Mode Wheel is a visual tool for understanding scales, modes, and intervals. The donut shows all 12 chromatic pitches arranged in a circle — like a clock. The root (degree 1) is always at the top. Highlighted segments show which pitches belong to the selected scale.
The shape of the lit segments is the point — you can see the symmetry, the gaps, the clusters. A major scale looks different from a diminished scale at a glance.
Each of the 12 sections represents one semitone. Moving clockwise = moving up by half steps. The number inside each lit segment tells you the scale degree — or the interval name for symmetric scales.
Three faint lines radiate from the center to the root (1), 4th (5), and 5th (7) — fixed Ionian reference points to help you orient no matter which scale is active.
The small bracket outside the ring marks the space between the minor third and major third — a key landmark for hearing chord quality.
Degree numbers use a template to show alterations — so you can immediately see what makes a mode distinctive.
Major modes compare against Ionian (the major scale):
Minor modes compare against Aeolian (natural minor):
Roman numerals always compare against Ionian regardless of mode flavour — so ♭III in Aeolian means the 3rd chord is a major chord built on a flatted root relative to major.
Based on Oliver Prehn's NewJazz framework. Each family shares the same 7 pitches — the modes are rotations of the same interval set starting from a different degree.
The Roman numeral toggle shows diatonic chord quality at each degree — uppercase for major, lowercase for minor, ° for diminished, + for augmented.
The Chords player plays each diatonic chord with a slight strum. Chord quality is color-coded to match the Roman numeral.
Chromatic — all 12 half steps. No tonal center.
Whole Tone — 6 equal whole steps. Only 2 unique transpositions exist. Ambiguous, floating quality. Used over aug chords.
Diminished — 8-note octatonic scales built from alternating whole and half steps. Whole–Half works over dim7 chords; Half–Whole works over dominant 7♭9 chords.
Pentatonic — 5-note scales. The wide gaps (minor 3rds) create an open, intervallic sound with no semitone tension in the major and minor forms. Japanese variants (Hirajoshi, Kumoi, Insen, Iwato) have a distinctive asymmetric shape.
Barry Harris — 8-note scales built by interleaving a 6th chord and a dim7 chord. Gold segments belong to the 6th chord; purple segments belong to the dim7 chord. Every scale degree is a different inversion of one of those two chords — the Chords player lets you hear each inversion.
Arpeggios — pure chord tones only. Labels show interval identity (♭3, ♯5, ♭7) rather than scale degrees.
Note names — shows chromatic note names outside the ring. Reveals a Root / Key selector so you can transpose to any key. The root always stays at the top.
Roman numerals / Chords — shows harmonic analysis inside the segments. Hidden for scales where it doesn't apply.
▶ Play — plays the scale ascending, descending, or both. Adjust octave and BPM with the − / + controls.
W — a faint Wikipedia W appears in the top-right corner of the info panel whenever the current scale has a dedicated Wikipedia article. Tap it to open the article in a new tab.
At the bottom of the page, two scales can be selected and displayed side by side as horizontal bars. Each bar has 13 segments — one per semitone — with the root at both ends so the full octave shape is visible.
The 4th and 5th segments are taller on both bars, acting as landmarks for the perfect intervals. Bar A grows upward; Bar B grows downward, so they mirror each other and share a common baseline — making it easy to see where the two scales align and diverge.
Segments are colored by interval group rather than by which scale they belong to, so you can immediately see which degree class a shared note falls in:
The root is always lit at both ends even if a scale doesn't include a particular chromatic degree — it serves as a fixed anchor. Arpeggios are excluded from the comparison since they are chord fragments rather than scales.
Scale system and modal family framework based on the work of Oliver Prehn at NewJazz. Barry Harris harmonic concepts from the teachings of Barry Harris.