Editing Chromatic scale (section)

{{Short description|Musical scale set of twelve pitches}}
[[File:PianoKeyboard.svg|thumb|Chromatic scale: every key of one octave on the piano keyboard]]

The '''chromatic scale''' (or '''twelve-tone scale''') is a set of twelve [[pitch (music)|pitches]] (more completely, [[pitch class]]es) used in [[tonality|tonal]] music, with notes separated by the [[Interval (music)|interval]] of a [[semitone]]. [[Diatonic and chromatic#Musical instruments|Chromatic instruments]], such as the [[piano]], are made to produce the chromatic scale, while other instruments capable of continuously variable pitch, such as the [[trombone]] and [[violin]], can also produce [[microtones]], or notes between those available on a piano.

Most music uses subsets of the chromatic scale such as [[diatonic scale]]s. While the chromatic scale is fundamental in western [[music theory]], it is seldom directly used in its entirety in [[musical composition]]s or [[Musical improvisation|improvisation]].