Staffsight
See what you playLearn to read music by seeing what you play. Play a note on your saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, French horn or flute and watch it appear on the staff, written the way it looks on your sheet music, so the notes on the page and the notes under your fingers start to connect.
More options
Low register
Middle register (octave key)
Palm keys and up
Fingerings in this scale
Notes are shown as written for the selected instrument, which is what you see on your sheet music. The concert (sounding) pitch is shown underneath. Hold a note steadily for it to be added to the staff.
How to use it
- Choose your instrument from the list.
- Press Start listening and allow microphone access.
- Play and hold a note. It appears on the staff, and the meter shows whether you're in tune.
Note drill
Switch to Note drill to practise the other direction: Staffsight shows a note and you play it. Hold the right note and you move on; play a wrong one and it shows you what you played. If you get stuck, or press Hint, it tells you the note name and, for saxophones, shows the fingering. Notes you miss come back more often. Start at level 1 (notes on the staff) and work up to your instrument's full range.
Scales and fingerings
The Scales tab walks you through any major, minor, pentatonic, blues, chromatic or modal scale one note at a time, written for your instrument. Choose one octave, two octaves or the full range, step through with Prev and Next to hear each note at concert pitch, or press Play scale to hear it all. Show whole scale draws every note on the staff, with a key signature or accidentals on the notes.
For saxophones, each note also shows its fingering, including common alternates such as bis, 1 + 1 and side B♭, side C and fork F♯. The Fingerings tab is a complete chart from low B♭ to high F♯. Sax fingerings are the same for soprano, alto, tenor and baritone. Use ← and → to step through notes and the space bar to play a scale.
Practising sight reading with Staffsight
Sight reading is about linking three things instantly: the note on the page, the fingering, and the sound. Staffsight closes that loop by showing you, in real time, where the note you just played sits on the staff.
- Play a scale slowly and watch it climb the staff. Say each note name as it appears.
- Learn the ledger lines. Play your lowest and highest notes and see exactly how they're written.
- Check yourself. Look at a note in your music, play it, and see if Staffsight shows the same note.
- Play a tune by ear, then look at the staff to see how it would be written down.
Everything runs in your browser. Audio from your microphone is analysed on your device and never uploaded.
Why is the note different from other tuners?
Most tuners show concert pitch, the note that actually sounds. Many band instruments are transposing instruments: their music is written at a different pitch from the one they produce. When an alto sax player reads and fingers a C, the note that sounds is the E♭ below it. A normal tuner would say “E♭”, which is confusing when your music says C. Staffsight shows the written note, so it matches your fingering and your sheet music.
Transpositions
| Instrument | Key | Written note sounds… |
|---|---|---|
| Flute, oboe, violin | C | as written |
| Piccolo | C | an octave higher |
| Clarinet, trumpet, cornet, soprano sax | B♭ | a major 2nd lower |
| Alto sax | E♭ | a major 6th lower |
| French horn | F | a perfect 5th lower |
| Tenor sax, bass clarinet, treble-clef euphonium | B♭ | a major 9th lower |
| Baritone sax | E♭ | an octave and a major 6th lower |
Tips for accurate readings
Use it in a fairly quiet room and hold each note steadily for a moment. If notes aren't picked up, raise the sensitivity; if background noise is showing up as notes, lower it. Headphones aren't needed. Your phone or laptop's built-in microphone works fine.