Songwriting, scales & music theory — built around the circle of fifths.
Tonaly helps you write songs, master scales, and finally make sense of music theory. Visual, interactive, and built for guitarists, pianists, producers, and every musician in between.
** #1 Music App in over 20 countries **
** Loved by 250.000+ musicians **
WRITE SONGS THAT WORK
Pick chords from the circle of fifths and combine them into songs that sound great. See how chords connect, change keys instantly, and export your ideas as MIDI to Ableton, Logic, or GarageBand.
LEARN SCALES VISUALLY
Master scales on guitar, piano, bass, ukulele, violin, viola, or cello — with left-hand mode. From major and minor to Dorian, Mixolydian, and 80+ additional scales.
UNDERSTAND MUSIC THEORY
See how keys, chords, and scales connect — instead of memorizing rules. Roman numerals, Nashville numbers, intervals, and chord structures, all explained visually.
FOR EVERY MUSICIAN
Whether you're starting out, finishing your first song, or teaching students — Tonaly adapts to your level and instrument.
KEY FEATURES
- Interactive circle of fifths
- 80+ scales and modes
- 7 instruments with multiple tunings
- MIDI and PDF leadsheet export
- Song templates (Pop, Jazz, Blues & more)
- Time signatures: 4/4, 3/4, 6/8, 7/8, 5/8
- Transposed playback for Bb and Eb instruments
- Color themes including a color blind theme
- German note names (H/B)
- iCloud sync
- Left-hand mode
START FREE
Tonaly offers a free trial – cancel anytime.
Privacy Policy: https://tonaly.app/privacy/app
Terms of Service: https://tonaly.app/legal/terms-of-service
This app is fantastic for writing and integrating music theory. It is very well thought out and the deeper you go into it the more powerful it becomes. I would like to be able to change chord once per beat in certain instances. The app is restricted to two chords per bar and that can be a little frustrating. However overall it is fantastic value. I would not want to be without it. Unlike some apps it allows you to produce music without being too ‘paint by numbers’. It provides a great starting point and can comprehensively expand your musicality the more you use it. It is my secret weapon and I don’t want to share it. However this app deserves sharing and the developer deserves all the success he can get for this. It is a Labour of love and it shows!. Oh and the recent update has a template feature which is awesome!. I am a fan.
Developer Response
Thank you for your review! Long-term, it's planned to add more than two chords per bar. A workaround, for now, is to set the tempo double in order to have faster chord changes... Not perfect, but it's working 😉
Fantastic app, very well thought out
Osuosu
I came across this app via an advert on Instagram and, while I’m always sceptical about purchasing through a social media ad, this app has blown me away. It’s so well thought out and designed. I’ve been writing film music for a long time but chord sequences are always tricky to get right as there are so many options. This app is going to be very useful in solving that and providing me different ideas to further develop in my DAW. I immediately bought the two add-ons as they will also be useful for practising scales and exporting my songs. Excellent work, congrats to Christian for a brilliantly useful app.
Developer Response
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback!
Just one issue...
McDrrrm
I really like this app. It’s beautifully designed with an easy elegant workflow. I’ve tried a bunch of similar apps and this is the stand-out of the bunch.There’s just one issue that stopped me giving it five stars — and other people might not be bothered by it at all. The issue is this: it comes with a handful of useful scales, but many of the scales you’d probably want to use — common scales like the pentatonic, etc. only come as part of an inter-app purchase.The add on isn’t expensive and I’d be happy to pay a higher price for an app that included the other scales, but the way it is at the moment I feel like the app is crippled when you buy it, so you’re manipulated into buying the add-on. Just sell the whole thing for one price and it’s a solid five star app.
Developer Response
Hey! Thanks for the feedback! I try to keep the app as clean and easy to use as possible. Most users don’t need that many scales and that is why I’m trying to keep the app price low for the basic features which suit most users of the app. For more experienced user which are hungry for more I’m offering the optional In-App purchase... ✌️
My favourite song writing tool
spacebecky
I never normally write app reviews but felt compelled to come on here and say how much this tool improves my songwriting.Normally, I bang out a rough tune on the piano.Then I put all the rough chords into Tonally and listen really closely whilst humming the tune. I always find I can make some tweaks to the chord progression to get it just right.Then I export the midi from Tonally into Logic or GarageBand and can feel confident I don’t need to mess around more with the chord structure in the DAW.Can wait to see new features in the future (I guess 4 chord changes per bar is my top pick).
Developer Response
Awesome! Thanks for your review!
Again some minor updates to keep everything running smoothly while you write and practice.
The app is updated regularly. Suggestions? Reach out to: support@tonaly.app
Version 3.8.4
The developer, Christian Hengst Daniels, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Used to Track You
The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:
Identifiers
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Purchases
Location
Identifiers
Usage Data
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Diagnostics
Other Data
Privacy practices may vary based, for example, on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
