🎵 Scale Finder by Notes
Enter 3-7 musical notes and discover all possible scales they belong to with detailed scale information and theory
Your Result:
Notes: C, E, G, A → 3 Possible Scales Found
Musical scale detection with theory example
🎼 Input Notes Analysis
C Major Scale
Ionian Mode • Perfect Match
A Minor Scale
Aeolian Mode • Perfect Match
How to Use This Scale Finder by Notes
The Scale Finder by Notes tool helps musicians, composers, and music students identify possible scales based on specific note combinations. Enter 3-7 musical notes to discover which scales contain those notes, along with detailed music theory information.
- Enter Your Notes: Type musical notes separated by commas or spaces. Use standard notation like C, D#, Eb, F, G, A, B. Both sharps (#) and flats (b) are supported.
- Choose Format Preference: Select whether you prefer sharp notation (C# D# F#), flat notation (Db Eb Gb), or mixed context-dependent notation.
- Select Scale Types: Choose which categories of scales to search - all types for comprehensive results, or filter by major/minor, common scales, modes, or exotic scales.
- Set Match Criteria: Decide how strict the matching should be - exact match, subset match (recommended), or partial match for flexibility.
- Configure Options: Enable music theory details to see scale degrees and intervals, or chord suggestions for composition ideas.
- Generate Results: Click Generate to see all matching scales with detailed analysis, theory information, and practical applications.
How It Works
The Scale Finder uses comprehensive music theory algorithms to analyze your input notes and match them against an extensive database of musical scales from various traditions and genres.
- Note Parsing: The tool converts your input notes into standardized pitch classes, handling enharmonic equivalents (F# = Gb) and normalizing different notation styles.
- Scale Database Matching: Your notes are compared against over 100 different scale types including major, minor, modal, pentatonic, blues, harmonic minor, and exotic world scales.
- Matching Algorithm: Depending on your criteria, the tool finds exact matches, subset matches, or partial matches, ranking results by relevance and completeness.
- Theory Analysis: For each matching scale, the tool calculates scale degrees, interval patterns, and provides theoretical context about the scale's characteristics and usage.
- Result Presentation: Scales are displayed with their full note sequences, highlighting your input notes, along with theory information and practical applications for composition and performance.
When You Might Need This
- • Identify scales when composing melodies with specific note combinations
- • Students learning music theory can discover which scales contain their practiced notes
- • Songwriters determining what scale their chord progression implies
- • Jazz musicians finding modes that work with their improvised note choices
- • Music teachers demonstrating scale relationships to students with practical examples
- • Composers exploring exotic scales that include their desired emotional tone notes
- • Guitar players identifying scales for solos based on their fingered notes
- • Music producers matching synthesizer patches to appropriate scales for their tracks
- • Classical musicians analyzing pieces to understand their underlying scale structures
- • Music theory researchers studying scale relationships and commonalities across genres
Frequently Asked Questions
How many notes do I need to enter to get accurate scale results?
You need at least 3 notes for basic scale detection, but 4-6 notes typically provide the most accurate and useful results. With only 2 notes, too many scales would match, making the results less helpful. More than 7 notes might over-constrain the search and exclude valid scales that don't contain every single note you've entered.
What's the difference between exact match and subset match?
Exact match requires every note you enter to be in the scale, with no extra notes allowed. Subset match (recommended) finds scales that contain all your notes but may include additional notes too. Partial match offers flexibility by finding scales where most of your notes fit, useful when you're not sure if all notes are correct or want to explore related scales.
Why do I sometimes get both major and minor scales for the same notes?
This happens because major and minor scales share many common notes, especially relative major/minor pairs like C Major and A Minor. They contain exactly the same notes but emphasize different root notes, giving them different tonal centers and emotional qualities. This is normal and shows the dual nature of these note combinations.
How does the tool handle sharps and flats in note names?
The tool recognizes both sharps (#) and flats (b) notation. You can mix formats like 'F# Bb D' or use the format preference setting to standardize output. The tool understands enharmonic equivalents (F# = Gb) and will match scales regardless of how you name the notes, then display results in your preferred format.
What types of exotic and world scales does the tool include?
The tool includes modes (Dorian, Phrygian, etc.), pentatonic scales, blues scales, harmonic and melodic minor variations, and various world music scales like Japanese Hirajoshi, Arabic Maqam approximations, and Hungarian minor. The exotic scale search covers non-Western scale systems and specialized scales used in specific musical traditions and contemporary genres.