Tools
Scale finder
Which scale is this? Tap the notes on the keyboard or type them, and the finder lists every scale that contains them, tightest fit first. Say which note feels like home and it narrows the list to scales on that tonic.
Tap or type at least three notes to find the scales that contain them.
How scale finding works
A scale is a set of pitch classes: the note names, with octaves and order stripped away. D major is the set D, E, F♯, G, A, B, C♯, whether it is played as a run, a chord or a melody that wanders. So the finder first turns whatever you enter into a set — a repeated note counts once, and A♯ and B♭ are the same member — and then asks of every scale it knows, on every root: does it contain this set?
Many do. Four notes sit inside dozens of scales, and even seven can belong to several. The list is ordered so that the useful answer comes first: a scale made of exactly your notes leads; then the everyday scales — major, minor, the pentatonics, the seven modes — ranked by how few notes they add to yours; the exotic scales after them. The chromatic scale contains everything, so it comes last.
Modes are rotations of one collection. C major, A minor and D dorian are the same seven notes started from a different tonic, and they would fill the list with one answer told seven ways. The finder shows one of them — the mode whose tonic is among your notes, ideally the first one — and lists the rest beside it as “same notes, other tonic”. If you know the tonic, say so: only scales on that note lead the list.
A worked example
Enter D E F♯ G A. No scale has exactly those five notes, so the finder looks for the tightest fits. Three seven-note scales each add two notes:
DEF♯GAB (+1 note)C♯ (+1 note)
DEF♯GAB (+1 note)C (+1 note)
DEF♯GAB♭ (+1 note)C♯ (+1 note)
All three are plausible; the difference is the sixth and seventh degrees, which the five notes never touch. Play the melody in your head to its end — if it wants a C♯ leading back to D, it is D major; if it settles on a C♮, it is D mixolydian, which is G major’s notes with D as home.
Scale reference
The scales the finder ranks first, with the formula that builds each one from its tonic and the notes it gives from C. The steps are written as whole (W) and half (H) steps; W½ is the augmented second of the harmonic scales.
| Scale | Formula | Steps | From C |
|---|---|---|---|
| C major | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | W W H W W W H | C D E F G A B |
| C minor | 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 | W H W W H W W | C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ |
| C harmonic minor | 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 | W H W W H W½ H | C D E♭ F G A♭ B |
| C melodic minor | 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 | W H W W W W H | C D E♭ F G A B |
| C dorian | 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7 | W H W W W H W | C D E♭ F G A B♭ |
| C phrygian | 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 | H W W W H W W | C D♭ E♭ F G A♭ B♭ |
| C lydian | 1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 7 | W W W H W W H | C D E F♯ G A B |
| C mixolydian | 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7 | W W H W W H W | C D E F G A B♭ |
| C locrian | 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 | H W W H W W W | C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ |
| C major pentatonic | 1 2 3 5 6 | W W W½ W W½ | C D E G A |
| C minor pentatonic | 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7 | W½ W W W½ W | C E♭ F G B♭ |
| C minor blues | 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7 | W½ W H H W½ W | C E♭ F G♭ G B♭ |
| C major blues | 1 2 ♭3 3 5 6 | W H H W½ W W½ | C D E♭ E G A |
| C whole tone | 1 2 3 ♯4 ♯5 ♯6 | W W W W W W | C D E F♯ G♯ A♯ |
| C altered | 1 ♭2 ♯2 3 ♯4 ♭6 ♭7 | H W H W W W W | C D♭ D♯ E F♯ A♭ B♭ |
| C phrygian dominant | 1 ♭2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 | H W½ H W H W W | C D♭ E F G A♭ B♭ |
| C harmonic major | 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7 | W W H W H W½ H | C D E F G A♭ B |
| C lydian dominant | 1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7 | W W W H W H W | C D E F♯ G A B♭ |
| C half-whole diminished | 1 ♭2 ♭3 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7 | H W H W H W H W | C D♭ E♭ E F♯ G A B♭ |
Questions
- Why does my melody match several scales?
- Because a melody rarely uses every note of its scale. Five notes leave two degrees undecided, and each way of filling them is a different scale. The finder lists them all, tightest fit first, and the tonic you feel at the end of the tune usually settles it. If it is the key you are after, find the key of the melody instead.
- What is the difference between a scale and a mode?
- A mode is a scale started from a different degree of the same collection. D dorian uses exactly the notes of C major, but treats D as home, so its character — a minor third with a major sixth — is its own. The finder groups modes together and names the one whose tonic you gave, or the one your first note suggests.
- Does the order I enter the notes in matter?
- Only as a hint. The search is on the set of notes, so D F♯ A B and B D F♯ A find the same scales. But when nothing else decides between two modes, the first note you entered is taken as the likelier tonic, because most melodies begin at home.
- Why is a pentatonic scale shown before the major scale?
- Because it adds fewer notes to yours. If you enter D F♯ A B, D major pentatonic needs only an E to complete it, while D major needs E, G and C♯. The tighter fit says more about the notes you actually played. The major scale is still in the list, a few lines down.
- What does the tonic setting do?
- It says which of your notes is home. With a tonic chosen, only scales built on that note lead the list — C D E F G A B with A as the tonic gives A minor, not C major — while the other modes of the same notes are still shown beside each result.
- Can I type a chord instead of a melody?
- Yes. A chord is a set of notes like any other. E G♯ B D — an E7 chord — fits E mixolydian and A major, which is why E7 pulls to A. Type the chord’s notes, not its symbol: the chord identifier tool reads symbols.
- Why do I sometimes see D♭ and sometimes C♯?
- Each scale is shown in the spelling with the fewest sharps and flats, and where two spellings tie — F♯ major and G♭ major both have six — the one that repeats the notes you typed wins. The match itself never depends on spelling: A♯ and B♭ are one pitch class.
- What happens with fewer than three notes, or all twelve?
- One or two notes belong to almost every scale, so the finder waits for a third. All twelve notes match exactly one scale, the chromatic, which otherwise sits at the bottom of every list because it contains everything and so says nothing.