An ear-first playground for guitarists and bassists. Break out of the pentatonic box, discover scales by sound, and own the whole fretboard. You don't take a lesson, you start playing.
Free in your browser on desktop · full app on iOS & Android
Developed with advice from Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry, Meshuggah, Kaipa) · featuring Per's original backing tracks
You didn't learn to talk from grammar. You won't learn the fretboard from diagrams. upScale flips the order, you hear it, sing it, see it, then play it. The neck becomes a consequence of your ear, and learning is the side effect of creating.
Hit a chord and the fretboard shows you exactly where to go. Chord tones glow, scale notes stay lit, the notes that clash fade back. Dare the grey ones and you hear why, that's how you learn.
Choose a vibe and upScale sets the root, scale, chords and tempo for you. Or tap Random Play and let one roll hand you a fresh scale, progression and groove. Inspiration before theory, every time.
Drop into a backing track and upScale lights up the right scale and the notes that work, live, as the music plays. No guessing the key, no wrong turns. When a section is tricky, loop it and drill it until it's yours.
No walls, no gatekeeping. The seven you already use sit up front. The colors and the wild stuff are one tap away, whenever your ear is ready for them.
| Tier | What it is | You'll find |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | The seven scales every player meets in their first years. | Major, Natural Minor, Pentatonics, Blues, Dorian, Mixolydian |
| Colors | Accessible sophistication, used in jazz, neo-soul and cinematic writing. | Melodic & Harmonic Minor and their modes, Lydian, Phrygian, Locrian |
| Wild | The experimental zone, where sounding strange is the whole point. | Double Harmonic, Neapolitan, Whole-Tone, Diminished, Hirajoshi, Bebop |
Tap any scale for its mood, its uses, and the scales it fits inside. Theory depth, only when you ask for it.
Prefer a big screen? Open upScale on desktop and play straight from your browser, free. The whole neck in one view, more frets, more room to see where everything sits.
upScale is shaped with working musicians, not generated content. It features Per Nilsson's original Fretboard Fighters backing tracks, and was developed with his advice.
A creative environment for guitar and bass, not a course. You explore scales, build progressions and improvise, and the theory sticks because you're playing, not studying.
No. You can start from a feeling and play in seconds. The theory, scale names, modes, chord qualities, is always there for when you want it, never in your way when you don't.
Both. The fretboard renders for 4 to 8 strings with any custom tuning, standard, drop or extended range.
Yes. Paying Per Nilsson Patreon members get free access to upScale. The exact access mechanism is being finalized for launch.
Yes, and it's free. upScale runs right in your browser on desktop, no install needed. The iOS and Android apps take it everywhere with you.
upScale is in private beta on iOS and Android. Join the list below and we'll let you in, with one email at launch and nothing else.
Join the list for the iOS and Android beta, or play free in your browser on desktop.
One email at launch. No spam, ever.
upScale