Scale finder: name the scale from the notes you play

How to find a scale from notes

1. Collect the notes. Play the riff, melody or chord progression slowly and write down each different note. Ignore octaves: a low E and a high E are both just E.
2. Tap them in. Every scale that contains all of those notes stays on the list. Three or four notes usually narrow it down to a handful of strong candidates.
3. Pick the home note. Scales that share notes (like C major and A minor) differ in which note feels like the resting point. Listen for the note the music keeps returning to: that is your root.
4. Check the chords. Open a candidate scale and compare its chords with the song’s. If the chords match, you’ve found it.

Why fewer notes give more results

Each note you add rules scales out. With only one note, nearly every scale qualifies; with five or six, usually only a few remain. If nothing matches, one of your notes may be a passing or “blue” note: try removing it.

This web scale finder covers the 13 scale types guitarists use most, in all 12 keys. The Guitar Scale Finder app goes further: it searches all 1,860 scales, filters by scale type, and shows every result’s chords as chord diagrams and its notes on the fretboard from the open strings to the 12th fret.