Scale Finder

How to Use

What is a musical scale?

A scale is a set of musical notes arranged in a well-defined sequence of intervals (tones and semitones). A semitone is the smallest distance between two consecutive notes in any tempered scale (12 equal semitones per octave). In other words, a semitone is the distance between two adjacent keys on the piano—for example, between C and C♯ (the black key next to C) or between E and F (both white keys). By contrast, the distance between C and D is a whole tone (two semitones).

Musical scales are an essential part of improvisation and composition. Practicing scales helps you develop the skills needed to play different styles of music such as jazz, flamenco, or blues. You can also use scales to create your own melodies and shape the mood of your piece.

Any chosen scale can be transposed to any tonal center (for example, E minor and A minor both use the same minor scale). The tonal center, or tonic, is the note where the scale hierarchy begins, and it is represented on the virtual piano with a blue dot.

Piano Keys Up Piano Keys Down