SuperTime Ultra

Pitch drone for intonation and ear training

Hold a steady note or chord in your browser while you practise intonation and intervals. Set the root, octave, chord, waveform, filter and level.

A drone is a note that keeps sounding while you play against it. Choose a root and an octave, add chord tones if you want them, and leave it running while you practise scales, long tones or improvisation. Every note you play is heard against the same fixed pitch, which makes a sharp or flat note easier to notice. The drone runs in your browser and starts when you press Start Drone or pick a note.

What this tool includes

Any root across five octaves

Pick one of the 12 notes on the on-screen keyboard and move it up to two octaves down or up, from octave 2 to octave 6. Notes use equal temperament with A4 at 440 Hz.

One note or a chord

Hold the root on its own or add chord tones: major, minor, major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th, sus2, sus4 or diminished. The keyboard highlights every note that is sounding.

Tone controls

Choose a sawtooth, square, triangle or sine wave. Shape it with a filter cutoff from 200 Hz to 10,000 Hz, add chorus for width and set the output level.

Presets and shortcuts

Four practice presets change every setting at once, including a pure sine A for tuning checks. On a computer keyboard, the keys from A to J pick the root and Z and X change the octave.

How to use this tool

  1. Press Start Drone, or tap a note on the keyboard. Picking a note starts the drone if it is stopped.
  2. Use the octave buttons, from -2 to +2, to place the drone near the register you play in.
  3. Leave the harmony on Root for a single pitch, or choose a chord type to hear the chord tones together.
  4. Pick a waveform, then turn the Cutoff, Chorus and Level knobs until the drone sits under your instrument without covering it.
  5. Press Stop Drone when you finish. Reset to A Reference stops the drone and sets a plain sine A4.
  6. Your last settings are saved in this browser and come back on your next visit.

Practice tips

  • For intonation, play a slow scale over a single-note drone and hold each note. A rough, wavering sound usually means the note is out of tune against the drone.
  • Practise one interval at a time against the root, such as a fifth or a major third, before you move on to whole scales.
  • A sine or triangle wave with a lower cutoff is easier to tune against. A brighter sawtooth cuts through a loud instrument.
  • A minor 7th drone, as in the Modal D Min7 preset, gives you one chord to improvise over in a mode such as Dorian.
  • Keep the level low enough that you hear your own tone first.

Frequently asked questions

What is a drone used for in music practice?

A drone gives you a fixed pitch to compare against. Musicians use one to check intonation, to hear how each scale degree sounds against the tonic and to improvise over a single harmony. In Indian classical music the tanpura plays this role.

What pitch is the drone tuned to?

Notes use equal temperament with A4 at 440 Hz. The Pure A Reference preset plays A4 as a sine wave, a plain reference for tuning checks.

Can I play a chord instead of one note?

Yes. Choose Major, Minor, Maj7, Min7, Dom7, Sus2, Sus4 or Dim and the drone sounds those chord tones on the selected root. The keyboard shows which notes are included.

Does it work with a computer keyboard?

Yes. A, W, S, E, D, F, T, G, Y, H, U and J select C up to B, K selects C, and Z and X move the octave down and up. The shortcuts are ignored while you type in a form field.

Why can I not hear anything?

Browsers need a tap or click before audio can start. Press Start Drone, check that your device is not muted and turn up the Level knob if it is at zero.