Raga & Scale Finder

A reverse-lookup tool for ragas, scales, and chords. Pick notes on a piano or chip row and the finder surfaces every Carnatic Melakarta and Janya, Hindustani Thaat, Western mode/scale, and chord type that contains them. Switch notation between Western, Carnatic, or Hindustani, lock a tonic or Sa, and audition any match with five sampled timbres (piano, veena, violin, flute, voice).

How to use Raga & Scale Finder

1. Pick a notation — Western, Carnatic, or Hindustani. Set the Sa pitch if you’re in Carnatic or Hindustani.
2. Tap notes on the piano or chip row. The finder lists every pattern containing those notes.
3. Switch between Ragas, Scales, and Chords tabs to focus the catalogue.
4. Toggle “Contains my notes” vs “Exact match” to widen or narrow the matches.
5. Click a result card to pin it — its full note set lights up on the piano in dashed accent.
6. Press ▶ Play on a result to hear it. Change the instrument pill (piano, veena, violin, flute, voice) at the top.

Frequently asked questions

What is a pitch-class set?

A pitch-class set is a fingerprint of which of the 12 notes (C, C♯, D…) a scale or chord uses, ignoring octave. The finder converts every pattern into a 12-bit mask and matches yours against all 12 rotations bitwise — fast, and tonality-agnostic.

Why so many matches when I pick three notes?

Three notes fit into hundreds of scales. Add more notes, lock a tonic (Western) or Sa (Carnatic/Hindustani), or switch from “Contains my notes” to “Exact match” to narrow the list to scales that use exactly your selection.

What’s different between Carnatic and Hindustani notation here?

Carnatic uses positional swara names (R1, R2, R3, G3 …) where the variant tells you the chromatic position. Hindustani uses shuddha/komal/tivra forms (S r R g G m M’ P d D n N). The finder maps both off the same Sa you set.