Chromatic scale and new notes between E/F and B/C: The fractions and , and , and , and , and many other pairs are interchangeable, as (syntonic comma) is tempered out. These are 19-EDO just intonation approximations. The ancient Chinese chromatic scale is called "Shí-èr-lǜ". However, "it should not be imagined that this gamut ever functioned as a scale, and it is erroneous to refer to the 'Chinese chromatic scale', as some Western writers have done. The series of twelve notes known as the twelve "lü" were simply a series of fundamental notes from which scales could be constructed." The Indian solfège,
Scale (music) of each scale step provides a method to classify scales. For instance, in a chromatic scale each scale step represents a semitone interval, while a major scale is defined by the interval pattern T–T–S–T–T–T–S, where T stands for whole tone (an interval spanning two semitones), and S stands for semitone. Based on their interval patterns, scales are put into categories including diatonic, chromatic, major, minor, and others. A specific scale is defined by its characteristic interval pattern and by a special note, known as its first degree (or tonic). The tonic of a scale is the note selected as the