Chromatic Scale Generator

Generate a full tonic-rotated 12-class chromatic collection with explicit sharp/flat display convention; canonical names need not retain noncanonical input spelling.

Description

A chromatic collection includes all twelve pitch classes.

A chromatic collection includes all twelve pitch classes. Canonical sharp/flat names can differ from the written tonic supplied.^[1]

Enter tonic without octave and exact sharp/flat preference. Rotate the fixed display table to the tonic class; return names and classes.

When to use Chromatic Scale Generator

Use Chromatic Scale Generator when you need to evaluate the supplied records under the calculation and evidence rules below. No octave return, original enharmonic spelling retention, tuning or scale fingering is provided.

Enter the written notes, explicit grouping, pitch observations or supported chord tokens requested. Keep scientific octaves, accidentals and caller evidence consistent.

How to use Chromatic Scale Generator and understand its results

Enter the written notes, explicit grouping, pitch observations or supported chord tokens requested. Keep scientific octaves, accidentals and caller evidence consistent.
Enter tonic, accidentalPreference using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
Read chromaticPitchNames, chromaticPitchClasses. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.

Input field	Meaning	Value type; see rules below	Requirement
tonic	Tonic	string	Required
accidentalPreference	Accidental preference	string	Required

Enter tonic without octave and exact sharp/flat preference. Rotate the fixed display table to the tonic class; return names and classes.

classes[i]=(tonicPC+i) mod12, i=0…11

Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.

Output field	Meaning	Value type
chromaticPitchNames	Chromatic pitch names	list of string
chromaticPitchClasses	Chromatic pitch classes	list of number

json

{
  "input": {
    "tonic": "D",
    "accidentalPreference": "flat"
  },
  "output": {
    "chromaticPitchNames": [
      "D",
      "Eb",
      "E",
      "F",
      "Gb",
      "G",
      "Ab",
      "A",
      "Bb",
      "B",
      "C",
      "Db"
    ],
    "chromaticPitchClasses": [
      2,
      3,
      4,
      5,
      6,
      7,
      8,
      9,
      10,
      11,
      0,
      1
    ]
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

No octave return, original enharmonic spelling retention, tuning or scale fingering is provided.

Numeric inputs, where present, must be finite. Follow the calculation-specific rules for overflow, underflow and exceptional cases. Extremely large text inputs are rejected. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Use Whole-Tone Scale Generator: A whole-tone collection contains six pitch classes separated by two semitones. Written note letters preserve a chosen scale spelling. For a complementary task, use MIDI to Note Name Converter: MIDI pitch numbers identify sounding semitones without a unique enharmonic spelling. A display preference selects one fixed naming table.

References

Chromatic Scale Generator — tool.io

Similar or alternative tools

Whole-Tone Scale Generator
A whole-tone collection contains six pitch classes separated by two semitones. Written note letters preserve a chosen scale spelling.
MIDI to Note Name Converter
MIDI pitch numbers identify sounding semitones without a unique enharmonic spelling. A display preference selects one fixed naming table.