Fingerboard Explorer

Chords, Arpeggios, Scales and Modes
Visualized on the Fretboard
Spelling and Intervals
Alternate Tunings

An app for guitarists to help visualize patterns and relationships.

Level: Intermediate and up.

Read the Docs

Who is this app for?

The guitar player with intermediate or higher skill level.
Intermediate is loosely defined, but think of someone that has some skills but wants to know and understand more. Music is all about patterns and relationships. This app will help you explore those patterns and relationships.

It does not tell you where to put your fingers, it shows you what notes are available for the pattern you choose. You can choose to have the app show you the spelling of the chord/scale, the intervals in the chord/scale, and where they fall on the fingerboard. Or if that is too much information, you can toggle off anything that is distracting your focus.

Visualizing Patterns Within a Chord Sequence

Once familiar with each chord or scale, it is time to put them into context, a chord progression.

G7 -> C7

Let's say you know that you want to play a G Mixolydian mode over a G7 chord and you decided you like the sound of the C Dominant 7 b9 over the C7.

How are you going to get from the G Mixolydian to the C Dominant 7 b9?
What are the common notes?
How does the G Mixolydian compare to the C Major scale?
Where is the root on each pattern?

In the Fingerboard Explorer you can enter a sequence of patterns and then step through the sequence. Take note of the patterns. Step back and forth and see what changes. Turn on the Interval Numbers to see where the common notes are, or where the third and seventh intervals are. And if you like that b9 interval, you probably want to take note of where that is.

What does it do?

Visualize Notes on the Fretboard.

Visualizing

From the perspective of looking down at the fingerboard.

Lower frets to the left.

Bass strings at the botttom.

It takes a good amount of mental effort to generate a visual pattern on the fretboard.

Once the pattern is in focus, the next step is to take a step back and see what patterns and relationships reveal themselves.

What are some good fingerings for my hands?
What does this pattern resemble?
How do the modes work?
What patterns can I find within the pattern to help me orient myself.
What chord voicings can I come up with if I try to use only three notes at a time on adjacent strings?
What are the intervals in relation to the root?
Where are the strong notes of the chord (third, seventh)?

Alternate Tuning

Visualize notes in any tuning.

If you are like me, you think:

"Alternate tunings sound awesome, but what a pain! I'd have to take everything I know and shift the fingering up or down on each of the strings. That would take forever to learn!"

The Fingerboard Explorer app has an Alternate Tuning option that can help with that.

Make a slate of patterns that you would like to play.
Choose a custom tuning, like DADGAD.
Switch the Alternate Tuning “On”.

Now, visualize your slates of patterns and see where the notes have moved to.

Alternate Tuning

For each string, select the tuning offset amount.

0 = No tuning offset.

-1 = Down a half step, or one fret.

2 = Up two half steps, or two frets.

Available for iPhone and iPad