REFERENCE

Scale Library

Every scale used in Western music, with its notes, intervals, diatonic chords, and a keyboard diagram you can play. Click any scale to dive in.

Major

bright, resolved, joyful

Natural Minor

melancholic, dignified, introspective

Harmonic Minor

dramatic, exotic, theatrical

Melodic Minor

smooth, sophisticated, ambiguous

Major Pentatonic

open, bright, universally consonant

Minor Pentatonic

bluesy, expressive, foundational for rock

Dorian

sophisticated minor with a raised 6th — jazz and funk

Phrygian

dark and exotic — flamenco and metal

Lydian

dreamy and floating — film scores

Mixolydian

bluesy major with a flat 7 — classic rock

Locrian

unstable and dissonant — rare as a primary mode

Blues

the minor pentatonic plus a flat 5 — every blues solo