Build chords & scales, identify from notes, or Ask in plain English. Instant music theory for practice.
Functional Harmony is a fast music theory desk for players and students.
Build chords and scales from a root and quality. Identify harmony from notes. Or just Ask—type a chord, scale, or note stack in plain English and jump straight to the answer.
SCALE FINDER
• Choose a root and scale quality—major, minor, modes, pentatonic, and more
• See every degree spelled clearly for practice and ear training
• Perfect when you need a quick scale finder without flipping textbooks
CHORD BUILDER & CHORD ID
• Spell major, minor, sevenths, suspended, augmented, diminished, and more
• Stack notes in the Notes tab to identify chords and intervals (reverse lookup)
• Piano-friendly note entry with accidentals—great as a chord identifier
ASK
• Natural-language queries: “C major 7”, “F# dorian”, “C E G”
• Live preview before you open Chords, Scales, or Notes
• Built for homework, rehearsals, and songwriting sessions
WHY FUNCTIONAL HARMONY
• Chords, scales, and note identification in one app
• Clean, bottom-anchored controls designed for one-handed practice
• No accounts, no clutter—just theory when you need it
Whether you call it a scale finder, chord identifier, or harmony lab, Functional Harmony keeps tonal music theory at your fingertips.
This is going to be a great app for some of my more advanced private students who I’m wanting to work on music theory with. Right now, I have only a few small issues with it that I’d like to see improved in future versions:The melodic minor only shows the way up, and not down. Being an amateur programmer, I can see that this would be a difficult feature to add in, though.I’d love to have key signatures showing as well, with naturals or other accidentals showing for minor keys and keys that you might expect them, such as octatonic.The ability to hear the scales and chords would be an excellent feature to incorporate in the future as well, although I know that feature would be a lot more work.For what this app does at the present, definitely 5 stars: really helpful as a teaching aid.
Developer Response
Thank you for the tips and ideas! I will certainly look to add these types of features soon!
Uh. It’s.. pretty much perfect.
MaybeThatOneGuy
If have any interest in making music, just stop wasting your time quit reading this, & download this application.It’s actually very quick & convenient; If you check reviews of apps such as this, Then presume you will like it, as well.
A very accessible music theory learning app!
Angela_KM4FCF
As a Voiceover user, I find this app and the Vivace Theory app to be FULLY accessible! There are ZERO ambiguities in terms of the labeling of the buttons! My only suggestion is that in the Chords tab, you add the ability to make inversions. But other than that, EXCELLENT APP!
Great app for Learning Music Theory
jqb the dude
As a relative novice in music theory and chord progression I have found this app to be invaluable for my development and growth in this area.
What's new in Functional Harmony:
• Notes — identify chords and intervals from note stacks
• Ask — type natural-language queries (chords, scales, or notes) with live preview
• Clearer Chords & Scales layout with bottom-anchored controls
• Smarter parsing (scale queries, major-minor 7ths)
• Design polish: consistent radii, spacing, and snappier animations
Now named Functional Harmony — your desk for building and identifying harmony.
Version 2.0.0
The developer, Dylan Shade, 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 Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based 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
Information
Seller
Dylan Shade
Size
24.7 MB
Category
Music
Compatibility
Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 18.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 15.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
