Frethammer is a free, browser-based tool for writing, hearing, and exporting riffs — no install, no account, nothing saved on a server. Tabs, chords, scales, and drum patterns, all in one place, all playable out loud, right up until you're ready to drop it into a DAW.

What it does

Tab Editor — Write riffs in real rhythmic notation, not a fixed grid. Any time signature, any note length down to the beat, with proper beaming. Works for guitar (6/7/8-string, any tuning you want) or a full drum kit.

Chord Lab — Click frets on the fretboard to identify what you're holding, or work the other way: pick a scale, a tonic, and which notes to stack, and Frethammer hands you real, playable fingerings — inversions, neck positions, and all.

Scale Explorer — Lay out any scale across the fretboard or keyboard and hear it played back — the seven modes, harmonic and melodic minor, pentatonics, whole tone, diminished, and more. It'll also show you every other scale hiding in the same notes.

Piano — The same chord-building and scale tools, on a keyboard instead of a fretboard.

Tone shaping — Clean, crunch, lead, acoustic, or palm-muted guitar; grand, electric, or bright piano. All synthesized, dialed in per riff.

MIDI export — Every tab, chord, and arpeggio can be downloaded as a .mid file.

How to use it

1. Start in the Tab Editor. Set your time signature, tempo, and string count/tuning. Click a note-length icon under a measure to drop in a note, then set which frets ring at that beat. Hit Play.

2. Build chords in the Chord Lab. Click frets to see what chord you're playing — or use the Chord Generator: pick a scale, a root, and which tones to stack, and browse the fingerings it finds.

3. Explore scales. Switch to Scale Explorer, pick a root and scale type, and see — and hear — every note laid out across the neck.

4. Do it again on piano. The Piano tab mirrors the Chord Lab, same tools, keys instead of frets.

5. Export when it's ready. Every tab, chord, and arpeggio has its own Export MIDI button.