Scale, Chord and Fretboard Finder

What it is for

This tool answers three everyday questions of players and songwriters. Show a scale or mode spells it on any root, with the interval of every note, and marks all positions on the neck. Show a chord and its shapes does the same for a chord and lists up to six playable shapes. Name the chord from notes turns a set of note names into chord names, including inversions.

You choose the instrument and tuning: 6- and 7-string guitar (standard, drop D, half step down, DADGAD, open G, open D), 4- and 5-string bass, and ukulele (high G, low G, baritone). The neck diagram shows 5 to 24 frets. It is the same theory engine as the Fretboard tab of the Tonegrid app.

Worked example

Choose Show a scale or mode, root A, Minor pentatonic, guitar in standard tuning and 12 frets. The summary reads "A Minor pentatonic: A C D E G — 35 positions on the shown guitar (6 strings) neck". The table lists each note with its interval: A root, C minor third, D perfect fourth, E perfect fifth and G minor seventh. In the diagram the roots are filled darker, so you can find the familiar box at the fifth fret.

Now switch to Show a chord and its shapes, root F, Major triad. The first shape is 133211 (F C F A C F), the full barre chord, followed by xx3211 and smaller three- and four-string shapes. Shapes are written from the lowest string, x means "not played" and 0 an open string. Frets of 10 and higher are separated by hyphens, for example 0-0-0-10 on ukulele.

Finally choose Name the chord from notes and enter B D F A. The tool answers "Bm7♭5; other readings: Dm6/B": the same four notes are a half-diminished seventh on B, or a D minor sixth with B in the bass.

How to read the result

• Spelling follows the formula, not a fixed sharp or flat list: F major contains B♭, D♭ major contains G♭, and the third of E♭maj7 is G.
• Chord shapes are generated for the chosen tuning. A shape is kept only if its sounding strings form one block, its lowest note is the root, it spans at most four frets and needs at most four fingers (a barre counts as one). The list is sorted by ease: smaller span, lower position and fewer muted strings come first.
• Chords in this key (scale mode, seven-note scales) lists the triad and seventh chord on every degree with its Roman numeral.

Tips and common mistakes

• Type sharps and flats as # and b (C#, Bb) or with the music symbols; octave numbers in note names are optional.
• In identify mode the first note is the bass. E G C is named C/E (first inversion); C E G is plain C.
• On a high-G ukulele the lowest string is not the lowest note. The shape list still starts with the familiar shapes, but read the notes column.
• For bass guitar, chord shapes are rarely useful; use scale mode instead.

FAQ

Which chords and scales are included?

Twenty chord types (triads, suspended, power, sixth, seventh and ninth chords) and fourteen scales and modes, including all seven church modes, harmonic and melodic minor, pentatonics, blues and whole tone.

Why is my chord not named?

The notes must match one of the twenty chord types exactly (the fifth may be left out). Clusters and chords with added elevenths or thirteenths are not in the catalogue.

Does it play the notes?

No, the tool returns text, tables and a diagram. In the Tonegrid app every fret on the Fretboard tab is a button that plays its note.