Chord progressions
Twenty progressions in twelve keys, with symbols and degrees, an arpeggiated listen and a direct hand-off to the music paper.
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Drone
A held note to tune, pitch or improvise against, with an adjustable reference and a just fifth.
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The note
220.00 Hz
From 432 to 446 Hz. The standard is 440.
A sustained note sits lower than a metronome click for the same number, and by ear they are in the same place: the ear counts energy, not peak. The volume stays where you put it for the rest of the visit, and it applies here only.
The fifth is just, 3:2, not the tempered one. A drone is there to be a fixed reference, and the tempered fifth is two cents narrow: over A3 that is 330 Hz against 329.63, one beat every two and a half seconds inside the reference itself. A drone that beats on its own is not a reference.
Switch to another tab and it turns off. That is the opposite of the metronome, and for the reason the metronome is the exception: a metronome plays while you do something else, a drone plays while you are using it.
Everything happens in your browser: no data is sent anywhere.
How it works
- Pick the note and the octave, then turn it on.
- Move the A4 reference if you need to — from 432 to 446 Hz.
- Add the fifth when you want something to lean on: it is just, not tempered.
Why it exists
Because pitching without a reference is an exercise in memory, not in listening.
A held note does three different jobs, and all three are good reasons: tuning an instrument without a tuner, singing or playing over a tonal centre to hear where the intervals fall, and improvising over a pedal — which is the fastest way to find out whether a scale actually works or was only leaning on the chords.
About the fifth
The fifth is just, exactly 3:2, and not the equal-tempered one.
It sounds like a textbook detail and you can hear it. The tempered fifth is two cents narrower than the natural one, and on a held note those two cents turn into beating. Over A3 at 220 Hz, the just fifth is 330 Hz and the tempered one 329.63 — four tenths of a hertz, which is one beat every two and a half seconds. Inside the reference.
On a chord lasting a quarter note nobody would hear it. On a drone lasting two minutes it is the first thing you hear, and a reference that beats on its own has stopped being a reference.
The flip side is worth stating: if you are tuning a fixed-pitch instrument, tune to the fundamental. The fifth is there to lean on, not to aim at.
About the reference
From 432 to 446 Hz, the same range as the tuner and as “Note to frequency” — it is where everything actually happens: 440 is the standard, 442 or 443 is the practice of quite a few European orchestras, and 415 would be Baroque pitch, which is out because it would be a different thing rather than a nudge.
Moving the reference moves every pitch together: it is a translation, not a deformation of the scale.
About what is not here
There is no VU meter. It would be a fourth moving thing on the screen saying something you can already hear: the volume is a slider, and what it does you listen to.
About switching tabs
It turns off. That is the opposite of this site’s metronome, and for exactly the reason the metronome is the exception: a metronome plays while you do something else, a drone plays while you are using it. A held note carrying on from a tab nobody is looking at is the definition of audio nobody asked for.
About your data
Everything happens in your browser. This site is made of static files and has no server to send anything to, even if it wanted one.
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BPM and length
How long a section lasts, what tempo makes it last that long, how many bars fit — in any metre, odd ones included.
Metronome
A click that does not drift, from 30 to 300 BPM, with an accent on the first beat, subdivisions, and a tempo you can tap in.