"Harmonic minor is always a very cool choice and a favorite of mine. It’s great to use when you’re improvising or coming up with song ideas and lead parts. So many impressive players have made great use of it in their songs—guys like Uli Jon Roth, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Vai and many others. Mozart also was a big fan."

"Pentatonic is huge in metal for a reason: It sounds good in so many situations. Zakk Wylde, Frank Marino and Dave Mustaine are amazing players who have used it to great effect over the decades."

"In the Western world, we know [the Chinese scale] by its other name: major pentatonic. Bands like the Allman Brothers really dig its sound and use it quite a bit, as well as bluesmen like B.B. King."

"If you listen to Iron Maiden’s “Powerslave,” you can hear this scale in action."

"This scale is the same as Phrygian dominant except for the natural 7, which this scale has. Any time you are improvising over a chord progression that has major chords that are a half step apart, this scale (as well as the Phrygian dominant) is a good choice. The Gypsy scale is cool to use when you're going for that whole snake-charming, exotic, "magic carpet ride" sound. Blackmore captured it very well on many tunes. “Gates of Babylon” by the Ronnie James Dio-fronted Rainbow is a good example."

"This works well over a minor (major 7) chord. The Hungarian gypsy minor and harmonic minor scales are used on Chris Broderick’s solo on Megadeth's “Head Crusher.""

"This scale is cool and has that whole dark Middle Eastern feel to it. It’s got the flat 5 or “tri-tone” in there, which is always great for metal. That’s the interval that Marilyn Manson used on “The Beautiful People” or that Black Sabbath used on [...] “Symptom of the Universe." You can get some crazy-sounding metal riffs out of this scale."

"Friedman, Jason Becker and so many other greats have used this one. Give it a try in your soloing. It works well in minor and major key progressions. Also, with the b2 in there, it makes for a good choice when working in a Phrygian-style situation."