Scale Degree Chart

The following is a widget that allows you to not only see but also hear what the seven degrees of a musical scale sound like. By simply clicking on each stair step you are able to play each note independently, or if preferred, you can run up and down the scale using the playback buttons. It will work with either track pad or a mouse allowing you to explore both major and minor modes without the need for an instrument.

The twelve key buttons at the top allow you to control the root note. Each covers the complete chromatic range from C up to F and back down using flats. Changing the key immediately switches the audio and chart to match. This lets you hear and see the same scale pattern across various pitches to help you make comparisons.

How to Use the Musical Scale Widget

Selecting a Scale Mode: Click on one of the modes (Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Natural Minor & Major). The selected mode button lights up and alters the interval pattern displayed as stairs. You can clearly visualize where whole steps and half steps is as the step height visually matches the pitches. In Major Keys for instance, there’s only a small gap between the 3rd and 4th degree.

The scale patterns play from the tonic note upwards to the octave above (play up) and then downwards again from the octave back to the root (play down). This is a handy way of quickly hearing the shape or contour of the scale rather than having to click on each individual step one by one. You can repeat this many times too which helps you get inside the step pattern of various modes.

To play just one single step, click it. You will then hear just that degree by itself. As the note sounds, the step briefly lights up too. In this way, you can see right away which note is playing. Each step shows the note name and its number. It also shows the solfege syllable and old function name. This lets you relate the ‘theoretical’ words back to real thing.

You can also use the slider located at the bottom of the widget to adjust the volume. Drag the slider to the right to raise the volume or drag it to the left to lower the volume. You’ll want to do this if the volume is too loud in your listening area, or if you’re mixing it with other audio. Once you’ve adjusted the volume, that setting will stay in place until you manually adjust the slider again.

When you click on the fullscreen button, the widget will take up full width of your screen, leaving plenty of space for you to read through each step (which is useful if you are using a small device). Click it again and the widget will go back to its original size within the page. You can also tell that this is working because the toggle button’s label changes accordingly.

To see a quick reference on how to use this tool, simply click the How to play button. The panel that appears will explain the visuals (such as the tonic and leading tone) and summarize the functions of the degree numbers, solfege syllables, and traditional names associated with each note. Simply click the button again to hide it.

Degree one is always considered to be the home note, or the tonic of the scale. A different border is used around this note to set it apart from others. In both major and harmonic minor scales, degree seven becomes the leading tone. Here the strong upward pull are created because this note is a half step beneath the tonic. Degree seven in natural minor would be known as the subtonic; one whole step beneath the tonic and not carrying quite such an urgent pull. If you change the mode back to the natural minor it labels this properly too. This is important if you are wondering about the reason for the raised seventh degree in the harmonic minor.

Following that theme, try playing these in turn: tonic, dominant, and subdominant. These are the first, fifth, and fourth degrees (4-1-5), and they will be at the heart of most harmonies. If you play through these in turn, you will start to hear the functional relationship between each note.

Alternatively, randomly tap out some different degrees to get used to how they sound. Press the play button on the full scale at an even pace so you can hear the whole thing without having to click through every note individually. It will help embed it into your memory and is quicker then! Pay attention to how the intervals sounds as you listen to it so that you get the feel for the pattern of intervals used. Explore what happens if you swap modes during the playing of the scale to experience the variation as it happens.

Keep the help panel active while you play around with different keys. You’ll see that it’s also a handy guide to what each degree means and its name. Even if you’re trying out the less common solfege syllables in the minor modes, this can be useful. Combining the audio feedback along with the visual chart will strengthen the learning process.

Explore the full range of keys to hear how the scale shapes remains consistent. When we change the root note, the step pattern stays exactly the same. What it means is only the level of pitch has changed; this allows you to identify the pattern wherever on an imaginary keyboard it may be. This is an essential part of tonal music theory.

To begin, just choose a key and click on any individual stair step to play. Then compare the sound of all these modes that you are able to slowly get familiar with. This widget is meant to be used at once with immediate audible results. Have fun tweaking it and expand your musical ear further.