Pentatonics vs The Modality

Pentatonics - Take Five Less notes. More music. Visualized. Step back. Level up. Unlock a new world of musical expression with Pentatonics, the visually driven music theory tool that transforms five-note scales into endless creative possibilities. Whether you’re improvising, composing, or exploring harmony, Pentatonics shows you how to say more with less. What Makes It Different Visualize the Scale-Chord Connection A one-of-a-kind pentagon visualizer shows exactly how a scale maps onto a chord, highlighting chord tones, extensions, tensions, and color with instant clarity. Six Curated Pentatonics These aren’t basic box patterns. Each scale is chosen for its harmonic purpose: • Minor 7 (1, b3, 4, 5, b7) • Minor 6 (1, b3, 4, 5, 6) • Minor 7b5 (1, b3, 4, b5, b7) • Major b6 (1, 2, 3, 5, b6) • Major b2 (1, b2, 3, 5, 6) • Whole-Tone (1, 3, #4, #5, b7) Smart Chord Filtering Choose from 14 chord filters to match the sound you want: Major, Minor, Dominant — plus altered, sus, and extended voicings like #11, b9, b13, and more. Two-Way Transposition Transpose chord and scale roots independently. Practice in any key. Compose in any context. Teach with full flexibility. Layered Interval Insight Switch between note names and scale degrees to understand how each note functions inside the harmony. Highlight Chord Tones Color-coded overlays show you roots, thirds, sevenths, and more — helping you target the strongest notes in your lines. Smart Starting Points Pentatonics finds 47 unique entry points where each scale fits the chord best — based on harmonic fit, not guesswork. Across all keys and chords, that’s 7,896 ways to explore expressive sounds. Stay in the Flow • Save your favorite combinations for fast recall • History tracking keeps your recent choices just a tap away • Built-in suggestions point you to the most musical options Who It’s For • Musicians breaking out of tired scale shapes • Improvisers searching for expressive new ideas • Composers seeking color and clarity • Teachers looking to simplify complex harmony • Students learning how theory works in real music Explore. Visualize. Improvise. Pentatonics isn’t just a scale reference. It’s a launchpad for creative growth. Built for modern iOS with a clean, fast interface powered by SwiftUI, it’s designed to keep you thinking less about theory — and more about sound. Take five — and play like never before!

You've heard music from across the world and felt something move in you — without knowing why. The Modality is how you find out. Most apps teach music theory as rules to memorize. The Modality teaches it as something to hear — because every musical tradition is really a different way to turn sound into feeling. We start with two of the most beautiful, and we're adding more. TURKISH MAKAM 29 makams, from Rast to Ferahfeza — each drawn degree by degree, with its microtonal commas marked, its seyir, its mood, the hour it belongs to, and the ney to play it. MODAL JAZZ 14 modes across two scales: the seven modes of the major scale, and the seven of melodic minor — the language of tension and release, from Lydian dominant to the altered sound. WHERE THEY MEET The Crossroads is where the two traditions touch. Hicaz and the Phrygian dominant share one ancient interval — hear them side by side, ney against Rhodes piano. Saba and Locrian reach the same depth of feeling by the same turn. Two musical worlds, one tap apart. THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MUSIC 64 composers and performers, from Itri and Dede Efendi to Miles Davis and Bill Evans — with portraits, lives, and every place in the app you can hear them. Tap any name on any recording and meet the person. HEAR IT EVERYWHERE - Iconic recordings and taksim improvisations for every major makam - Canonical tunes for every mode — So What, Maiden Voyage, Spain - Songs you already know, mapped to the makam they live in — classical, arabesk, Anatolian rock - Play any scale on the ney or Rhodes, from any root LEARN IT PROPERLY - A guided lesson path in each tradition, from "What is a makam?" up - Quizzes that unlock level by level - A glossary of both traditions' vocabulary — taksim, seyir, voicing, vamp - Usul rhythm patterns with audio For curious listeners, for Western musicians meeting microtones for the first time, and for Turkish speakers rediscovering their own tradition. Two ways of hearing, each one whole. More on the way.