Frettler - the interactive fretboard explorer and notebook
Frettler is a macOS application dedicated to enabling players of fretted instruments to visualise, experiment, and explore scales, modes and chords using a document-based canvas.
Think of Frettler as Pages, not for text but for fretboards.
Frettler isn't just a scale and chord library - it's a persistent, document-based workspace designed by a player, for players. Whether you are composing a complex jazz piece, teaching a student, or exploring a new tuning on your banjo, Frettler organises your theory explorations into easily read documents, that are printable, playable and shareable with ease.
Supporting guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, banjo and ukulele , each document you create can show multiple scales, chords and modes for the document’s chosen instrument, and each instrument type supports multiple possible tunings.
The roadmap for future Frettler enhancements is brimming with features. If you have suggestions for features or improvements, need support or advice, contact us at:
What you can do with Frettler
- Build visual music documents with multiple fretboards and chord organisers, for scales, modes and chords, all arranged in a flexible document format
- Switch instruments, tunings or handedness at any time and watch every fretboard and chord panel adapt to the new context
- Keep separate documents for lessons, songs, theory explorations, practice routines, alternate tunings or ideas you want to return to later
- Listen to notes, scale patterns, modes and strummed chords with realistic, instrument-specific playback as you explore the fretboard
- Print document contents for sharing or practice
- Focus your learning by showing notes, intervals, marked notes, or only the parts of a pattern you want to study right now
- Highlight important notes and intervals, annotate each panel with text notes, and capture teaching points, discoveries, reminders and practice ideas
- Rearrange, duplicate, copy and move musical ideas freely, both within a single Frettler document and between different documents
- Personalise the look of your workspace with fretboard backgrounds and note colour themes
See Frettler in action
New to Frettler?
What’s new in 1.5.0
- Authentic Instrument Samples
Frettler now contains real instrument samples for audio playback. - Stereo strums
Audio strum of chord diagrams now supports stereo panning.