What is Scale Finder?

This tool identifies every musical scale that contains the notes you select. Tap notes on a piano keyboard and the matching scales appear right away: major, minor, modes, pentatonics, blues, harmonic and melodic minor, ranked by how well they fit. Handy when you need to work out what key a melody or riff is in.

Behind the keyboard sit 22 scale shapes, each checked against all twelve roots, so four notes can return dozens of candidates. Exact matches come first, same note count and same pitches, then any scale that contains everything you picked. Tap a result to hear it played, or download the whole shortlist with interval formulas.

How to use

1. Tap the notes of your melody or chord progression on the on-screen piano.
2. Watch the matching scales list update — exact matches first, then scales containing all your notes.
3. Tap any result to see its full note set highlighted on the keyboard and its interval formula.

When to use

• Working out the key of a riff you picked up by ear, with no chart to check.
• Picking a mode to solo over a vamp that keeps circling one chord.
• Testing whether a melody stays in one scale or borrows a note from outside.

Result

A guitarist picks out a riff using A, C, D, E, and G — the finder ranks A minor pentatonic as a perfect match and also lists A natural minor and C major, so they know exactly which scales to solo with.

FAQ

Why does a five-note selection match a dozen different scales at once?

Five pitches leave seven seats free in a twelve-tone octave, and plenty of scale shapes fill those seats differently while still covering your notes. Add one more note from the melody and the list usually collapses to two or three real candidates.

The keyboard says A♯ but my sheet music says B♭. Which one is right?

Both name the same key. The keyboard labels every black key with a sharp, because the finder works from pitch classes rather than key signatures — but the results below are spelled the way a musician writes them, so flats turn up there. Once you know the root, respell the notes the way the piece's key signature asks for.

What does it mean if no scale comes back as an exact match at all?

Your selection spans more pitches than any single scale in the list holds, which usually points to a key change or chromatic passing notes. Drop the note that feels like an ornament and search again.

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