Vocal Scales — Practice in Every Key with Pitch Feedback

How to Use Scale Generator

Choose a start root and an end root; the tool walks chromatically between them and, on each chromatic step, plays your chosen interval pattern above that root. Sing the same shape in every key, then use the Vocal Pitch page if you want a live pitch graph alongside.

Roots and octaves

• Start and End each use a pitch-class menu plus an octave menu. Octave choices follow playable sample limits for each letter name.
• The end root cannot be lower than the start: end note and octave options only include pitches at or above the start so the range always makes musical sense.
• Playback advances chromatically from start toward end; at each root the stacked intervals play in order, then the line moves to the next root (with a longer hold on the last note of each pass).
• Root range, selected intervals, BPM, and playback direction are saved in browser local storage when you change them.

Scale pattern (strip + degree chips)

The tool no longer treats intervals as a simple on/off set. You build an ordered pattern — the exact sequence played on every chromatic root in your range.

• Pattern strip — Shows each step left-to-right in play order. The same degree can appear more than once, in any order (e.g. 1-3-5-8-5-8-3-1 or 1-3-5-8-8-8-8). While audio runs, the active step is highlighted in the strip (filled background and border) so you can follow the degree you should sing.
• Insert caret — A vertical bar in the theme accent color marks where the next degree will be added. Click a step in the strip to move the caret after that step.
• Degree chips (palette) — Click a chip to insert that degree at the caret. If a degree appears more than once in the pattern, its chip shows a small ×N count.
• Reorder — Each step has ‹ and › buttons to move it one position earlier or later in the pattern.
• Remove — × on a step deletes only that occurrence. At least one 1 (root) must stay in the pattern.
• Preset… — Loads a named scale or arpeggio into the strip in one action (order preserved).
• Sort — Stable sort by pitch height: duplicate degrees keep their relative order; nothing is merged away.
• Reset — Clears the pattern to a single root 1.
• Preferences — Root range, full pattern sequence, BPM, and direction are saved in browser local storage.

Tempo

• Enter BPM directly in the number field (30–300), or tap the BPM display several times to set tempo from your taps (same idea as the Metronome page).
• Each pattern step is spaced one beat apart: beat length ≈ 60 000 ÷ BPM ms. Piano notes ring for one beat plus a short fixed release tail so steps connect cleanly without bleeding through the whole scale.
• The last note of each chromatic pass is held for four beats during the key gap (see below); count-in and gap clicks use the same beat length.

Playback direction

• Ascending — chromatic roots move upward only through your range.
• Descending — chromatic roots move downward only.
• Up then down — play up through the range, then descend without repeating the top root.
• Down then up — the reverse: descend first, then ascend from the far side.

Singing aids (count-in, key gap, status row)

• Count-in — Before the first scale: four count beats at your BPM (root preview on count 1), one silent beat, then the pattern starts on beat 5. While counting, Now shows Count 1/4 … Count 4/4.
• During the scale — A click on every pattern step at your BPM (stronger click on the first note of each key). Piano and click fire on the same beat. Now shows the pitch name; the matching pattern step stays highlighted through the last degree.
• Key gap — After the last note of each chromatic pass: that note is held for four beats with a click each beat. On gap beat 3 the upcoming root preview plays for two beats so it leads into the first pattern note of the next key (beat 5). Now reads: last pattern pitch (e.g. C4), then gap 2/4, gap 3/4, gap 4/4 — not the old note name on gap 4/4.
• Root / Now / Next — Root is the harmonic root for the current pass; Now is what you should focus on (note name or count/gap label); Next is the upcoming chromatic root before the next scale (also shown during count-in and key gap).
• Clicks use a light built-in tone in this tool only (not the Metronome page).

Transport and live edits

• Use the circular play / pause control to run or stop the sequence.
• While playing, you can add or remove pattern steps, apply a preset, Sort, Reset, or change direction. The note queue rebuilds for the new pattern but keeps your place (current chromatic root and next step index).
• Timing is preserved — The wait until the next note uses the same scheduled beat as before the edit, so BPM spacing does not jump or double-trigger when you change the pattern mid-run.
• BPM changes during playback also try to keep the remaining time to the next tick instead of restarting the bar from zero.

Audio and display

• Notes use short sampled piano clips in the browser (preloaded when possible for low latency). First play may initialize the audio context on some devices.
• Each step gets its own release timer tied to BPM, so notes do not stack across an entire scale; only the last note of a pass is lengthened through the key gap.
• The key-gap root preview is mixed on top without cutting the held last pattern note; when the next scale’s first pitch differs, the preview stops before that note plays.
• Open the Virtual Piano on the dashboard if you want to compare fingerings or check spellings against keys.

Vocal practice ideas

• Spend extra time on passaggio transitions — slow the BPM and narrow intervals until each hand-off is clean.
• Use daily rotation through keys as part of your warmup before repertoire.
• Keep the Vocal Pitch page open in another tab while you sing scales to see intonation on each degree.