What is FretBoard?
“FretBoard is an amazingly effective tool – much better than the books which have collected dust on my shelves for years.” [Jason Jarvis]
FretBoard is a reference tool – running on Apples iPhoneTM and iPod Touch® – for players of the stringed instruments supporting Guitar, Banjo, Bouzouki, Bass (4, 5 and 6 string), Dobro, Charango, Lap Steel and Pedal Steel, Mandolin, Violin, Viola, Cello, Lute, Viola da gamba, Ukulele, Dulcimer, all Chapman Sticks, all guitars and bass guitars tuned and set up for two-handed tapping, alternative guitar tunings and many other exotic instruments like Timple Canario, Huapanguera, Cuatro Puertoriqueño, Jarana Jarocha or Cavaquinho. Currently FretBoard holds a collection of 167 instrument tunings in 15 instrument groups. FretBoard has an immense amount of music theory packed in a simple and intuitive interface guaranteeing fast access and easy understanding.
Features of FretBoard:
- Display the position of notes on the fretboard of virtually any stringed instrument (currently FretBoard sports 167 different tunings for instruments from 3 to 14 strings).
- Display chords in every key (68 chords are in the database).
- Display scales and modes in every key (83 scales, including church modes, Jazz, Blues, Bebop, geometrical and world music scales in the database).
- Two informative and detailed landscape views – one to display notenames – one to display intervals.
- Add or delete notes of scales or chords with a simple tap.
- The only app calculating the correct enharmonic spelling for notes in scales and chords.
- Orient the neck in whichever direction you prefer – right hand and left hand orientation included.
- Optional display of fretmarkers (inlays). The instruments database now holds fretmarkers positions for most of the instruments.
- Skin support. You can choose from several woods, strings and inlays to personalize the look of the landscape view.
- When you quit the current view is saved as the new default.
FretBoard is the best tool to enhance your knowledge about chords and scales making it easy to look them up in seconds and play them on your instrument. FretBoard offers you the most complete set of chords and scales and is currently the only software on the iPhone and iPod touch to calculate correct enharmonic spellings!
To know your FretBoard is to know your instrument.
You better view this video in fullscreen mode for best results…
And here is an older video of v1.2:
Thanks
Thanks to Alexey Patosin for coding this application, always working out the best solution, never be tired of new requirements and changing ideas, and for all the nights chatting about the code, music and philosophy. If you ever need a programmer for the iPhone, choose him!
Thanks to Sean Stirling for the graphics for the landscape views, the splash screen and the applications icon. You will find Sean, the Musician Under Construction at his homepage.
Some legal stuff
Apple, the Apple logo, iPod, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in
the U.S. and other countries. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc.
Stick, The Stick, Grand Stick and Stick Bass are US registered trademarks of Stick Enterprises. Stick and The Stick are also registered CTMs in the European Community. NS/Stick is a trademark of Ned Steinberger and Stick Enterprises. Matched Reciprocal, Classic, and Baritone Melody are trademarks for Stick tunings. All the above are used in “FretBoard” with permission.
The distinctive linear markers shown in FretBoard are a trademark of Stick Enterprises, as a featured design on their line of fretboard tapping instruments, and are used here with permission.
