Tonality: Music Theory

I know I reviewed this app already since I love it so much but didn’t see the review, so here we go again… this app is a full database of all the music theory you might need both generally or even more specifically for piano or guitar. If that wasn’t enough there are 4 AUv3 apps inside this one app. I use the app and the AU’s all the time. The chord pad Au is phenomenal. Completely customizable AU midi pads to setup and play instruments inside any DAW/Host on iOS. You can auto generate chords/notes from a scale or completely customize each pad, resize the grid, basically… all the features. The chord/scale identification is very helpful for figuring out what you’re playing or a midi file. The circle of fifths is another Au midi chord pad type app but based around the circle of fifths and chord inversions. This is one of the best bang for your buck apps on the App Store. You get so much useful knowledge and 4 Audio Units inside one app, for a very very fair price, considering how much is inside this thing. Can’t recommend it enough. Amazing. Cheers!

Wanted to update my review. Previously, as a Garageband user, I didn’t feel I could get a lot out of the app. I appreciated it for what it could do, it just couldn’t do much for me. Now, I feel like I have access to an infinite midi pack. :) While the learning curve is still a little over my head, being able to hear audio from the app via Soundfonts is a game changer for me and the midi export means I can create a progression using chords that SOUND like I want and bring those into Garageband. I’m probably not making full use of the app as I don’t use AUM and I don’t perform, but I just created my first beat in Garageband using chords from the app and I’m happy! UPDATE: I used Chord ID on a tune I’d tried in other tools (Stir & Mix, Scratchin’ Melodii). Other tools couldn’t quite result in a collection of notes that sounded like what I was hearing (especially on 5 and 6 of the progression). Chord ID actually captured some critical discordant notes which finally matched the sound I hear. I know this may not be the expected use case for this tool, but I look forward to trying it on other tunes other apps couldn’t handle :)

This app fits perfectly into a few of my workflows. Keep it open on my phone next to the keyboard when I’m writing songs; the chord ID is so useful! I’m a guitar player but have been enjoying trying to write on piano. Often will accidentally stumble on a few keys that sound nice together and now I can get the name of the chord and if it’s 7th, sus, add 4...etc along with variation or inversions and a very straightforward diagram showing the combination of keys to play for each. It’s already helped so many times. And all has been a bonus, something I didn’t even know I needed. The main features I bought it for were chord pads I can customize and use in AUM and all the music theory info is right there so I can learn what I’m doing and experiment without stopping the jam. Lots more but I’m still learning what this app can do. The Developer seems to keep adding features to make MIDI setup smooth which shows me he’s got his finger on the pulse and this will be an app that continues to be excellent!