Workshop tool · Free

Guitar scales and modes on the whole fretboard

This tool draws any common scale or mode across the first 15 frets, in the key you choose, labelled with note names or intervals. Its second half works the other way round: type the chords of a song and it ranks the scales that fit them. It is built for guitarists who want to understand why a scale works over a chord, not just memorise a box.

Included in the free account.

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What you can do with the scale tool

The tool has two parts that share the same fretboard view.

• Scale explorer. Pick a root (C to B), a scale and a tuning, and every note of the scale lights up from the open strings to the 15th fret. The root is highlighted so you always know where home is.
• Find the scale from your chords. Type chords such as Am, Dm7 or G7, or load an example (Blues in C, Pop I-V-vi-IV). The tool compares every chord tone with each scale in its library, in all 12 keys, and ranks the results by compatibility.

For each suggested scale you get its notes and intervals, a choice of positions on the neck (or the whole neck), your chords drawn on the fretboard with their degrees, and the chord tones that fall outside the scale. A play button lets you hear the scale and each chord.

Below the explorer, two cards summarise the scale: its formula (for example 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 for the natural minor) and, for seven-note scales, its harmonised diatonic chords with Roman numerals.

Notes or intervals: the theory behind the display

A switch shows each dot either as a note name (A, C, D...) or as an interval from the root (1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7). Intervals are the point of the tool: a shape labelled in intervals works in every key, because moving it up two frets moves every degree with it.

Take the A minor pentatonic, the default scale when you open the tool. Its notes are A C D E G, its formula 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7. At the 5th fret, play frets 5 and 8 on the low E string, 5 and 7 on the A, D and G strings, then 5 and 8 on the B and high E strings. In interval view you see the roots (1) on the low E string at fret 5, the D string at fret 7 and the high E string at fret 5.

Now choose the major scale on C: the formula becomes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 and the chord card shows C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim. Switch to A Dorian and you can see in one glance what changes from the natural minor: a natural 6 (F#) instead of ♭6 (F). That is the whole logic of modes: same parent notes, a different centre of gravity.

What is free and what needs Premium

You need a free GuitarHarmony account to open the workshop. The tool runs in your browser on computer, tablet or phone, with nothing to install.

Free:

• the explorer with the major scale (Ionian), the natural minor (Aeolian), the minor and major pentatonics, the blues scale, and the Dorian, Mixolydian, Lydian, Phrygian and Locrian modes, in all 12 keys;
• note or interval labels, and the Standard, Drop D, DADGAD, Open G and Open D tunings;
• the chord-to-scale finder with all those scales, and the Blues in C and Pop I-V-vi-IV examples.

With Premium (Pro library): the exotic modes. In the explorer that means harmonic minor, melodic minor, Phrygian dominant and the altered scale. In the finder, every scale from the harmonic minor family, the melodic minor family and the symmetric scales (whole tone, diminished, chromatic) is added to the results, along with the jazz examples (major and minor ii-V-I, I-VI-II-V turnaround). Premium costs 4.90 € a month or 39 € a year; see the pricing page.

Tips to get more out of it

• Learn one position, then connect it. Choose a position for a suggested scale and the rest of the neck fades out. Master that window before moving to the next one.
• Add chords one by one. With one chord, many scales fit. Three or four chords are usually enough to isolate a key.
• Read the out-of-scale notes. When a chord tone is missing from a scale, the tool lists it. Avoid that note on that chord, or use it as a passing tension.
• Check a key from the circle. If you are unsure which key a song is in, look it up on the interactive circle of fifths and send its chords here.

How to use it

1. Choose a root and a scale. Click a note in the Root row, then a scale in the row below. The fretboard shows every note of that scale on all six strings up to the 15th fret, with the root highlighted.
2. Switch between notes and intervals. Use the Notes / Intervals toggle. Learn the shape in intervals, then switch to notes to check what you are actually playing in this key.
3. Try another tuning. The tuning tabs redraw the same scale in Standard, Drop D, DADGAD, Open G or Open D, so you can keep improvising after retuning.
4. Enter your chords. In the section Which scale fits my chords?, type a chord and add it, or load an example. Suggested scales appear sorted by compatibility, with the number of perfect matches.
5. Open a result. Expand a scale card to see its notes and intervals, choose a position on the neck, look at your chords with their degrees and listen to the scale.

What you can do with it

Improvising over a pop song

Enter C, G, Am and F. The finder points to the notes of C major (the same notes as A natural minor), while the C major pentatonic (C D E G A) leaves out only two chord tones, the B of G and the F of F. Pick a position and solo over the loop.

Hearing the colour of a mode

Play the A natural minor, then A Dorian, then A Phrygian at the same position. Only one or two notes change each time: the interval view shows exactly which ones.

Preparing for a lesson

A teacher can show a student the seven notes of the Mixolydian mode in any key, with its diatonic chords, before working on a backing track in class.

Terms to know

• Scale
• Major scale
• Minor pentatonic scale
• Modes
• Interval
• Fretboard

More workshop tools

• Chord identifier
• Alternate tunings
• Guitar triads
• Interactive circle of fifths
• Chord progressions by style
• Ukulele chords
• Solo builder
• Chord substitutions
• Songbook (chord sheets)
• AI chord progression analysis
• Guitar toolbox
• Fretboard and ear games