Know the key.
Find your sound.
Explore 24 major and natural-minor scales, hear the notes and discover the seven chords that belong to each key. All interactive, free and browser-only.
Explore a scale
C major scale
Understand this key
The C major scale has no sharps or flats. Its seven notes form the chords shown below.
Relative key: A minor
Step pattern: W – W – H – W – W – W – H
W means a whole step (two semitones). H means a half step (one semitone). The minor mode on this page is natural minor, not harmonic or melodic minor.
Seven diatonic triads
Build a three-note chord on each degree using only the notes of the chosen scale. Press Play to hear it; the Roman numeral shows its role in the key.
- I — CC · E · GTriad
- ii — DmD · F · ATriad
- iii — EmE · G · BTriad
- IV — FF · A · CTriad
- V — GG · B · DTriad
- vi — AmA · C · ETriad
- vii° — BdimB · D · FTriad
How to practice scales
Start with the tonic, play each note up one octave, then descend. Notice the two half-step gaps in a major scale (3–4 and 7–1), and the distinctive natural-minor pattern (2–3 and 5–6). Try a three-note chord on the first, fourth and fifth degrees to hear how a key creates harmony.
We publish only two learning tools here, rather than automatically creating dozens of near-identical SEO pages. Each scale and chord is still fully playable without registration.