Instrumaps
Instrumaps
About the developer

Instrumaps

Don't study theory.
Play with it.

The fastest way to understand music is to make some. Play, listen, experiment, and watch the theory map itself out.

Open the SynthExplore Harmonica Lab
♪♭♫♯♬♩DEFGABC

Learn

Genres, scales, history, cousins, and the people and songs behind them.

Genres
What makes a genre sound like itself — layer by layer
Open
Scales
How scales and modes are built — see it, hear it, play it
Open
Concepts
A playable glossary of the music-theory terms behind the app
Open
Musical History
Where the sounds came from — sourced, quoted, and linked
Open
History Map
Beta
A world map of music history — click a place, hear its story
Open
Artists
The musicians behind the music — bios, songs, and histories
Open
Songs
Landmark recordings — hear them, open them, trace them back
Open
Cousins
One melody, many lives — rearrangements, translations, folk variants
Open
Languages
Browse genres, songs, and words by the language they speak
Open

Instruments

Playable instruments — press a note and hear the theory.

WebSynth
Web-based synthesizer keyboard
Open
Harmonica Lab
Position guide & theory for diatonic harmonica
Open

Tools

Studios for writing, editing, and arranging.

Piano Roll
Beta
Draw, play, and edit melodies on a piano roll
Open
Drum machine
Soon
Beats, rhythm, and groove tools are on the way.

Music history map

Where the sounds live

Explore the map

Music history happened in places — many with names no modern map shows. Blues and klezmer are mapped so far, from the Mississippi Delta to the Pale of Settlement; click any place for its story.