Guitar Fretboard Notes & Scales
See every note on the neck, then pick a scale to light up its pattern.
All 96 scale charts
Every scale in every key has its own page with the notes, a fretboard map, the chords that fit and related scales.
Explore scale notes across the fretboard
Choose a root and scale to see where its notes fall. Switch between note names and intervals to connect a fingering with the musical pattern. Frets keep equal visual widths, including those without highlighted notes.
Five scales worth learning first
| Scale | Formula | In A |
|---|---|---|
| Major | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯ |
| Natural minor | 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 | A B C D E F G |
| Minor pentatonic | 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7 | A C D E G |
| Major pentatonic | 1 2 3 5 6 | A B C♯ E F♯ |
| Blues | 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7 | A C D E♭ E G |
The major scale follows the step pattern whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. Every other scale here can be described by how it differs from that pattern, which is what the interval labels in the fretboard show.
How to practise a scale shape
- Play the shape slowly with alternate picking (down, up, down, up), starting and ending on the root.
- Switch the fretboard to interval labels and say each degree as you play it. You are learning sounds, not dots.
- Pick three notes from the scale and improvise a short phrase with only those notes. Limits make you musical faster than speed does.
- Move the same shape to a new root. On guitar, a shape keeps its sound wherever you slide it.
Relative major and minor
C major and A minor contain exactly the same seven notes; they just treat a different note as home. To find the relative minor of any major key, count down three semitones from its root: G major pairs with E minor, D major with B minor. That is why one pentatonic shape can work for both a major and a minor song.
What is the root note?
The root is the note a scale is named after. C major starts from C and contains C, D, E, F, G, A and B. Interval labels describe each note relative to that root.
How does the scale finder work?
Select notes to look for scales that include them. Several scales may match; a match is a useful candidate, not a definitive identification of the key of a song.
Why does changing tuning move the notes?
A fret raises its string by one semitone. Changing the open-string pitch changes every note on that string, so choose the tuning you are actually using.