Scale Finder
Select known notes on the keyboard or the EADGBE guitar fret map to find matching musical scales from 18 formulas. Choose how many missing or outside notes to allow, then read each scale’s tonic, notes and degrees. Entries stay in your browser, with no account or upload.
C D E G AContains my notes2 exact matches
Selected C D E G A (5 notes)Match Contains my notes. Every note you picked is in the scale. The scale may hold notes you did not pick, and those are listed as missing.Found 27 matches, 2 exact C major pentatonic exactA minor pentatonic exactA blues missing EbC major blues missing EbC major missing F, BG major missing B, F#D natural minor missing F, BbE natural minor missing F#, B Showing 8 of 27 matches, closest first. Degrees C major pentatonic: 1 2 3 5 6 steps 2 2 3 2 3 Selected notes use sharp labels. Scale notes follow the degree accidental and borrowed key, with raised minor degrees using sharp labels unless the tonic has a flat name. For example, D natural minor reads D E F G A Bb C, A blues reads A C D Eb E G, and G melodic minor reads G A Bb C D E F#. Results use twelve basic pitch-class labels, so some theoretical staff spellings are simplified.
- Notes
- 5
- Exact
- 2 scales
- Match
- Tonic
- C
Every note you picked is in the scale. The scale may hold notes you did not pick, and those are listed as missing.
5 notes picked. 2 exact matches under Contains my notes. 2 scales are exactly these 5 notes. Other matches contain all your notes and add the notes listed as missing.
Guitar scale positions: EADGBE, frets 0 to 12
Tap a fret to toggle its note in the same selection as the keyboard. Every occurrence of a picked pitch class is selected; octave and playing order are ignored. Choose a matching scale to see its positions marked with a dot. These are note positions, not finger numbers or recommended shapes. Scroll horizontally to reach all frets. Fret 0 is the open string.
C major pentatonic: exact. Dot = in this scale; filled = picked note.
| String | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 E | |||||||||||||
| 5 A | |||||||||||||
| 4 D | |||||||||||||
| 3 G | |||||||||||||
| 2 B | |||||||||||||
| 1 E |
The scale formulas this page matches against
Every formula is counted in semitones from the tonic, so you can check any match against your own book. A symmetric scale is listed once per distinct set of notes rather than once per tonic, because a whole tone scale starting on D holds the same six pitch classes as one starting on C.
| Scale | Semitones from the tonic | Steps | On C | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| major | 0 2 4 5 7 9 11 | 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 | C D E F G A B | The major scale, also called Ionian: the seven notes a key signature describes. |
| natural minor | 0 2 3 5 7 8 10 | 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 | C D Eb F G Ab Bb | Natural minor, also called Aeolian: the major scale read from its sixth degree. |
| major pentatonic | 0 2 4 7 9 | 2 2 3 2 3 | C D E G A | The major scale with the fourth and seventh left out: five notes per octave. |
| minor pentatonic | 0 3 5 7 10 | 3 2 2 3 2 | C Eb F G Bb | The same five pitch classes as the major pentatonic a minor third above, counted from a different tonic. |
| blues | 0 3 5 6 7 10 | 3 2 1 1 3 2 | C Eb F Gb G Bb | Minor pentatonic with the flat fifth added between the fourth and the fifth. |
| major blues | 0 2 3 4 7 9 | 2 1 1 3 2 3 | C D Eb E G A | Major pentatonic with the flat third added between the second and the third. |
| dorian | 0 2 3 5 7 9 10 | 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 | C D Eb F G A Bb | The major scale read from its second degree: minor with a raised sixth. |
| mixolydian | 0 2 4 5 7 9 10 | 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 | C D E F G A Bb | The major scale read from its fifth degree: major with a flat seventh. |
| lydian | 0 2 4 6 7 9 11 | 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 | C D E F# G A B | The major scale read from its fourth degree: major with a raised fourth. |
| phrygian | 0 1 3 5 7 8 10 | 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 | C Db Eb F G Ab Bb | The major scale read from its third degree: minor with a flat second. |
| locrian | 0 1 3 5 6 8 10 | 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 | C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb | The major scale read from its seventh degree, the one with a flat fifth. |
| harmonic minor | 0 2 3 5 7 8 11 | 2 1 2 2 1 3 1 | C D Eb F G Ab B | Natural minor with the seventh raised, which puts a step and a half between the sixth and seventh. |
| melodic minor | 0 2 3 5 7 9 11 | 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 | C D Eb F G A B | The ascending form: natural minor with the sixth and seventh both raised. |
| phrygian dominant | 0 1 4 5 7 8 10 | 1 3 1 2 1 2 2 | C Db E F G Ab Bb | Harmonic minor read from its fifth degree, the flamenco and klezmer sound. |
| whole tone | 0 2 4 6 8 10 | 2 2 2 2 2 2 | C D E F# G# A# | Six whole steps. It repeats every step, so only two of these sets exist and each is listed once. |
| diminished (whole-half) | 0 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 | 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 | C D Eb F Gb Ab A B | Alternating whole and half steps. It repeats every minor third, so only three of these sets exist. |
| diminished (half-whole) | 0 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 | 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 | C Db Eb E F# G A Bb | The same alternation starting with the half step, the scale played over a dominant seventh. |
| chromatic | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 | C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B | All twelve pitch classes. There is only one such set, so it is listed once, under C. |
The result preview includes the note-naming rule.
One set of notes, more than one name. C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic are the same five pitch classes read from different tonics, and the seven white notes are C major, D dorian, E phrygian, F lydian, G mixolydian, A natural minor and B locrian at once. Every one of those is listed, because which name is right depends on the note your ear is treating as home, and that is the one thing a list of pitch classes cannot tell you.
Common questions
- How do I find the scale a group of notes belongs to?
- Click or tap each note on the keyboard, then choose a match setting. Contains my notes includes only scales with all your selected notes. One note outside also allows a scale to omit one of them. Matches are ordered by fewest outside notes, fewest missing scale notes, a selected tonic, then the formula’s order in the list.
- What is the difference between an exact match and a scale that contains my notes?
- Exact notes requires both sets to be identical. Contains my notes can return a larger scale and names its additional notes as missing. For example, C, E and G fit C major, with D, F, A and B missing; those three notes alone are not an exact C major match.
- Why does one set of notes match more than one scale?
- Different tonics can give the same pitch classes different scale names. The finder lists each matching name for nonsymmetric formulas. Whole tone, diminished and chromatic formulas repeat their pitch sets under several tonics, so each distinct set appears once per formula.
- Does it matter whether I call a note C# or Db?
- Both names select the same pitch class. The selected notes use sharp labels, while scale results use the naming convention printed in the result preview. Results use twelve basic pitch-class labels, so they do not reproduce every theoretical staff spelling or double accidental.
- Which scales does the finder know?
- 18 formulas: major and its six modes, harmonic and ascending melodic minor, major and minor pentatonic, blues and major blues, phrygian dominant, whole tone, whole-half and half-whole diminished, and chromatic. Natural minor is the Aeolian mode. The table gives semitone offsets, steps and notes on C for every formula.
- Can it identify a song or vocal scale from audio?
- There is no microphone, recording upload or audio-link input. The finder matches notes selected on its keyboard or guitar map; it does not detect notes, tempo, vocal range or voice type from sound. A pitch-class set can fit several tonics, so its matches alone do not establish a song’s key.
- Can I find a piano scale from its notes?
- Yes, the keyboard selects the twelve pitch classes used for matching. It ignores octave and note order, and clicking a selected key removes it. This is a reverse lookup from known notes to scale names; the keys do not play sound and the results do not include piano fingering.
- Can I find a guitar scale from fret positions?
- Yes. Open Guitar scale positions and tap frets 0 to 12 on the six-string EADGBE map. This selects pitch classes in the same matcher as the keyboard. Choose a returned scale in Scale positions to display: dots mark its notes across all six strings, and filled buttons mark your selected notes. Fret 0 is an open string. It does not provide finger numbers, tablature, alternate tunings, bass or ukulele maps.
- Can I give it chord names or a chord progression?
- The input is a selection of individual notes, not chord symbols or a progression. It does not expand chord names, identify chords, preserve their order or recommend scales for a progression. Matching a set of selected chord tones does not establish harmonic compatibility.
- Can I save the results as a PDF or download a scale chart?
- Copy places the full match list on the clipboard, and each result has its own Copy button for that scale’s notes, degrees, steps and match summary. There is no PDF, image, ZIP or chart download. Clipboard access depends on the browser granting permission.
Exact set matching against the scale formulas written into this page, which are listed so you can check them. Enharmonic spellings are treated as the same pitch class, and the tolerance for missing or extra notes is the one you choose rather than a guess.