Music Scale Finder
Choose a key and a scale to see its notes and chords. Or type some notes and see every scale that contains them all.
Worked examples
D flat major
Db major
Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C
Five flats, with each letter used once.
G harmonic minor
G harmonic minor
G A Bb C D Eb F#
The raised seventh is F sharp.
About Music Scale Finder
A scale is a set of notes arranged by pitch, and each type has its own pattern of steps. The major scale goes tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone. The natural minor scale starts on the sixth note of its relative major and has a flattened third, sixth and seventh. The harmonic and melodic minors raise the seventh note, and the modes such as Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian and Locrian are the same notes starting on other steps. This tool shows them all in any key.
Notes are spelled the way musicians write them, with each letter used once in a seven note scale, so D flat major has a G flat and not an F sharp. For seven note scales it also lists the chord on each step, with Roman numerals and seventh chords, which shows the chords that belong to a key. The second mode works backwards: type the notes of a tune or a chord and it lists every scale and key that contains all of them.
How to use Music Scale Finder
- Choose the key and the scale type to see the notes and chords.
- Read the notes by step and the semitones from the root.
- Look at the chords in the key, with Roman numerals and seventh chords.
- Or switch to Find scales from my notes and type notes separated by spaces.
Common uses
- Finding the notes of a scale to practise
- Choosing a key to improvise over a chord progression
- Working out which chords belong to a key when writing a song
- Finding which scales fit a melody
Frequently asked questions
What are the notes of the C major scale?
C D E F G A B. It has no sharps or flats, and its chords are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim.
What is the difference between natural and harmonic minor?
The harmonic minor raises the seventh note by a semitone. A natural minor is A B C D E F G, and A harmonic minor is A B C D E F G#.
What is a mode?
A scale made from the same notes as a major scale, starting on a different step. D Dorian uses the white notes from D to D, the same notes as C major.
What do the Roman numerals mean?
They number the steps of the scale. Uppercase numerals are major chords, lowercase are minor, and a small circle marks a diminished chord. So I, IV and V are major in a major key and ii, iii and vi are minor.
How do I write sharps and flats?
Use # for a sharp and b for a flat, such as F# or Bb.