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Scales & Modes app for iPhone and iPad


4.0 ( 2880 ratings )
Music Education
Developer: Smappsoft
1.99 USD
Current version: 1.9.2, last update: 4 years ago
First release : 22 Feb 2010
App size: 22.7 Mb

Scales & Modes is an interactive visual and audio reference for the diatonic scales and modes that are fundamental in music theory. View major and minor modes on the musical staff, see fingerings for both keyboard and guitar, and listen to the scales note by note, in any key. Violin and bass guitar fingerings are also available as an in app purchase add on.

Diatonic musical scales and modes are one of the fundamental concepts of Western music theory. But the large number of scales makes learning and remembering them difficult. Scales & Modes is a handy mobile reference guide for viewing and listening to a large number scales and modes, including all the modes of the major, natural minor, and harmonic minor scales.

Select a root note and a scale to display the notes of the scale on the musical staff, and click “Play Scale” to listen. Select the Keyboard or Guitar tabs (or Violin and Bass after an in app purchase) to view fingering diagrams for the scale on those instruments, and press the info button to see more detail about constructing the scale.

Pros and cons of Scales & Modes app for iPhone and iPad

Scales & Modes app good for

Its a great app, well done and has complete functions. 1,99$ is a bit expansive though...
This app is very simple and straight-forward, but it helped me a lot to learn after some more extensive reading. Very good, honest and cheap!!!!
Im a casual learner, I work this into my spare time whenever my computers busy with a rendering task. Given my novice status, this app is simple with a high volume of information - the same as a Big Gag Book of Scales, but phone-sized. The interface is easy to read and condensed. I love this app, and I wish they continued to make it for iPad Pro and iPhone6. Very handy.
Thanks for this! Its just what I needed to practice my vocals with. I have been teaching a guitar method using these scales for years and will recommend to my students and anyone wanting to learn these scales. Suggestion to add practice mode utilizing a pre programmed circle of fifths based on root note. That would be great for a fast paced daily excessive.
Its good for what it does, but overall it is inferior to the Nota app, which has many more scales, and has chords and stuff. I have both of these apps and I feel I would have been just as good without this one. But, if all you are looking for is scales and modes, by all means grab this.
This is a nice app. It gives me the information I need (mainly what notes are in a key) in a fast and clean manner. It would be nice if I could select a bass guitar.

Some bad moments

Not worth a 1.99. Search engine your Scales n modes instead. No outstanding features out functions
Really annoyed at this purchase! It is my fault that I bought the wrong version (I found TUAWs article which showed images of the iPad version but linked to the iPhone version. WTF?), but this rating is a vote against the way the developer made exactly the same program for iPhone and iPad but is charging separately. Its an identical app as far as I can tell, only scaled up for iPad (which is the one I wanted). Why should I have to buy it twice to have it on 2 devices which I own?!? Bad form on the developers part! This is a perfect example of greedy developer practices which are bad for users. As a user affected by this bad practice, Im rating 1-star. PS - I wish the sounds played more smoothly. Listening to a progression up a scale/mode is jarring when the audio insists on pausing no matter how fast the tempo. It makes it very awkward.
What about the Half diminished and diminished scales? So sorry your font is too frilly and uncomfortable to read.
Good concept but other programs have substantially more scales. Where are the octatonic, diminished, and whole tone scales? Where are the exotic scales from hungary and asia? Until this gets more content I cant rate this higher. Get the planet waves scale app instead.
It wont let me guess the scale it brings up the choice selection but doesnt have the guess button. Waste of 2 bucks