The longer the box, the longer you hold the button!
Simple Synth
Generate a drum loop and play the synth alongside it. Pick a key, choose a sound style, hit play on the drum machine, and start jamming.
Features
Key & Mode: Choose from all 12 keys and toggle between Major (bright, happy) and Minor (dark, moody) modes. The entire keyboard remaps automatically.
Sound Styles: 11 synth voices — Warm Pad, Electric Piano, Synth Lead, Deep Bass, Crystal, Organ, Saxophone, Vaporwave, Airy, Pluck, and Strings. Each has its own tone character.
Chord Hold: Controls how long chords ring out after you release. At 0 the sound cuts immediately. At 5 it fades slowly over several seconds — great for lush, sustained pads.
Note Hold: Same as chord hold but for individual notes. Set independently so you can have short staccato notes over long sustained chords, or vice versa.
Chords (left side): 7 chord buttons corresponding to the scale degrees (I through VII). Holding a chord plays all three notes of the triad together.
Notes (right side): 7 individual note buttons for the scale. Use these for melodies, riffs, and lead lines over the top of chords.
Drum Machine: Expand the drum panel to build a beat. 6 instruments (Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Clap, Maraca, 808) across a 16-step grid. Adjust tempo and swing to taste, or hit the dice to randomize a pattern.
Touch & Mouse: Designed for touch screens — press and hold keys, slide between them. Works with mouse click-and-drag too.
Making It Sound Good
Start simple: hold a chord on the left, then pick individual notes on the right over the top of it.
Try the classic 1-5-4 or 1-4-5-4 chord progressions. In any key, these just work.
Match your playing to the drum tempo. Let the beat guide your rhythm.
Use notes from the same chord you're holding. For example, if you're on chord 1, notes 1, 3, and 5 will always sound right.
Walking up or down through adjacent notes (1-2-3 or 7-6-5) creates smooth melodic lines.
Try minor mode for moodier, darker sounds. Major mode is brighter and more upbeat.
Leave space. Not every beat needs a note. Silence makes the notes you do play hit harder.
Goes Together
Every chord is built by stacking thirds — skip a note in the scale, take the next. Chord 1 contains notes 1-3-5, chord 2 contains 2-4-6, and so on. Notes a third apart (like 1 and 3) blend smoothly. Notes a fifth apart (like 1 and 5) sound open and powerful. These two intervals are the backbone of harmony.
Tension & Resolution
Tension builders: Chord 5 and chord 7 pull the hardest — they want to move. Note 7 leans toward 1. Note 4 played over chord 1 hangs in the air, wanting to drop to 3.
Resolution: Chord 5 → 1 is the strongest release in music. Chord 4 → 1 is softer and final. Note 7 → 1 and note 4 → 3 resolve tension instantly.
The cycle: Build tension with 2 → 5, then release on 1. Stretch it longer: 6 → 2 → 5 → 1. The longer the buildup, the bigger the payoff.
Chords — Best Next Chord
For each chord, the best chords to move to, ranked from strongest match to most distant:
1→
456327
2→
547613
3→
641572
4→
516273
5→
164372
6→
452137
7→
135246
Notes — Best Blend
For each note, the notes that harmonize best with it. The first two are always the third and the fifth — the core of its chord:
1→
33rd55th6427
2→
43rd65th7531
3→
53rd75th1642
4→
63rd15th2753
5→
73rd25th3164
6→
13rd35th4275
7→
23rd45th5316
Chord Progressions to Try
1 - 5 - 6 - 4 — The most popular progression in modern pop. Works in both major and minor.
1 - 4 - 5 - 4 — Classic rock and folk. Simple and driving.
6 - 4 - 1 - 5 — Same chords as 1-5-6-4 but starting on the 6th. Gives a minor feel in a major key.
2 - 5 - 1 — Jazz standard ii-V-I. Short and satisfying resolution.
1 - 5 - 6 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 4 - 5 — Pachelbel's Canon. A longer cycle with a beautiful descending bass line feel.
1 - 3 - 4 - 4 — Common in indie and alternative. The jump to 3 adds a lift before settling on 4.
1 - 4 - 6 - 5 — Great for ambient and chill. Gentle motion that loops well.
4 - 5 - 3 - 6 — Royal road progression (popular in J-pop and anime). Bright and emotional.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Chords: Q W E R (1-4), S D F (5-7) Notes: U I O P (1-4), J K L (5-7)
Inspired by the Gamma Mini Synth from this.is.NOISE inc. Simple Synth can be a helpful on-the-go practice tool for Gamma Mini Synth users — the layout, key mapping, and chord/note structure mirror the real device, so anything you work out here translates directly to the hardware.