Identify Notes
Click any position on the fretboard to reveal the note instantly.
Fretboard setup
Build your view
Choose a tuning, then explore notes, scales and modes.
Highlights every location of the selected note across the fretboard.
Scale analyser
Find scales that contain your notes
Select between 5 and 8 notes. Exact scale matches are shown first, followed by scales that contain every selected note plus additional tones.
0 / 8 selected
Select at least 5 notes to analyse.
Tier 1
Exact matches
Tier 2
Scales containing these notes
Every selected note is present. Results with the fewest additional tones are listed first.
How to Use the Interactive Guitar Fretboard
The Interactive Guitar Fretboard helps you find notes, visualise scales and explore intervals across the guitar neck. You can highlight individual notes, display scale patterns, compare different scales and investigate how note relationships change across the fretboard.
The tool also supports different guitar tunings, so you can explore these relationships beyond standard E–A–D–G–B–E tuning.
Guitar Note Finder: Locate Notes Across the Neck
Use the Note Location feature to highlight every position where a selected note appears on the fretboard. In standard tuning, C appears at the 6th string, 8th fret; 5th string, 3rd fret; 4th string, 10th fret; 3rd string, 5th fret; 2nd string, 1st fret; and 1st string, 8th fret.
Finding the same note on different strings helps you recognise octave patterns and navigate the fretboard without depending entirely on memorised scale shapes. For a structured approach, see Finding Notes on the Fretboard.
Guitar Scale Finder: Visualise Scales and Modes
The Scale Visualiser displays the notes belonging to a selected scale across the guitar fretboard. Choose a root note and scale type to see how its notes are distributed across the strings.
For example, A natural minor contains A–B–C–D–E–F–G, with the interval formula 1–2–♭3–4–5–♭6–♭7. Displaying these notes shows how the scale extends beyond individual positions and where neighbouring patterns overlap.
You can explore pentatonic scales, major and minor scales, modes and less common scale structures. If you're new to scale construction, read Introduction to Scales.
Understand Scales Through Their Intervals
A scale is more than a collection of note names: its interval structure determines how its notes relate to the root. C major contains C–D–E–F–G–A–B and follows 1–2–3–4–5–6–7. C Mixolydian contains C–D–E–F–G–A–B♭ and follows 1–2–3–4–5–6–♭7.
The only difference is the lowered seventh degree in Mixolydian. Comparing scales by intervals makes it easier to recognise their differences and understand how familiar patterns relate to one another. For more on the underlying theory, see Interval Basics.
Find Scales That Contain Your Notes
The Scale Analyser lets you select between five and eight notes and search for scales containing those pitches. Exact matches are shown first, followed by scales that contain all your selected notes alongside additional tones.
For example, A–C–D–E–G produces the A minor pentatonic note collection, with the formula 1–♭3–4–5–♭7. The same five notes also belong to larger scales, including A natural minor, which adds B and F.
This is useful when you have notes from a riff or melody and want to investigate which scales might contain them. To explore the relationship between major and minor pentatonic scales, read Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales.
Common Questions
How do I find a specific note on the guitar fretboard?
Select the note using the Note Location controls. The tool highlights its positions across the strings, showing where the same pitch class occurs in different octaves.
What's the difference between a scale finder and a scale analyser?
The Scale Visualiser starts with a known scale and shows where its notes appear. The Scale Analyser works in the opposite direction: you select notes first, and the tool finds scales that contain them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I use the fretboard controls?
Choose a root note, then use the scale, pattern and display controls to change what is shown on the neck. Switch between note names and intervals to view either the pitches themselves or their relationship to the root.
What are modes on guitar?
Modes can seem complicated at first, but a simple way to understand them is to compare them with familiar major and minor scales. Each mode has its own interval structure, with certain notes giving it a distinctive sound. For example, Dorian is similar to the natural minor scale but has a natural 6th instead of a ♭6, while Mixolydian is similar to the major scale but has a ♭7 instead of a natural 7.
More precisely, modes are derived from a parent scale. Each mode uses the same collection of notes as its parent scale, but treats a different note as the tonal centre, or “home”. The major scale, for example, produces seven modes: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian.
The fretboard visualiser lets you explore each mode from its own root, compare it with familiar scales, and see exactly how its interval structure differs.
A dedicated modes lesson is planned. Until then, compare each mode's formula and characteristic tone directly in the visualiser.
What are pentatonic scales?
Pentatonic scales contain five notes per octave. The major and minor pentatonic scales are particularly common on guitar because their patterns are easy to connect across the fretboard and work well for melodies, riffs and improvisation. The visualiser also includes several less common pentatonic variations.
What are harmonic minor modes?
Harmonic minor is a seven-note minor scale with a raised seventh degree. Like the major scale, it has seven modes, each created by treating a different degree of the scale as the root. These include Harmonic Minor, Locrian ♮6, Ionian ♯5, Dorian ♯4, Phrygian Dominant, Lydian ♯2 and Super Locrian ♭♭7.
What are melodic minor modes?
The melodic minor scale and its modes provide several sounds commonly used in jazz, fusion and modern harmony. Its modes include Melodic Minor, Dorian ♭2, Lydian Augmented, Lydian Dominant, Mixolydian ♭6, Locrian ♮2 and Altered. Use the visualiser to compare their interval structures and see how each pattern appears across the fretboard.
Can I use different guitar tunings?
Yes. The fretboard supports different guitar tunings, allowing you to see how notes, intervals, scales and modes map across the neck when the tuning changes. This is useful for exploring alternate tunings without having to translate patterns designed for standard tuning.
What are symmetrical scales?
Symmetrical scales are built from interval patterns that repeat consistently throughout the octave. Examples include the Whole Tone, Diminished and Augmented scales. Their repeating structures create distinctive sounds and make their fretboard patterns behave differently from conventional major and minor scales.
What are exotic scales?
“Exotic scales” is a broad term commonly used for less familiar scales outside the standard major, minor and modal collections. This tool groups a range of less common scale structures together for convenient exploration. These scales come from different musical contexts and should not be considered a single musical family.
What do the interval numbers on the fretboard mean?
Interval numbers show how each note relates to the root of the selected scale. For example, 1 is the root, 3 is a major third, ♭3 is a minor third and 5 is a perfect fifth. Viewing intervals instead of note names makes it easier to recognise the structure of a scale and move the same pattern into different keys.
How do guitar scale patterns connect across the fretboard?
The same notes and intervals repeat in different octaves and positions across the guitar neck. Instead of treating scale shapes as isolated boxes, look for shared notes between neighbouring positions and follow the root notes and intervals along each string. Changing the tuning also shows how these relationships shift when the layout of the fretboard changes.
How can I use scales to improvise on guitar?
Start with a scale that fits the harmony, then use the fretboard to locate its notes in the area of the neck where you want to play. Rather than simply running through the scale, experiment with phrases built around chord tones, intervals, bends, slides and rhythmic ideas. Learning where the intervals sit relative to the root makes it easier to move ideas between positions, keys and tunings.
If you’re a complete beginner, we recommend learning how to find notes on the guitar first. Start with our Finding Notes on the Fretboard lesson, then return to the visualiser to begin exploring scales and intervals across the neck.
FAQ: How many keys are there?
People give different answers to this question because they are counting keys in different ways.
One answer is based on sound.
The other answer is based on how music is written.
1Pitches and 12-tone equal temperament
Modern Western instruments use a system called 12-tone equal temperament.
This means an octave is divided into 12 evenly spaced notes. After the 12th note, the pattern repeats at a higher or lower pitch.
Those 12 notes are:
C | C# or Db | D | D# or Eb | E | F | F# or Gb | G | G# or Ab | A | A# or Bb | B
2Enharmonic equivalents
Sometimes, the same sounding note can be given two different names.
For example:
- C# and Db
- F# and Gb
- A# and Bb
These pairs sound identical, but they are labelled differently.
When two different note names refer to the same sounding note, they are called enharmonic equivalents. This term is most often used for single notes, but it can also be applied more broadly to other concepts such as chords that are spelled differently but sound the same.
312 sounding major keys vs 15 written major keys
Because there are only 12 possible sounding notes, there are only 12 distinct sounding major keys.
However, because some notes can be written in two different ways, some major keys can also be written in two different ways.
When we count major keys by how they are written in notation, the total becomes 15.
To understand why there are 15 and not more, we first need to understand how music is written a little.
4Basic notation: staff, accidentals, and key signatures
Music is usually written on a staff made of five lines and four spaces. These represent the letter names A to G repeating as you move up or down.
To show sharps and flats, we use accidentals:
- # raises a note
- b lowers a note
- ♮ cancels a sharp or flat
If we wrote these accidentals next to every note, the music would be cluttered and hard to read.
So instead, we use a key signature at the start of the music. The key signature tells you which notes are always sharp or flat in that key, so accidentals do not have to be written constantly.
5Why we choose sharps in some keys and flats in others
When writing a major scale, musicians try to keep the spelling clear and consistent.
A common rule of thumb is to avoid using the same letter name twice in a scale, such as F and F# in the same key. If we didn't, the music would become harder to read because the same line or space would represent two versions of the same letter.
This is one reason enharmonic spellings exist.
For example, the key we call Bb major:
Bb C D Eb F G A
This uses each letter once and has a simple key signature of two flats.
This key sounds the same as A# major. But if we try to write A# major while following the same rules, we are forced into:
A# B# C## D# E# F## G##
This introduces double sharps and makes the music far harder to read.
For this reason, we always use Bb major instead of A# major. This is also true for Eb major and Ab major.
The choice between sharps and flats is about keeping the key signature simple and the music readable.
6Where the number 15 comes from
If you list the major keys as they are correctly written in notation, you get:
C, G, D, A, E, B, F#, C#
F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb
That is 15 correctly written major keys.
Three pairs sound the same but are written differently:
- C# major and Db major
- F# major and Gb major
- B major and Cb major
In practice, the version used depends on which spelling keeps the notation consistent with nearby keys and easiest to read.
7Relative minor keys
Every major key has a relative minor key that shares the same key signature.
For example:
- C major and A minor share no sharps or flats.
- G major and E minor share one sharp.
- F major and D minor share one flat.
This means:
- There are 12 distinct sounding major keys
- There are 12 distinct sounding minor keys
So in practice, there are 24 distinct sounding keys.
When counted by correct written spelling:
- There are 15 written major keys
- There are 15 written minor keys
So in theory, there are 30 written keys.
Final answer
- 12 major keys by sound, 15 by spelling
- 12 minor keys by sound, 15 by spelling
- 24 distinct sounding keys in practice
- 30 keys when counted by written notation
FAQ: Tonic? 3? - Interval Legend Explained.
The filter buttons control which note roles stay visible on the fretboard.
They do not change the key or scale. They only show or hide highlighted note functions.
1Tonic
The tonic is the home note of a scale or key. It is the note everything is measured against, and it is where things tend to feel “resolved”.
Think of it as 1.
2Intervals
An interval is the distance between two notes.
When we talk about scales, we usually measure every note from the tonic (1). That gives us a consistent way to describe what each note is doing relative to the tonic.
Intervals have two parts:
- the number (2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.)
- the quality (major, minor, perfect, diminished, augmented)
We use the major scale as a reference because it gives us a simple baseline for where 1 to 7 normally sit.
Once you know the major scale layout, any other scale can be described by comparing it to that baseline:
- if a note matches the major scale, it keeps its number
- if it is lower, it becomes flat (♭)
- if it is higher, it becomes sharp (#)
3Interval qualities
For beginners, it helps to know the two “families”:
- 1, 4, and 5 are usually in the perfect family (perfect, diminished, augmented)
- 2, 3, 6, and 7 are usually major or minor (and can also be diminished or augmented in some cases)
Examples using C as the tonic:
C major: C D E F G A B
Intervals
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Notes
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C natural minor: C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭
Intervals
1
2
♭3
4
5
♭6
♭7
Notes
C
D
E♭
F
G
A♭
B♭
C chromatic (every note): C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B
Intervals
1
♭2
2
♭3
3
4
#4/♭5
5
#5/♭6
6
♭7
7
Notes
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
Semitones from C
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
In the chromatic example, some notes are shown with enharmonic equivalents (for example #4 and ♭5). These are the same pitch, just written differently depending on context.
4Understanding the overlays
Now that intervals make more sense, the legend on the fretboard tool becomes much more useful.
Two of the filters highlight:
- 3 or ♭3
- ♭5, 5, or #5
These matter because they form the backbone of triads, the most basic chord type.
A triad is built by stacking thirds from the tonic. This is called tertian harmony.
The three chord tones are:
Chord tones
1
3
5
From those tones we get four core triad types:
Major formula
Formula
1
3
5
Minor formula
Formula
1
♭3
5
Diminished formula
Formula
1
♭3
♭5
Augmented formula
Formula
1
3
#5
Just by looking at the 3rd and 5th, you can tell what type of triad you are dealing with.
That is why the tool highlights these intervals. When you are looking at a scale pattern, being able to instantly see where the 3, ♭3, 5, ♭5, and #5 sit shows you:
- whether the sound is major, minor, diminished, or augmented
- where the most important chord tones are inside the scale
- how the scale connects to the harmony underneath it
To apply these interval formulas to chord construction, open the Guitar Chord Finder and Analyser. For the underlying theory, read Guitar Interval Basics and Introduction to Triads.
5Characteristic tone
The major scale is the main reference point for a lot of Western music. It gives us a simple baseline for where the intervals 1 to 7 normally sit from the tonic. Once you know that layout, it becomes much easier to describe other scales by how they differ from major (or from natural minor).
C major: C D E F G A B
Intervals
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Notes
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C natural minor: C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭
Intervals
1
2
♭3
4
5
♭6
♭7
Notes
C
D
E♭
F
G
A♭
B♭
We can compare many scales to these two references. Modes are the best example. Modes are usually the same as major or minor with one interval changed. That changed note is often the clearest “flavour note” of the mode. I call it the characteristic tone.
Continue to the advanced modes explanation.
Major modes (compare to major)
C Ionian (major)
Intervals
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Notes
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C Lydian
Intervals
1
2
3
#4
5
6
7
Notes
C
D
E
F#
G
A
B
Characteristic tone: #4
C Mixolydian
Intervals
1
2
3
4
5
6
♭7
Notes
C
D
E
F
G
A
B♭
Characteristic tone: ♭7
Minor modes (compare to natural minor)
C Aeolian (natural minor)
Intervals
1
2
♭3
4
5
♭6
♭7
Notes
C
D
E♭
F
G
A♭
B♭
C Dorian
Intervals
1
2
♭3
4
5
6
♭7
Notes
C
D
E♭
F
G
A
B♭
Characteristic tone: 6
C Phrygian
Intervals
1
♭2
♭3
4
5
♭6
♭7
Notes
C
D♭
E♭
F
G
A♭
B♭
Characteristic tone: ♭2
6Characteristic tones in more advanced modes
Up to now, we have treated modes as variations of the major scale (or natural minor). That works well because those modes usually differ by one obvious note, so it is easy to say this single degree is the flavour.
The same idea applies to other scales too. Any scale can be treated as a parent scale, and you can build modes from it. The most common examples you will see are the modes of harmonic minor and melodic minor.
Once you move into these, things get a bit more complex. Compared to plain major or natural minor, an advanced mode often changes more than one degree. That means there is not always one single characteristic tone when you compare it to major or minor.
Because of that, it is usually easier to compare an advanced mode to the closest familiar mode, rather than comparing it straight to major or natural minor. You are looking for the new change relative to something you already understand.
Reference point
C major
Intervals
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Notes
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C natural minor
Intervals
1
2
♭3
4
5
♭6
♭7
Notes
C
D
E♭
F
G
A♭
B♭
Example: Dorian vs Dorian #4 (Romanian minor)
C Dorian (mode of the major scale)
Intervals
1
2
♭3
4
5
6
♭7
Notes
C
D
E♭
F
G
A
B♭
C Dorian #4 (Romanian minor)
Intervals
1
2
♭3
#4
5
6
♭7
Notes
C
D
E♭
F#
G
A
B♭
Characteristic tone (comparison): #4
Compared to Dorian, the new unique note is #4. That is the quickest identifier for Romanian minor. To keep the Dorian feel, you still lean on the natural 6 as a strong anchor.
Example from melodic minor
Melodic minor has its own set of modes. These modes often look like major or minor with a couple of changes, so the best approach is the same: compare to the closest familiar mode first, then look for what changed.
A very common example is Lydian dominant (Lydian ♭7). It looks like Lydian, but with one important change.
C Lydian
Intervals
1
2
3
#4
5
6
7
Notes
C
D
E
F#
G
A
B
C Lydian dominant (Lydian ♭7)
Intervals
1
2
3
#4
5
6
♭7
Notes
C
D
E
F#
G
A
B♭
Characteristic tone (comparison): ♭7
Overlay note
For simplicity, the characteristic tone overlay only highlights the new unique note in the comparison you are making. Some modes technically have more than one flavour note when compared to major or natural minor, but highlighting every difference at once can be overwhelming. The point of the overlay is to show you the quickest identifier, not every detail.