Practicing scales is one of the best ways for guitarists to build skill, speed and music theory knowledge. To help students and teachers, we made two free PDFs with all 15 major scales and all 15 minor scales, written in both treble staff notation and guitar tablature.
Free printable download
Guitar Scale PDFs: Treble Staff and Tab
Free to download, print and share for private practice, classrooms and lessons.
Major Scales
- All 15 major scales, from C to C♭
- Treble staff and guitar tab together
- Print-ready for practice or handouts
Minor Scales
- All 15 minor scales, the relative minors of the major keys
- Treble staff and guitar tab together
- Print-ready for practice or handouts
What a page looks like
Each scale is written on the staff with the matching guitar tab underneath, so you can read the notes and see where to play them at the same time.
Why practice with tab and notation?
Tab shows where to put your fingers. Notation shows which notes you’re playing and how they fit the key. Seeing both together helps guitar students:
- Improve their music reading
- Learn the notes on the fingerboard
- Build speed and coordination
- Get ready for improvisation and songwriting
Teachers can use the sheets as lesson handouts to keep scale practice going between lessons.
How to practice these scales
- One key a day. Work around the circle of 5ths: C, G, D, A, E and on through the sharp keys, then the flat keys.
- Say the note names. Read the staff, not just the tab, and say each note as you play it.
- Go slow with a metronome. Play evenly at a tempo you can manage, then speed up a little each day.
- Pair each major with its relative minor. C major and A minor share the same notes, so practice them back to back.
Practice tools that go with the PDFs
Take it further in lessons
Scales are just the beginning. Our teachers help you apply them to real music in private guitar lessons in Brighton, and we also teach piano, voice, drums, violin, cello, bass and more. Book your first lesson online.
A quick note: these PDFs were made by hand, with care. If you spot an error, let us know and we’ll fix it so they stay accurate for everyone.
Visit our sister schools: Grosse Pointe Music Academy and Canton Music Academy.