Choose whether altered notes display as sharps (C#, F#) or flats (Db, Gb).
Handedness
Mirror the fretboard for left-handed players. "Upside-down Lefty" is for lefties who play a right-handed guitar without restringing it — strings are reversed vertically.
Pick a color theme. Your choice applies everywhere — on screen, in exports, and in print.
Save the current page to a file on your computer, or load a previously saved page back in. Files use the .gscale extension and can be organized in folders however you like (e.g. a Students folder with a subfolder per student).
A .gscale file holds the entire page — every fretboard, its title, dots, fingerings, mutes, sequences, and the page title. Settings like theme and handedness stay on your browser and aren't included in the file.
Board Controls
Key
The root note (C, D, E, etc.). Root positions are highlighted in the accent color so students can see them at a glance.
Scale
Pick a scale and the board auto-fills with every note of that scale across all visible frets. Choose "Custom" to start from a blank board.
Position
Once a scale is picked, you can isolate one CAGED position (Pos 1 – Pos 5 for pentatonic, up to 7 for diatonic). Only the notes in that position's hand window are shown.
Chord
Drops a full chord voicing onto the board. Open chords, barre chords (6th- and 5th-string root at every fret), 7ths, sus, and power chords are included. Strings marked X auto-mute.
Overlay
Layers a chord on top of the current scale. Chord tones that also appear in the scale get a gold ring; chord tones that aren't in the scale show as hollow gold circles. Great for "here's the Am chord living inside this scale."
Labels
What appears on each dot: None, Note Names (C, D, E…), Intervals (R, b3, 5…), or Sequence mode.
Export (checkbox)
Controls whether this specific board is included when you export. Uncheck boards you don't want in the final PNG/PDF. If nothing is checked, all boards export.
Clear
Resets this board to an empty Custom state.
Clear Sequence
Only appears in Sequence label mode. Removes all sequence dots and the connecting line without touching the rest of the board.
Delete (×)
Removes the entire fretboard from the page. Only appears when you have more than one board.
Clicking the Fretboard
Click a fret
Toggles a note dot on or off. Switches the board to Custom mode (so scale/chord filters don't overwrite your edit).
Shift + Click a dot
Cycles a finger number on it: 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → clear. Great for marking exact fingering.
Click a string label (e, B, G, D, A, E)
Mutes that string — an X appears next to the letter and the string dims. Click again to unmute. Placing a dot on a muted string unmutes it automatically.
Sequence mode (Labels: Sequence)
Click dots in the order you want the student to play them. A green line draws between each. Click the last dot to remove it from the path. Shift + click any dot to delete it entirely.
Frets
Remove a fret
Click the leftmost or rightmost fret number to remove that end. Fret 0 (open) can also be removed this way.
Add a fret
Click the dashed "+" button at either end of the fret numbers. The board supports up to 24 frets.
Page & Fretboards
Page Title
The big editable title at the top (e.g. "Chords for your song"). Appears on all exports and covers the whole page.
Board Title
The smaller title on each fretboard card (e.g. "A Minor Pentatonic — Position 1"). Each board has its own.
+ Add Fretboard
Adds a new empty fretboard below the current ones. Great for stacking multiple positions or chords on one handout.
New
Clears the whole page and resets to a single fresh C Major board. Also wipes the URL parameters so a reload stays fresh.
Export
Copy Image
Puts a PNG of all checked boards onto your clipboard. Paste into an email, doc, or chat.
Download PNG
Saves the same image as a .png file.
Print / PDF
Opens the browser's print dialog. Choose "Save as PDF" as the destination to get a PDF file.
Share URL
Copies a URL that restores the full state of the page — every board, every dot, the page title, and the labels. Share it in a message or bookmark for later.
Settings
Sharps / Flats
Switches how altered notes are displayed (C# vs Db). Applies everywhere globally.
Handedness
Right-handed is the standard view. Left-handed mirrors the fretboard — nut on the right, strings in normal order. Upside-down Lefty is for lefties who play a right-handed guitar without restringing; nut is on the right and strings are flipped vertically.
Themes
Six color palettes: Midnight, Slate, Light, Sepia, High Contrast, Blueprint. Light and Sepia are print-friendly.
Feedback
Send bug reports, feature requests, or questions. Open your email app, open Gmail in a new tab, or copy the message to your clipboard.
Send feedback, bug reports, or feature requests to GameDesignerJoe@gmail.com. Pick whichever option works — your default mail client, Gmail in a new tab, or copy to paste anywhere.