Scale Library
Explore every scale in every key - major, minor, modes, pentatonic, blues, exotic and more - with notes, formulas, diatonic chords and audio.
A scale is an ordered set of notes that defines a key. Start with the major scale: every mode, key signature and diatonic chord on this site is described relative to it. That's why the formulas count from it: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 is major, and a ♭ or ♯ shows which note moves, so natural minor is 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7.
- Roots
- 21
- Categories
- 7
- Scale types
- 35
- Pages
- 735
Free online piano
Run any scale on the online piano
Free, in your browser: play with the mouse, your computer keyboard or a USB MIDI keyboard. No sign-up.
Popular scales
Browse scales by category
Click any scale to open its full page with notes, intervals, diatonic chords, piano and guitar diagrams, staff notation and audio playback.
Diatonic scales
Major21
Bright, stable and resolved. The starting point of Western tonal music.Natural Minor21
Reflective and emotional. The default minor sound in pop, rock and folk.Minor variants
Harmonic Minor21
Natural minor with a raised seventh, creating a dramatic, eastern feel.Questions people ask
- How do I pick the right scale for a song or solo?
- Start from the song's key. Major key → use the major scale and its modes (Ionian, Dorian, Mixolydian work over most chords). Minor key → natural minor for sad/calm, harmonic minor for tension, melodic minor jazz over dominant chords. Pentatonic and blues scales work over almost any blues, rock or pop progression.
- What's the difference between modes and scales?
- Modes are scales built starting from each degree of the parent major scale. C Ionian, D Dorian, E Phrygian etc. all use the same notes, but each starts on a different one and produces a different feeling: Dorian sounds minor with a major sixth (jazzy), Mixolydian sounds major with a flat seventh (rock/blues).
- Where do I practice ear-training for scales?
- The Scale & Mode ID trainer plays scales and asks you to identify them by ear. Pair that with this library: read about a mode, click play to hear it ascending and descending, then test yourself in the trainer.