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Constellation · Prototype 3.3

Star charts for fretboards

Every note is a star and every scale is a constellation. Chart scales and modes across guitar and bass fretboards, retune any string, and watch the pattern move across the sky with you.

Instrument
Root
Scale or mode
Note labels
Sharps or flats
Tuning

Observatory · Instrument setup

Tune each string

Low string on the left, high string on the right. − and + move one string by one semitone; the chart, the trace and the PDF follow.

Playing in · scale picker

What key is the song in?

Pick the key and Constellation lists the scales that fit it, closest to home first. Each one carries its character (somber, eastern, mellow…); hover any scale name here or in the Scale menu for a description. Click a scale to chart it.

Key
Major or minor

Charted scale

Scale

Scale notes · click to color Click a note and every copy of it on the neck takes that color. Click again to clear it.
Root Scale note Colored note · same color everywhere it appears Open string · the bay before the nut Trace line · joins neighbouring scale notes on a string
Fret range Show scale notes only between these frets; the rest of the neck dims.
From
To
Frets shown How much of the neck to draw: 12, 15 or 24 frets.
Sound With sound on, click any note on the neck to hear it. Play ▲ / ▼ plays the scale one octave from its lowest root in view.
Strings on the chart Click a string to take it off the neck or put it back. A string that is off keeps its row, dimmed, and carries no notes.
Snapshots Six saved charts: instrument, tuning, scale, colors, range, strings and riff. Click a name to bring it back. Click ⤓ to save what is on screen into that slot. Double-click a name to rename it; × empties a slot.
Save as PDF A one-page color chart of exactly what is on the neck now: tuning, scale, colored notes, trace lines, fret range, strings and frets shown. Prints fine in black and white.

Harmony · explore around this scale

Modes, neighbours and chords

Everything here starts from the scale that is charted above: its sister modes, the scales one note away, and the chord on every degree. Clicking any of them changes the chart.

Chord tones Pick a degree, then Triad or 7th: the chord built on that degree lights up on the neck.
Every chord in this scale · click one to light it

Sightings · scale finder

Which scale has these notes?

Tap the notes you are playing, or send the notes you have selected on the chart. Every scale that holds all of them is listed, closest fit first; click one to chart it with your notes lit.

Riff Map · riff generator

Write a riff from this chart

A riff is written from the scale, the tuning, the fret focus as the register, and your selected notes as anchors it starts and ends on. No rhythm: the map is the path, you bring the time. Click a step in the strip to lock it and regenerate the rest.

Style
Length

Observer’s notes

What this prototype proves

Every open string is stored as an actual pitch. Change the tuning and Constellation recalculates the fretboard instead of relying on a static diagram. The PDF is drawn from the same list of visible notes as the screen.

Constellation remembers your last session in this browser: instrument, tuning, scale, colors, range, strings and view. Snapshots are kept separately.