How it works
The Music Scale Reference tool displays the notes, scale degrees, and interval structure for any combination of root note and scale type — covering 14 scale types from the common major and minor scales through all seven Church modes, pentatonic variants, the blues scale, the whole tone scale, and the chromatic scale.
Understanding scale degrees: each note in a scale is assigned a degree number relative to the root. The major scale uses degrees 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. Minor scales use a ♭3 (flattened third). The blues scale adds a ♭5 (the "blue note") between the fourth and fifth. The degree system allows transposing any scale to any root — the interval pattern remains constant.
The 14 scales included: - **Diatonic major/minor:** Major, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor (raised 7th), Melodic Minor (raised 6th and 7th ascending) - **Pentatonic:** Pentatonic Major (5 notes, no semitone steps), Pentatonic Minor (the foundation of rock and blues guitar) - **Blues:** 6-note scale, Pentatonic Minor with an added ♭5 chromatic passing tone - **Modes:** Dorian (minor with raised 6th), Phrygian (minor with ♭2), Lydian (major with ♯4), Mixolydian (major with ♭7), Locrian (diminished, with ♭2 and ♭5) - **Exotic:** Whole Tone (all whole steps, used in jazz), Chromatic (all 12 semitones)
Practical use: select a root note and scale type to instantly see which notes are "in" for a given musical context. Guitarists use this for improvisation. Producers check which notes are available for melodic sequences. Composers use it to verify chord-scale relationships. Students use it as a theory drill aid.
Privacy: all calculations are pure music theory math, performed locally with no data transmitted.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Natural Minor (also called Aeolian mode) uses the intervals 1-2-♭3-4-5-♭6-♭7. Harmonic Minor raises the 7th degree by a semitone (1-2-♭3-4-5-♭6-7), creating a leading tone that resolves strongly to the root — the interval between ♭6 and 7 is an augmented second (3 semitones), which gives harmonic minor its distinctive Middle-Eastern or dramatic sound. Harmonic minor is used for the V chord in minor key harmony because the raised 7th produces a major dominant chord instead of a minor one.
- A mode is a scale derived by starting on a different degree of the parent scale while using the same notes. The seven modes come from the C major scale: Ionian (C–C, same as major), Dorian (D–D), Phrygian (E–E), Lydian (F–F), Mixolydian (G–G), Aeolian (A–A, same as natural minor), Locrian (B–B). Each mode has a characteristic interval pattern and musical character. Dorian (minor with raised 6th) is used in jazz and folk. Mixolydian (major with flat 7th) is common in blues and rock. Lydian (major with raised 4th) has a dreamy, floating quality.
- The pentatonic scale uses 5 notes (penta = five) instead of 7. The minor pentatonic uses intervals 1-♭3-4-5-♭7, omitting the 2nd and ♭6th. It's favored in rock and blues because it contains only consonant intervals — no minor second (half step) or tritone — so any note from the scale sounds good over the corresponding chord. This makes it forgiving for improvisation. The pentatonic is common across world music cultures (African, East Asian, Celtic) precisely because it avoids dissonant intervals.
- If you can identify one or two distinctive notes in the song's melody or chords, select them as the root and try different scale types until the displayed notes match what you're hearing. A song in C Major uses C-D-E-F-G-A-B. A song using a lot of ♭3 and ♭7 intervals over a C root is likely in C Minor or C Mixolydian. The blues scale is often identifiable by the ♭5 'blue note' appearing as a chromatic passing tone.