Quick Start
- Pick a Key in the left sidebar (the root note of your scale)
- Pick a Scale Family (Major, Harmonic Minor, Blues, …)
- Pick a Mode within the family (Ionian, Dorian, Aeolian, …)
The fretboard, chord chips, and chord-progression table update to reflect your selection.
The Fretboard
Shows the notes of your selected scale across the 22-fret neck. Colour coding:
- Black dots — root, 3rd, 7th (the chord-defining tones)
- Blue dots — 5th, 9th
- Green dots — 11th, 13th
Toggle Notes / Degrees / Both in the header to switch between note names and scale-degree numbers.
View Toggles (Scale · Pentatonic · Triad · 7th Arp · 9th Arp)
The top-right toggles switch the fretboard between scale view and chord-tone views:
- Scale — all 7 scale notes (default)
- Pentatonic — 5-note pentatonic subset, where defined for the mode
- Triad — chord tones only (1-3-5) of each diatonic chord
- 7th Arp — 1-3-5-7 of each diatonic chord
- 9th Arp — 1-3-5-7-9 of each diatonic chord
Triad / Arp views overlay all seven diatonic chords with different colours — great for moving from scale-thinking to chord-tone-thinking.
3-Notes-Per-String Positions (3NPS)
The I–VII buttons in the header highlight a single 3NPS position (3 notes per string, starting from the chosen scale degree). Use them to learn the seven standard fingerings of the mode.
Diatonic Chord Chips
The chord row in the header shows the diatonic chords of your current key & mode (e.g. Cmaj7 · Dm7 · Em7 · Fmaj7 · G7 · Am7 · Bm7♭5 in C Ionian). Toggle 7th chords for 7th vs triad spellings; Root: low E switches the reference string.
Mode Degree Map
Radar chart showing how the current mode's degrees compare to the major scale — useful for seeing which scale degrees are raised or lowered relative to Ionian. Click Show to expand.
Chord Progressions
A table of common progressions for the selected mode. Columns:
- Progression — common name (e.g. Pop Canon, Tango / Romance)
- Numerals — Roman-numeral analysis
- Chords in [Key] — concrete chord names
- Scales — primary scale plus per-chord substitutions for soloing
- Style — genre / feel
Click any row to expand it. The Atlas reveals chord arpeggios and voicings for that progression below.
Per-Progression Arpeggio View
When you select a progression, a dedicated chord-tone fretboard appears. Features:
- Shows R / 3 / 5 / 7 markers for the progression's chords
- Pent / 7th Arp / 9th Arp — depth of extensions shown
- Per-chord chips (e.g. Cm / Fm / G7) — click to filter to a single chord and learn its tones one at a time
- Hide — collapse the section
Shell Voicings
1-3-7 guide-tone voicings — the essential chord tones that define major / minor quality and 7th type. Most jazz comping is built on these.
- Root on 6th / Root on 5th — anchor string
- Hide R & 5 — show only the 3 and 7 (pure guide tones)
Drop-2 Voicings (D-G-B-E)
Close four-note voicings on the top four strings — the standard jazz-comping shapes.
- Per-chord chips — filter by chord
- Rooted — toggle between rooted and rootless inversions
7-String Fretboard
If you play 7-string guitar, click 7-Str in the header to expand a 7-string version of the main fretboard (with low B).
Keyboard Shortcuts
- ? — open this user guide
- Esc — close the user guide or tour
Tips for New Users
- Start with Major / Ionian to learn the basics, then explore Aeolian (natural minor) for darker colours
- For modal pieces, focus on each mode's characteristic note — the note that distinguishes it from major (♭2 in Phrygian, ♯4 in Lydian, ♭7 in Mixolydian, …)
- Use the Triad / 7th Arp views to learn where chord tones sit on each string set — this moves you from scale-thinking to chord-tone-thinking
- For altered or jazz dominants, try the DOMINANT 7 (half-whole diminished) scale in the Symmetric family
- When soloing, lean into chord tones on strong beats and treat scale-but-non-chord tones as passing colour