Theory & harmony
Chromatic scale
A chromatic scale is a scale made entirely of semitones, using all twelve pitches within an octave rather than the seven of a major or minor scale.
Because it uses every available pitch, a chromatic scale has no key: it sounds the same starting anywhere, which is precisely why composers use it for tension, transition, and the absence of a harmonic home.
On a string instrument it is fingered differently going up and coming down in many systems, and the standard exercise is to slide one finger between adjacent semitones rather than to place a new finger for each, a technique that trains both intonation and small-scale shifting at once.
Written chromatic passages usually use sharps ascending and flats descending, which is a notation convention about direction rather than a claim that the pitches differ.
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