Fretboard note finder
Fretboard Note and Scale Finder
Pick an instrument, a tuning from the 63 presets in the tuning library, a key and a scale. This fretboard note finder draws every matching note on the fretboard with its note name, its interval number, or both — guitar, 7-string, 12-string, 4-, 5- and 6-string bass, ukulele, mandolin and banjo.
How to use the fretboard note finder
- Pick the instrument. Each family brings its own string count and its own tuning presets, from six-string guitar to 12-string, 4-, 5- and 6-string bass, ukulele, mandolin and banjo.
- Pick the tuning. The list follows the family you chose, so Drop C, DADGAD, Bass Drop A or Banjo Double C are all one selection away, and the open notes of that preset set the whole diagram.
- Pick a key and a scale. The key is the root, the scale decides which of the twelve notes belong to it. Pentatonic and blues are the shortest, the modes are the longest.
- Choose what each cell says. Note names for finding a note, interval numbers for seeing the shape of the scale, or both at once. Interval numbers are relative to the key, not to the string.
- Read the diagram. Every cell is one string at one fret, from the open string at the left. Filled cells are the root, outlined cells are the other notes of the scale, and dimmed cells are the notes that stay out of it.
How the diagram is built
Each preset in the tuning library stores the note of every open string. The finder adds one semitone per fret from there, so fret 12 is the same note as the open string an octave higher, and compares the result against the semitone set of the scale you chose. Nothing is guessed: a cell is marked as part of the scale only when its pitch class is in that set.
Note names follow the key rather than a fixed table of sharps. F major prints Bb and C lydian prints F#, and Auto picks whichever reading of your key needs no double sharps or double flats. You can forceSharps or Flats if the rest of your band reads it that way.
Scales in this tool
12 scales are available, all built from the same twelve notes. The interval numbers below are measured from the key you pick in the form.
| Scale | Degrees | Steps | Where it turns up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major (Ionian) | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 | 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 1 | The default major scale. Everything else here is measured against it. |
| Dorian | 1 - 2 - b3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - b7 | 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 | Minor with a natural 6th. Common in rock, funk and Celtic tunes. |
| Phrygian | 1 - b2 - b3 - 4 - 5 - b6 - b7 | 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 | Minor with a flat 2nd. The flamenco and metal colour. |
| Lydian | 1 - 2 - 3 - #4 - 5 - 6 - 7 | 2 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 1 | Major with a sharp 4th. Bright, floating film-score sound. |
| Mixolydian | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - b7 | 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 | Major with a flat 7th. The dominant sound in blues rock. |
| Locrian | 1 - b2 - b3 - 4 - b5 - b6 - b7 | 1 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 | The flat 5th mode. Built on the seventh degree of the major scale. |
| Natural Minor (Aeolian) | 1 - 2 - b3 - 4 - 5 - b6 - b7 | 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 | The relative minor of the major scale, three semitones down. |
| Harmonic Minor | 1 - 2 - b3 - 4 - 5 - b6 - 7 | 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 3 - 1 | Minor with a raised 7th. The wide step up to the root is the sound. |
| Melodic Minor (ascending) | 1 - 2 - b3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 | 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 1 | Minor with raised 6th and 7th, as played ascending in classical writing. |
| Major Pentatonic | 1 - 2 - 3 - 5 - 6 | 2 - 2 - 3 - 2 - 3 | Five notes, no half steps to trip over. A safe first scale. |
| Minor Pentatonic | 1 - b3 - 4 - 5 - b7 | 3 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 2 | The first scale most guitarists learn for solos. |
| Blues (minor pentatonic + b5) | 1 - b3 - 4 - b5 - 5 - b7 | 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 3 - 2 | Minor pentatonic with the flat 5th passing tone added. |
Worked examples
- A minor pentatonic, guitar in Standard EADGBE. The five notes are A C D E G. Set the key to A and the scale to minor pentatonic and the familiar shape appears: on the low E string the scale notes are the open E, then G at fret 3, A at fret 5, C at fret 8, D at fret 10 and E again at fret 12.
- C major on a 5-string bass. Choose the 5-string bass family and its standard tuning (B0 E1 A1 D2 G2), then key C and major. The low B string holds B at the open string, C at fret 1, D at fret 3, E at fret 5, F at fret 6, G at fret 8 and A at fret 10, and every other string repeats the same seven notes at its own octave.
- D major in Drop D. Drop D lowers the sixth string by two semitones, so the open string becomes the root D and everything that was on that string in standard tuning now sits two frets higher: D E F# G A B C# at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 12. The other five strings keep the pattern they had in standard tuning, which is exactly the shift that makes drop tuning worth a separate diagram.
- G major on a banjo in Open G. The five-string banjo preset lists the short fifth string first, because that is how the tuning is written (gDGBD). G major contains every open note of that tuning — G, D and B — so all five strings carry positions inside the first twelve frets.
Limits worth knowing
- This is a diagram, not a tuner. It does not listen to your instrument and it cannot tell you whether the guitar in your hands is in tune.
- Notes are calculated in equal temperament from the open string of the preset. Real instruments drift sharp or flat, and the fret positions on a badly set-up guitar will not match the maths exactly.
- The diagram marks where the notes are, not which fingers to use. There is no fingering, picking or position advice in it.
- Only the frets you select are drawn. Frets above the selected limit are not hidden because they are out of the scale — they are simply outside the span you asked for.
- Reentrant and short-string tunings (ukulele, banjo) are shown in the order the preset lists them, which is not always lowest pitch to highest.
- Extreme keys such as D# major need double sharps. Switch the note names to flats and use the equivalent key if that reads better on your chart.
Questions
Does it work for bass, ukulele, mandolin and banjo?
Yes. Choose the instrument family first and the tuning list changes with it: 4-, 5- and 6-string bass, ukulele in C, low G, baritone, D and slack key, mandolin in standard and cross tuning, and banjo in Open G, Double C and Sawmill, plus 7-string and 12-string guitar.
Why does the same note appear more than once?
Because a note repeats every twelve frets and again on the next string. The A on the open fifth string, the A at fret 5 of the low E string and the A at fret 12 of the same string are the same note in three places, which is exactly what makes a scale playable in several positions.
What do the interval numbers mean?
They count the scale degrees from the key you chose. 1 is the root, 3 and b3 are the major and minor third, 5 is the fifth, b7 is the flat seventh. The number is the same on every string and at every octave, so the pattern of a shape stays recognisable when you move it.
Which scale should I start with?
Minor pentatonic, then major pentatonic. Both are five notes with no half steps to trip over, so almost anything you play from them sounds like it fits. Add the blues scale when you want the flat fifth, and move to the full major or natural minor scale when you need every note of the key.
Can I use it for a tuning that is not in the list?
The list is the site's tuning library, not a custom builder. If your tuning is missing, pick the preset it is closest to and read the diagram one string at a time: the string you retuned is the only row that needs adjusting.
Is anything sent to a server?
No. The key, scale, tuning and fret span you select are turned into the diagram inside the page. Nothing is uploaded, stored or attached to your visit.
Related tools and pages
- Guitar tuning identifier— give it the note you get on each string and it names the tuning you are closest to, which is the step before drawing a scale on it.
- Note to frequency converter— the exact hertz of any note in the diagram, at A4 = 440 Hz or your own reference.
- Open E tuning scales— a written walkthrough of the same idea in one open tuning, with the shapes spelled out.
- Guitar tuning frequency chart— every tuning in the library with its note values and frequencies.
- Chord namer— name the shape you are holding once the scale diagram has shown you where the notes are.