Professional chord, scale, mode, and progression charts for pad controllers and string instruments — see exactly which pads or frets to play, then tune with a free chromatic mic tuner. Powerful studio tools, free on GitHub Pages: no ads, no account, no fuss.
Built for people with gear like:
- Akai MPD218, MPD226, LPD8, MPC pads, and similar 4×4 / 2×4 controllers
- Korg nanoPAD / nanoPAD2
- Other MPC-style and grid pad controllers with 8 or 16 pads
…and also for string players: guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, violin, viola, cello, and double bass.
The idea is simple. Many of these instruments are isomorphic — once you learn a shape, you can move it to play in another key. IsoPad Studio Pro shows those shapes as charts you can hear, save into songs, and print. New to that idea? Browse a chord or scale and click to hear it. Already deep into theory? There’s a large library of qualities, modes, and stock progressions by genre.
Nothing to install. Works in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.
Need to tune before you play? Hit Tuner in the header — a chromatic mic tuner runs entirely in your browser on this free GitHub Pages site. No ads. No account. No fuss. Audio never leaves your machine.
Source and issues: github.com/wsams/isopadstudio
| Mode | Good for |
|---|---|
| 4×4 (16 pads) | Akai MPD218 / MPD226, MPC-style pads, and similar |
| 2×4 (8 pads) | Akai LPD8, single nanoPAD bank |
| 2×6 (12 pads) | Wide 2-row pad controllers |
| 2×8 (dual 2×4) | Korg nanoPAD2 — two 2×4 banks side by side (same 16 notes as 4×4) |
| Strings | Guitar, bass, uke, mando, banjo, violin family, plus Chinese (pipa, erhu, zhongruan, guzheng), Japanese (shamisen, koto), and Middle Eastern (oud, bağlama, setar, tar). Double bass uses a vertical Simandl fingerboard. |
Pick your instrument in the header. Pads light up on a grid; strings show fretboard / fingerboard charts. Map your own pad notes or open-string tuning. Songs can use a chord capo and a separate scale capo.
For walkthroughs and more screenshots, see the User manual.
For architecture, data shapes, UI contracts, and agent instructions, see SPECS.md (keep it updated when behavior changes).
Same scale on Pads · 4×4, then Strings · Guitar, plus the Tuner popup (mic stays in your browser). More walkthroughs: User manual.
- Tuner — free chromatic mic tuner in the header (A4 = 440 Hz); no ads, mic stays in the browser
- Pads editor — assign note + octave to every pad (defaults: chromatic from C3; piano middle C is C4)
- String instruments — guitar, basses, uke, mandolin, banjo, violin family; fretboard charts + editable tuning; disable strings for treble-only voicings or a broken string. Double bass is a vertical Simandl chart (Full or Focus view; Neck + thumb or one board; positions ½–VII; Solo F♯BEA preset)
- Capo — song-level chord capo; separate scale capo for leads / overlay
- Chord library — triads through jazz extensions; pad lights or fret diagrams
- Scales & modes — lights every in-scale pad, or a scale box on the fingerboard with note names in each dot
- Progressions — 60+ stock progressions grouped by genre
- Song Builder — sections of progressions, tempo, looping preview, scale overlay, print
- Pad / string player — Library selection loads on the live grid so you can play each note; optional transpose
- Pad layouts — 4×4, 2×4, 2×6, and dual 2×8 (nanoPAD2); each keeps its own pad map
A modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge). That’s it if you’re using the hosted app.
To run a local copy from this repo, serve the folder over HTTP (don’t open index.html as a file:// URL — browsers often block audio or storage that way).
cd isopadstudio
python3 -m http.server 8000Open http://localhost:8000. Stop with Ctrl+C.
cd /path/to/isopadstudio
python3 -m http.server 8000Visit http://localhost:8000. Install Python from python.org or brew install python if needed.
cd path\to\isopadstudio
python -m http.server 8000If that fails, try py -m http.server 8000. Visit http://localhost:8000.
cd /path/to/isopadstudio
python3 -m http.server 8000npx --yes serve -l 8000
php -S localhost:8000
ruby -run -ehttpd . -p8000Or host the folder on Apache, nginx, GitHub Pages, Netlify, etc. — no backend or build step.
See the User manual for screenshots and walkthroughs. Short version:
Use 4×4 / 2×4 in the header. The badge shows 16 or 8. Pick a string instrument from the dropdown when you want fretboard charts.
Open the Pads tab and set what each pad plays. Maps are stored per layout in localStorage. In string mode this tab is Tuning.
- Choose root, Chords or Scales, and a formula; click the chart to hear it.
- Open Pad Player — that selection stays highlighted so you can tap each note on the live grid.
- Add to Song when you want it in a progression.
Preview looping progressions, add them as sections, set tempo, overlay a scale, save and print.
isopadstudio/
├── index.html
├── app.css
├── app.js
├── lib/music.js # Shared pad/chord math (tested)
├── lib/strings.js # String instruments, capo, fingerings
├── progressions.js
├── screenshots/ # Used by MANUAL.md and README hero shots
├── test/ # node:test suite (`npm test`)
├── README.md
├── MANUAL.md # User guide + screenshot gallery
├── SPECS.md # Architecture + agent contracts (update with code)
├── LICENSE
└── CONTRIBUTING.md
npm test # unit + smoke tests (required before release)
npm run release # tests, then semantic-release (CI does this on main)With the factory chromatic-from-C3 map on 4×4:
C4 C#4 D4 D#4 ← top
E3 F3 F#3 G3
G#3 A3 A#3 B3
C3 C#3 D3 D#3 ← Pad 1 = C3 (bottom-left)
2×4 is the bottom two rows of that idea (C3–G3 by default).
You can replace any of those assignments in the Pads tab — they do not have to be chromatic or contiguous.
Songs, layout choice, and pad maps stay in your browser (localStorage). Nothing is uploaded.
MIT — see LICENSE.
Pushes to main run semantic-release via GitHub Actions. Use Conventional Commits:
| Commit prefix | Release |
|---|---|
fix: |
patch |
feat: |
minor |
feat!: / BREAKING CHANGE: |
major |
See CONTRIBUTING.md.
IsoPad Studio Pro is built and maintained by one person, with no sponsors and no ads — just a free professional tool on GitHub Pages.
If it helps your practice or gigs and you feel like saying thanks, you can buy me a coffee (or whatever keeps the late-night coding going):
Totally optional. Use the app either way — I’m glad you’re here.