Introducing Guitar Dashboard. A free, open source, interactive music theory explorer for guitarists.

What's Hot
MikeHMikeH Frets: 11

I'd like to share something I've been working on: guitardashboard.com. It's something I've built initially to aid my own study of diatonic modes and chords on the guitar, but I'm also hoping that others might find it useful. Some features:

  • A chromatic circle and a circle of fifths for visualising scales and modes.
  • A guitar fretboard that displays scales and modes. You can opt to display note names or scale intervals, just select the 'settings' menu.
  • Toggle notes on the circle-of-fifths and fretboard.
  • Alternative tunings and instruments. Any stringed instrument with any tuning is potentially supported. Just select the 'tunings' menu.
  • Left handed players are welcome. Also in the 'settings' menu.

I'm self taught when it comes to music theory, so I'd really like to hear any comments, bugs, suggestions. It's open source on GitHub with an MIT licence, so feel free to take the code and use it for your own purposes. Send me a pull-request if you're of the programmerish persuasion. Links under the 'info' menu.

Enjoy! Mike

0reaction image LOL 4reaction image Wow! 7reaction image Wisdom
«1

Comments

  • MikeHMikeH Frets: 11
    Woops, I seem to have posted several copies of this by mistake. Is there anyway to delete posts?
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    Very nice!
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • RolandRoland Frets: 8591
    MikeH said:
    Woops, I seem to have posted several copies of this by mistake. Is there anyway to delete posts?
    Done
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • This platform is an amazing one.. Took me a few days to navigate the whole website and post that thought of thanking you for sharing this platform.. Till date I was using Guitaa and was pretty satisfied with that but your suggestion is also great. Like I tried this song https://www.guitaa.com/chords/powfu-death-bed at guitar dashboard & it also gave me the same experience. 

    Thanks.. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • JAYJOJAYJO Frets: 1526
    Brilliant. Can change to lefty in the settings. Will have a look at vid later cheers.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • DiscoStuDiscoStu Frets: 5382
    Looks good @MikeH however the layout looks wrong on my Android phone. The dials are vertical rather than left and right like on your video. Maybe needs a wee tweak to open full screen on phones? Screenshots of portrait and landscape orientations:

    https://i.imgur.com/5LZoIR8.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/nPuOD7M.jpg
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • nick79nick79 Frets: 252
    As someone who shamefully knows very little or nothing about theory this is going to be a huge help I reckon. Thank you very much!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • GuyBodenGuyBoden Frets: 733
    Excellent, wow you have alternative tunings too.

    Scale name, which is the most common terminology, is it Jazz minor or Melodic minor (ascending)?

    "Music makes the rules, music is not made from the rules."
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    Thanks for this, has got my mind back into theory. 

    Is there a quick and easy way to work out the chords for the Major scale. Say I'm playing E Maj how do I know what my IV chord is? 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    edited June 2020

    Fuengi said:
    Thanks for this, has got my mind back into theory. 

    Is there a quick and easy way to work out the chords for the Major scale. Say I'm playing E Maj how do I know what my IV chord is? 

    Alphabet
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    viz said:

    Fuengi said:
    Thanks for this, has got my mind back into theory. 

    Is there a quick and easy way to work out the chords for the Major scale. Say I'm playing E Maj how do I know what my IV chord is? 

    Alphabet
    OR,

    if you know your circle of 5ths and fi d your key, you can immediately find chords 4 and 5 (left and right of your key, and chord 6 (the related minor of your key, and chords 2 and 3 (left and right of the relative minor), and chord 7 is one more to the right. 

    So, for C:

    IV is left (F)
    V is right (G)

    vi is underneath (A minor)
    ii is left (D minor)
    iii is right (E minor)

    vii is B dim. 


    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • mrkbmrkb Frets: 6637
    edited June 2020
    viz said:

    Fuengi said:
    Thanks for this, has got my mind back into theory. 

    Is there a quick and easy way to work out the chords for the Major scale. Say I'm playing E Maj how do I know what my IV chord is? 

    Alphabet
    I think of them in relation to the fretboard. I use low E string as reference. Find the root note on E string, IV chord is same fret on A string (so A major in your case, V chord is up two frets on A string, so B major In your case). As this aligns with the major scale shapes, and makes you learn the note names on first two strings it works for me. The pattern is also a L7 shape for defining major and minor chords, so it’s very easy.

    https://youtu.be/qoeQeVVys38
    Karma......
    Ebay mark7777_1
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    viz said:

    Fuengi said:
    Thanks for this, has got my mind back into theory. 

    Is there a quick and easy way to work out the chords for the Major scale. Say I'm playing E Maj how do I know what my IV chord is? 

    Alphabet
    Really!? That always works? I had not figured that out. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    edited June 2020
    Fuengi said:
    viz said:

    Fuengi said:
    Thanks for this, has got my mind back into theory. 

    Is there a quick and easy way to work out the chords for the Major scale. Say I'm playing E Maj how do I know what my IV chord is? 

    Alphabet
    Really!? That always works? I had not figured that out. 

    well, ish, so long as you know your keys and put the correct sharp or flat there. So the 4th of F isn't B, it's Bb. etc. But otherwise, yes, in 100% of cases, the interval from a key note can be counted synonomously with the alphabet in either direction. 
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    viz said:
    Fuengi said:
    viz said:

    Fuengi said:
    Thanks for this, has got my mind back into theory. 

    Is there a quick and easy way to work out the chords for the Major scale. Say I'm playing E Maj how do I know what my IV chord is? 

    Alphabet
    Really!? That always works? I had not figured that out. 

    well, ish, so long as you know your keys and put the correct sharp or flat there. So the 4th of F isn't B, it's Bb. etc. But otherwise, yes, in 100% of cases, the interval from a key note can be counted synonomously with the alphabet in either direction. 
    I could never work out why there were sharps and flats and they were the same note, is this why? 

    I have sort of ignored flats up to now... This has got me looking at circle of 5th again and I can now see how useful it is. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    Fuengi said:
    viz said:
    Fuengi said:
    viz said:

    Fuengi said:
    Thanks for this, has got my mind back into theory. 

    Is there a quick and easy way to work out the chords for the Major scale. Say I'm playing E Maj how do I know what my IV chord is? 

    Alphabet
    Really!? That always works? I had not figured that out. 

    well, ish, so long as you know your keys and put the correct sharp or flat there. So the 4th of F isn't B, it's Bb. etc. But otherwise, yes, in 100% of cases, the interval from a key note can be counted synonomously with the alphabet in either direction. 
    I could never work out why there were sharps and flats and they were the same note, is this why? 

    I have sort of ignored flats up to now... This has got me looking at circle of 5th again and I can now see how useful it is. 
    Sort of! This might deserve a more detailed discussion though!
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • duotoneduotone Frets: 972
    edited June 2020
    Thanks for that circle of fifths @viz ;;

    I am currently trying: 
    https://spinditty.com/learning/disharmony
    3. Standard Chord Progressions: A Song Your Mother Would Know

    I always thought I wasn’t getting the most out of that wheel.
    Edit: should say that I would just noodle, playing chords that were close together on the wheel that sounded ok + ‘safe’. Not very adventurous!

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    There’s a really good youtube vid called 8 things you didn’t know about the circle of fifths or something. 
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    Fact 2 is really helpful for many. 
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.