Scale Generator

The Scale Generator includes over 30 scales organized into categories: all seven modes of the major scale, harmonic and melodic minor, pentatonic and blues scales, symmetric scales (whole tone, diminished, augmented, chromatic), jazz scales (bebop, altered), and world/exotic scales (Hungarian Minor, Double Harmonic, Phrygian Dominant, Japanese, Egyptian, Hirajoshi, and more).

All frequencies are calculated using 12-tone equal temperament (12-TET) with A4 = 440 Hz as the reference pitch. This is the standard tuning system used in virtually all modern Western music, pianos, and guitars.

The fretboard shows 6 strings in standard tuning (E-A-D-G-B-E) across 15 frets. Scale notes appear as circles on the correct string and fret positions. Root notes are highlighted in a distinct accent color. You can toggle between showing note names and scale degree numbers.

Diatonic chords are the triads built on each degree of a seven-note scale using only notes from that scale. For example, in C Major: C (I), Dm (ii), Em (iii), F (IV), G (V), Am (vi), Bdim (vii°). They show you which chords naturally fit in your chosen key — essential for songwriting, arranging, and understanding chord progressions.

Enable comparison mode, then select a second root note and scale type. Both scales are overlaid on the piano keyboard and fretboard using different colors: green for the primary scale, cyan for the comparison scale, and a blended color for shared notes. This helps you visualize similarities and differences between scales.

No. All scale computation, visualization, and audio playback happens 100% locally in your browser using JavaScript and the Web Audio API. Nothing is sent to any server. The tool works completely offline once loaded.

All three share the same lowered 3rd and 7th degrees relative to major, but differ in one note. The natural minor (Aeolian mode) has a flat 7th throughout, giving it a pure, unresolved quality. The harmonic minor raises the 7th by a half step, creating a strong leading tone that resolves upward to the tonic — at the cost of an augmented 2nd between the 6th and 7th degrees, which gives it a Middle Eastern or classical character. The melodic minor (ascending form) raises both the 6th and 7th, smoothing the augmented 2nd interval for singability — this tool shows only the ascending version, which is the form used in jazz and classical composition.

The fastest approach is to identify the key center: look at the chord that feels like "home," then check which scale contains all the other chords as diatonic members. For example, if your progression uses Am, F, C, G, those are vi, IV, I, V in C Major — so C Major (or its relative A Natural Minor) fits. This tool shows the diatonic chord set for any scale, making it easy to match a progression to its parent scale. For the reverse approach — entering chords and finding the key — use the key signature finder.

A relative scale shares the same notes but starts on a different root — for example, A Minor and C Major contain identical notes (no sharps or flats) but center on different tonics. A parallel scale shares the same root note but uses a different interval pattern — for example, C Major and C Minor both start on C but have different key signatures and emotional characters. This tool displays both relationships in the Scale Info panel, so you can immediately see which minor key is relative to your chosen major, or what the parallel minor would sound like.