Pentaboard

Pentaboard is a musical instrument for Android phones and tablets. It includes a pentatonic layout, a two-octave chromatic piano, and drum pads. Pentaboard has no sign in, no ads or analytics, and works offline.

Sound first

Pentaboad prioritises instant sound. Choose a major or minor pentatonic scale in any root. Pitched surfaces include six synthesizer voices, 12-tone equal temperament and root-relative 5-limit just intonation. The Chords panel can expand pad and piano touches into triads, suspended chords and seventh chords. Layer keeps existing touches on the sound settings they started with while new touches use the current settings.

The recorder captures the app's stereo output as WAV and musical events as Standard MIDI. The state can also export a snapshot of controls and loops.

Songs later

Four loop slots record pitched notes and drum events. Each slot can use a free, one-, two- or four-bar length and can follow the shared tempo or use its captured tempo. Loop controls include undo, overdub, launch timing, 1/16 Snap, and Locked or Follow playback.

Cascade repeats held notes in Up, Down, Bounce or Random order. Four built-in drum patterns and one editable 16-step Beat Lab pattern run on the shared clock. Generated Cascade and drum-pattern events can also be recorded into a loop.