A scale is made up of a sequence of intervals. Those intervals stay the same when a scale is played on another instrument; what changes is how the notes are distributed across the fretboard.
The number of strings, tuning, and arrangement of intervals between them determine where each note appears.
That is why this tool calculates the diagram from each instrument’s tuning instead of relying on a fixed collection of shapes.
Choose the instrument, key, and scale to see where each note appears on the fretboard.
Available instruments
Guitar
Standard tuning is E A D G B E.
The six strings let you study scales in different fretboard regions and relate them to the chord shapes of the CAGED system.
You can view notes, scale degrees, and positions to understand how different fretboard regions connect.
Bass
The four-string bass normally uses E A D G tuning.
All neighboring strings are separated by perfect fourths, creating a very regular layout for intervals and scale shapes.
The diagram lets you study small fretboard regions or follow a scale across several octaves.
Ukulele
The tuning used is G C E A.
On many ukuleles, the G string is reentrant, which means it sounds in a higher register than expected in linear tuning.
The note positions are still determined by the same fretboard semitone structure, but the string register affects how melodies and scales sound.
Cavaquinho
The cavaquinho is shown in D G B D tuning, common on the Brazilian instrument.
The repeated D at the two ends creates its own relationships between chords, scales, and melodic phrases.
The diagram lets you study these relationships directly on the fretboard without adapting shapes made for other instruments.
What stays the same between instruments
Regardless of the instrument, the internal structure of a scale remains the same.
The major scale, for example, always follows this interval sequence:
whole step – whole step – half step – whole step – whole step – whole step – half step
A minor pentatonic keeps the same five degrees whether it is played on guitar, bass, ukulele, or cavaquinho.
What changes is only where those notes appear.
Note names and scale degrees
The tool can show note names or scale degrees.
In A minor pentatonic:
A – C – D – E – G
can be read as:
1 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭7
Note names help you understand the specific key. Degrees show each note’s function in relation to the root.
Reading through degrees lets you recognize the same structure in different keys and on different instruments.
The root as a reference
When studying a scale, begin by locating the root.
Then observe where the other degrees appear in relation to it.
This approach helps you understand the fretboard as a network of intervals instead of simply memorizing sequences of frets.
The third, fifth, and seventh, for example, help identify important characteristics of the scale and its relationship to the chords in the key.
The octave on the fretboard
The instruments in this tool are fretted in semitones.
After 12 frets, a note appears again one octave higher.
For example, the 12th fret of an E string produces E again, now in another octave.
This means note names begin repeating the same pattern after the 12th fret. Interval relationships remain the same, although the physical position and ease of playing may change from one fretboard region to another.
Correct key spelling
Notes with the same pitch do not always have the same name within a key.
In F♯ major, for example, the scale is:
F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B – C♯ – D♯ – E♯
The last degree is written as E♯, not F, because each degree of the major scale uses a different letter.
This distinction matters for understanding the harmonic function of notes and keeping musical spelling consistent.
The tool takes this relationship into account when generating note names.
Scales in any key
The same scale can be transposed to any key.
When you change the root, the note names and their fretboard positions change, but the interval sequence stays the same.
This lets you compare, for example, C major with G major, or A minor pentatonic with C minor pentatonic, without learning a new structure from scratch.
How to use the diagrams
A practical way to study is to:
- choose a scale;
- locate every root;
- restrict the view to a small fretboard region;
- identify the degrees around the root;
- connect that region to the next one;
- repeat the exercise in another key.
The goal is not to memorize an ever-growing number of shapes, but to recognize relationships that remain valid when the scale or instrument changes.
Where to start
If you are just beginning to study scales, the minor pentatonic is a good first choice.
It has only five notes and makes it easier to see intervals and fretboard positions.
On guitar, you can also relate these positions to the CAGED system to understand how chords and scales occupy the same regions of the instrument.
After that, move on to the major and natural minor scales and compare how their degrees change.