cheers for the info but im still struggling to understand what a scale actually is
There are 12 notes or pitches in music : A, A#(Bb), B, C, C#(Db), D, D#(Eb), E, F, F#(Gb), G, G#(Ab).
# reads 'sharp' and 'b' reads 'flat'. They represent the same pitch (Just another name).
Any combination of these notes make up a scale. Songs are in a specific key and scale(s). Your key may be any of the pitches above. Each pitch has many different types of scales: major, minor, harmonic minor etc. depending on the notes that make up the scale. For eg: SCOM is in the key of D and E, with a variety of scales used including major, blues, harmonic minor and pentatonic minor. Hope this helps.