MusicReasonScales, Keys, Intervals, and Notation
Which scales contain these notes?
Select the notes you have observed. This tool ranks every named scale collection, from any tonic, that contains them, exact matches first, and makes ambiguity visible rather than guessing a single scale from a partial set.
Answer
Want to learn more? Scales, Modes, and Tonal Centers
Understand
A small note set is compatible with far more scales than most people expect: three notes alone can be a subset of dozens of named collections across different tonics. This tool never proves one scale or key from a partial set; it ranks exact matches first, then supersets that would add specific named notes, so you can see the actual evidence rather than a confident-looking single answer.
Worked example
Selecting exactly C, D, E, F, G, A, B matches C major exactly, with nothing missing on either side. Selecting just C, E, G instead admits many superset matches, since that three-note set is a subset of every scale containing a C major triad, across many different tonics and scale families.
Method and limitations
The tool deduplicates your selected pitch classes and compares them against every tonic and scale-family combination in the launch vocabulary, keeping only collections that contain every selected note. Exact matches (nothing missing on either side) rank above superset matches (the collection adds notes you didn't select). A partial set never proves one scale or key on its own; a stated tonic constraint, if you supply one, only narrows the ranking, not the underlying evidence.