Scale and Chord Builder

In short A scale or a chord is a pattern of semitone distances from a root, and the pattern is the same wherever you start it. The major scale is 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 — whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half — so C major is C D E F G A B and D major is the same shape moved up two semitones. A major triad is 0, 4, 7: the root, a major third and a perfect fifth. Flatten the third to 3 and it is minor; flatten the fifth to 6 as well and it is diminished. Two relationships worth knowing fall straight out of that arithmetic. The natural minor scale contains exactly the same notes as the major scale a minor third above it, which is why A minor and C major share a key signature — this tool will show you the identical set of pitch classes. And the seven modes are simply the major scale started from each of its own degrees: Dorian is the major scale from its second note, Mixolydian from its fifth, and so on, which is why they share every note with their parent scale and sound different only because the root has moved. One caveat on spelling. F sharp and G flat are the same key and the same frequency, and which name is correct depends on the key you are writing in rather than on the sound. This tool follows the setting you choose rather than trying to infer the theoretically correct spelling.