic way to boost your ability is to learn (and master!) a chromatic scale.

After I’ve taught my beginner flute students a few major scales, the next thing they learn is a basic chromatic scale. If you don’t know a chromatic scale, now is a great time to get started!

I’ll show you now what you need to know to get started on learning your first chromatic scale on the flute.

What is a chromatic scale?

You can think of the chromatic scale, in one way, as the easiest of all the scales that you’ll ever learn. If you were playing a piano, you’d simply start at any note (for example C) and play every white and black note in order until you reach the next C.

That’s it! Simple, right?

However, on the flute, and on most instruments besides piano, the chromatic scale is a little more complex to learn. Partly because it’s longer than a major or minor scale - it has 12 different notes in the scale, as opposed to 7 different notes in major or minor. And it’s partly because the fingerings that you use can feel a little more complex than in a major or minor scale.

If you know some music theory, another way to think of a chromatic scale is that each note is a semitone (also called a half step) apart from the next note.

In other words, a chromatic scale packs in all 12 notes that exist into a one octave scale. The interval between each note is the smallest distance that exists (in Western music anyway!)

Let’s get started on teaching you your first flute chromatic scale!

Why is a chromatic scale useful to learn?

The word “chromatic” comes from the Greek word “chroma” which means colour. And when composers add even just a few notes of a chromatic scale into a piece of music, it certainly adds colour to a piece.

If you have ever heard any orchestral music by Debussy, you’ll certainly agree that his music is diverse, expressive, and very colourful. One of the reasons is because Debussy uses a huge amount of “chromaticism” in his compositions.

Learning a chromatic scale as a beginner flute player will set you up with the skills you need to become more dexterous as a flute player. You’ll be able to play music that uses chromatic passages because you will have already practised the chromatic scale by itself, and your fingers will automatically know what to do in these chromatic passages!

I’ll also give you some examples of fabulous pieces for flute that use chromatic passages, so that after you’ve mastered your chromatic scale, you can start learning new pieces - ones that you might not have previously considered learning!

How to learn a chromatic scale 

The very first step to learning how to play a flute chromatic scale is to make sure that you know your fingerings for every note within an octave on the flute. These are the notes that we will use to construct your chromatic scale.

For example, let’s choose the low note F to start on. 

To play a chromatic scale starting on F, you will need to know the fingerings for the following notes, in this order:

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

If you forget a fingering, have a look at this interactive flute fingering chart. It’s best to know these fingerings from memory before starting to link the notes together into a scale.

Here’s a step-by-step path to learning the scale:

Step 1

Let’s start with just the first couple of notes.

Play: F - F# - F 

Now memorise this!

Step 2

Let’s add one more note to the top (the middle) of the scale.

Play: F - F# - G - F# - F

Be sure to memorise this before going onto the next step!

Step 3

We’ll keep adding one note to the top of the scale for each step.

Play: F - F# - G - G# - G - F# - F

Memorise this! And go as slowly as you need.

Step 4

Play: F - F# - G - G# - A - G# - G - F# - F

Of course, continue to memorise each step.

Step 5

Play: F - F# - G - G# - A - Bb - A - G# - G - F# - F

Step 6

Play: F - F# - G - G# - A - Bb - B - Bb - A - G# - G - F# - F

Step 7

Play: F - F# - G - G# - A - Bb - B - C - B - Bb - A - G# - G - F# - F

Step 8

Play: F - F# - G - G# - A - Bb - B - C - C# - C - B - Bb - A - G# - G - F# - F

Step 9

Play: F - F# - G - G# - A - Bb - B - C - C# - D - C# - C - B - Bb - A - G# - G - F# - F

Step 10

Play: F - F# - G - G# - A - Bb - B - C - C# - D - D# - D - C# - C - B - Bb - A - G# - G - F# - F

Step 11

Play: F - F# - G - G# - A - Bb - B - C - C# - D - D# - E - D# - D - C# - C - B - Bb - A - G# - G - F# - F

Step 12

Play: F - F# - G - G# - A - Bb - B - C - C# - D - D# - E - F - E - D# - D - C# - C - B - Bb - A - G# - G - F# - F

Be sure to take your time to get the notes correct, and memorise the notes in each step before moving onto the next step. If you do this, you will be well on your way to mastering your first chromatic scale on the flute!

Did you notice that there were 12 steps, because there are 12 different notes in the scale? (If you are super observant, you might have noticed that there are actually 13 notes going up - that’s because we repeat the F at the top.)

Hints for learning the chromatic scale

Here are a few helpful hints that will make your scale easier to learn!

• Some flute fingering charts will give you the option of two different Bb fingerings. For a chromatic scale, use the one that uses your right hand index finger. It makes the transition to the note B smooth and easy.

• Notes have more than one name. Eg A# is the same as Bb. When teaching you this scale here, I’ve chosen some of the most common note names to use, to make it clearest for beginners.

• Play each step as slowly as you need, to be able to play the scale correctly and without feeling panicked. Slow is fine! And is in fact highly recommended until you’re comfortable with what you’re doing.

How to master a chromatic scale

Here are 3 steps to get you feeling (and sounding) like a pro on a chromatic scale!

1. Once you are comfortable with your one octave flute chromatic scale starting on F, your next step is to be able to start the scale on any note!

For example, try starting the scale on a low G, and continue up to the next G, then back down. It might feel very different, but you’ll actually be playing the same notes, in the same order, just starting from a different location in the original scale you learnt.

Pretty cool, right?

Knowing that you can start on any note, and be actually playing the same order of notes, makes it a lot easier to get your head around mastering this scale.

2. Practise your chromatic scales a lot. Once you get it perfect once (from memory of course), see if you can do it 10 times correctly. Then try for 10 times in a row correctly! And then can you play it correctly for 10 days in a row?

The more you play your flute scale correctly, the more it will sink into your fingers (and your brain) and become automatic for your body to play easily.

3. Now start playing your chromatic scale from the lowest note you can play on your flute, to the highest note you are comfortable playing.

Make it your goal to be able to slur the scale, start going a little faster (as long as the scale still feels controlled), and eventually be able to play your scale in one breath.

Flute pieces that use chromatic scales

Knowing how to play a chromatic scale really opens up the possibilities of what you’re able to play on the flute. 

For example, the famous piece for solo flute, Syrinx by Debussy, is very chromatic. Nearly every bar in the piece has a portion of a chromatic scale in it!

If you have a look from bar 44 of Godard’s Allegretto, you’ll notice that for a few bars, the music is actually a chromatic scale! It does go up and down a little bit, but it is exactly the same order of notes that you learnt above. And the best bit is that, because you’ve already practised your scale so much, your fingers will automatically know what to do in this part of the piece!

Although Fur Elise by Beethoven is originally written for piano, you can still play the extremely well-known melody on the flute. The slightly chromatic melody is recognisable, fun to play, and you’ll find it fairly easy, once you’ve mastered a chromatic scale.

You remember how we talked about the chromatic scale adding colour to pieces? Well, most (if not all!) advanced flute players have learnt to play Chaminade’s Concertino, which is full of chromatic passages that add depth and beauty to the piece.

The Concertino is a beautiful, challenging piece to learn, and even if it is beyond your ability right now, have a listen to it, and see if you can hear how the chromatic sections add expression and colour to the music. Then imagine how with time, practice, and learning proper flute technique, you will be able to play any piece that you desire!

About Jane

Jane Cavanagh is an online flute teacher from Sydney, Australia.

She runs The Flute Academy and teaches adult flute players all over the world how to quickly get faster progress by learning the simple steps of proper technique.

Register here for free for this popular mini-course with Jane to hear yourself get a clearer, stronger sound, and instantly be able to play longer phrases.