Not sure what key you are jamming in? Play a few notes and Fretnook listens through your microphone, ranks the scales that fit, and lights up the fretboard so you can see where they live. Strum a chord and it will name that too.
Almost everything in Fretnook needs live microphone input. Press Listen in the top-right corner and allow the browser's microphone prompt. An audio interface or USB microphone works too.
Use the switch at the top of the Ear Trainer: Auto-detect to discover the scale you are playing, Target scale to practise a scale you choose, or Chord ID to name a chord you strum.
In Auto-detect just play a riff or noodle for a few seconds. In Target scale, pick a root and scale first. In Chord ID, strum all six strings and let the chord ring.
The wheel shows the current note, its frequency and how sharp or flat it is. The fretboard diagram lights up every root and scale tone across frets 0 to 12 and marks the note you are playing right now.
Ranks the scales that best fit your recent notes and shows the top few candidates, because several scales can share the same notes.
Choose a root and a scale. A badge tells you whether the note you are playing is in the scale or not, so wrong notes stand out immediately.
Reads the harmonic content across all six strings at once and names the chord you strummed.
Every occurrence of the root and scale tones across frets 0 to 12, so you see where a scale's shape sits on the neck.
Standard, Drop D, Whole Step Down, Open G, Open D and Open E. The fretboard, string names and tuner targets all follow your choice.
A strip under the wheel shows your last few notes, handy for spotting what you just played.
A major scale and its relative minor use exactly the same seven notes: C major and A minor share every note, for example. Pentatonic scales overlap in a similar way. A tool that names a single answer from a short phrase is guessing.
Fretnook shows a ranked short list instead, ordered by how well your recent notes fit each scale. As you play more notes, and especially notes that emphasise the root or the third, the right answer rises to the top. Treat the list as a strong hint and let your ear decide between close neighbours.
Target scale mode is built for learning shapes. Choose the root and scale you are working on, such as A minor pentatonic or G major, and play. The badge turns on when the note you are playing belongs to the scale, and the fretboard shows where all the scale tones sit so you can connect the sound with the position.
Because the fretboard follows your selected tuning, it works the same way in Drop D, Whole Step Down or an open tuning. You can also send a key from a recorded song straight into the Ear Trainer from the Songs tool, so the neck lights up with the notes to solo with.
Chord ID works best on a full strum that is allowed to ring. Playing a single note or muting the strings quickly gives it little to work with. Strum all six strings, leave the chord ringing for a second or two, and keep the microphone close to the guitar in a quiet room.
Fretnook is free and runs in your browser. Your microphone audio and recordings stay on your device.