Scale finder for guitar, piano, bass and ukulele
Choose a root and a scale to see its notes on a piano keyboard or an instrument fretboard. Hear the pattern, switch between note names and intervals, and practise with a click or a root drone. The scale explorer runs in your browser without an account; sound starts after you press Play Scale or tap a note.
Find the notes in a scale
Start with C major. Its notes are C, D, E, F, G, A and B, followed by C an octave higher. Change the root to G and keep the major scale selected. The pattern keeps the same distances between notes, but now the notes are G, A, B, C, D, E and F-sharp. Use note labels when you want the names and interval labels when you want each note’s relationship to the root.
Use the piano or your fretboard
Choose a piano view to see the notes across the keys. Choose the fretboard for guitar, bass or ukulele, then select the tuning you actually use. A fretboard can show the same pitch in several places. A position narrows the display to a playable part of the neck; the whole-neck view helps you connect those positions. The left-handed view reverses the display for that playing position.
Hear the scale before practising it
Press Play Scale and start with a straight run. Try ascending, descending, or up and down. You can then choose thirds, groups of four or a root-pedal pattern. Lower the tempo until each note sounds deliberate. Loop a short pattern while you play along, then stop playback and repeat it on your instrument. Piano, guitar and sine voices provide different references; they are synthesized sounds.
Compare major and minor from one root
Keep C as the root and compare C major with C natural minor. C natural minor uses C, D, E-flat, F, G, A-flat and B-flat. Listen to the changed third, sixth and seventh rather than memorising a mood label. Turn on the root drone to keep C in your ear while you compare the two scales. A drone is a reference pitch rather than a recording of a backing band.
Explore modes without losing the tonal centre
Compare C major and C Mixolydian with the same root. Mixolydian lowers B to B-flat. Then compare C natural minor with C Dorian, where A replaces A-flat. Playing from a different starting note does not by itself establish a new tonal centre. Return to the selected root, or use the root drone, so you can hear what each changed interval does against it.
Connect the notes to chords
Open the harmony panel where it is available. For supported scales it stacks thirds on each degree and lets you hear triads and seventh chords. In C major the triads are C, D minor, E minor, F, G, A minor and B diminished. Five-note and symmetric scales do not all produce this familiar set, so the panel is not shown for every scale. Use the chord progression tool when you want to practise moving between chords with a beat.
Try a five-minute practice task
Choose C major or a scale you already know. Listen once without playing, then play a slow ascending and descending run with the click. Spend the next minute on thirds, and the next on a short phrase that ends on the root. Turn the click off and repeat the phrase while listening for a clear ending. Change only the root for the final minute so you can recognise the same interval pattern in another key.
Share a musical starting point
Copy or share the setup link for a student, bandmate or your next session. Open the link to check the root, scale and instrument view before using it as an exercise. The explorer helps you inspect a chosen scale; it does not listen through your microphone to identify a song’s key or grade your playing. Use the tuner for pitch measurement and the metronome for focused timing practice.