Guitar scale explorer
See the notes in any guitar scale. Free, no account.
Pick a root and a scale type — major, minor, the seven modes, pentatonics, blues, and more — and see the notes, degrees, and shapes on the guitar fretboard instantly.
Root
Scale
C Major
See on piano- C1
- W2
- D2
- W2
- E3
- H1
- F4
- W2
- G5
- W2
- A6
- W2
- B7
H = half step (1 fret) · W = whole step (2 frets) · W+H = 3 frets (skip)
The major scale (Ionian mode) is the bedrock of Western tonal music. Its bright, resolved sound stems from the leading tone (major 7th) pulling toward the root and the major 3rd confirming the tonic chord. Virtually all diatonic harmony is built from its seven degrees.
How to use
- Choose a root and a scale. The page shows the resulting notes in order, each labelled with its scale degree.
- Degree labels use standard accidental notation:
1 2 ♭3 3 4 ♯4 ♭5 5 ♯5 ♭6 6 ♭7 7. - The degrees stay the same regardless of root — that is the whole point of thinking in degrees instead of absolute pitches.
Tips
- Don't just play it up and down. Pick one note and run the scale starting from there, then a different note. That's how you internalise a scale as a pool of pitches, not a one-way ladder.
- On guitar, work the scale in 2–3 positions before you call yourself comfortable. Position-locked scale knowledge limits your phrasing.
- Scale ≠ key. A scale is raw material; a key is what you do with it. Use the guitar scale explorer alongside the guitar chord finder to see which chords belong to the scale. The same scale visualised on a keyboard lives at the piano scale explorer.
KNOW THE SCALE, PLAY THE SCALE
Hear what you're looking at.
EasyJam generates guitar licks that fit this scale automatically. Free account.