Chromatic scale common conception of the chromatic scale before the 13th century was the Pythagorean chromatic scale (). Due to a different tuning technique, the twelve semitones in this scale have two slightly different sizes. Thus, the scale is not perfectly symmetric. Many other tuning systems, developed in the ensuing centuries, share a similar asymmetry. In Pythagorean tuning (3-limit just intonation) the chromatic scale is tuned as follows, with sharps higher than their enharmonic flats: These are 17-EDO Pythagorean tuning approximations. In 5-limit just intonation the chromatic scale, Ptolemy's intense chromatic scale, is as follows, with flats higher than their enharmonic sharps,
Jazz scale and B are blue notes. The harmonic minor scale is also of value to many improvisors, as it provides an alternative color for many common chords and chord progressions. An example is C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. The C harmonic minor scale can be used on the chords of a piece in C minor, especially on the minor ii V7 i chord progression. One of the most common uses of the harmonic minor scale is its fifth mode, which is a frequently-heard sound over dominant chords. The altered dominant scale, also loosely called the altered scale, is so named because all the scale members