diff --git a/.Jules/palette.md b/.Jules/palette.md
index b6f5d5bf..ef81abe8 100644
--- a/.Jules/palette.md
+++ b/.Jules/palette.md
@@ -29,3 +29,7 @@
 ## 2024-07-01 - Testing components with focusable disabled button wrappers
 **Learning:** When native disabled buttons are wrapped in a focusable `span` to provide accessible tooltips, tests that previously found and clicked the `button` (by temporarily removing the `disabled` attribute) may fail or become overly complex. It is cleaner and more accurate to query the wrapper element (e.g. via its `title`) and fire events on it, reflecting the actual accessible DOM structure.
 **Action:** When testing UI components that wrap disabled buttons in a focusable span for accessibility (e.g., using a tooltip/title), use `screen.getByTitle(...)` to query the wrapper element for interactions like `fireEvent.click` rather than `screen.getByRole('button')`.
+
+## 2024-07-02 - Accessible tooltips for disabled native buttons
+**Learning:** Wrapped natively disabled buttons in a `span role="button"` to attach a tooltip and bypass the pointer-event block causes invalid HTML and creates nested interactive elements, which harms screen reader accessibility and violates ARIA standards.
+**Action:** To make disabled buttons accessible and their tooltips functional, do NOT wrap them in a `span role="button"` or apply `aria-hidden="true"` to the nested button. Instead, use the native `<button>` element, remove the HTML `disabled` and `pointer-events-none` attributes, apply `aria-disabled="true"`, block clicks with `onClick={(e) => e.preventDefault()}`, and place the `title` attribute directly on the button. Ensure visual disabled states are maintained via `opacity` and `cursor-not-allowed`.
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/App.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/App.test.tsx
index c039dfba..8ef2f67d 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/App.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/App.test.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { act, fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { act, createEvent, fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { App } from "./App";
 
@@ -1405,8 +1405,10 @@ describe("App", () => {
 
   it("does nothing when Save Project is clicked but there is no jobResult", () => {
     render(<App />);
-    const saveSpan = screen.getByTitle("Analyze a song to enable saving");
-    fireEvent.click(saveSpan);
+    const saveButton = screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Save Project" });
+    const event = createEvent.click(saveButton);
+    fireEvent(saveButton, event);
+    expect(event.defaultPrevented).toBe(true);
     expect(mockSaveProject).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
@@ -1427,10 +1429,20 @@ describe("App", () => {
   });
 
 
-  it("renders disabled Settings and Help buttons as focusable spans for accessibility", () => {
+  it("renders disabled Settings and Help buttons accessibly without span wrappers", () => {
     render(<App />);
-    const settingsSpan = screen.getByTitle("Settings coming soon");
-    expect(settingsSpan).toHaveAttribute("tabIndex", "0");
-    expect(settingsSpan).toHaveAttribute("role", "button");
+    const settingsButton = screen.getByTitle("Settings coming soon");
+    expect(settingsButton.tagName).toBe("BUTTON");
+    expect(settingsButton).toHaveAttribute("aria-disabled", "true");
+    const settingsEvent = createEvent.click(settingsButton);
+    fireEvent(settingsButton, settingsEvent);
+    expect(settingsEvent.defaultPrevented).toBe(true);
+
+    const helpButton = screen.getByTitle("Help coming soon");
+    expect(helpButton.tagName).toBe("BUTTON");
+    expect(helpButton).toHaveAttribute("aria-disabled", "true");
+    const helpEvent = createEvent.click(helpButton);
+    fireEvent(helpButton, helpEvent);
+    expect(helpEvent.defaultPrevented).toBe(true);
   });
 });
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/App.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/App.tsx
index 24f5fb09..5bb5c260 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/App.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/App.tsx
@@ -535,18 +535,26 @@ export function App() {
             </div>
 
             <div className="flex items-center justify-between text-slate-400">
-              <span tabIndex={0} role="button" aria-disabled="true" title="Settings coming soon" className="inline-block cursor-not-allowed rounded-xl focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300">
+              <button
+                type="button"
+                title="Settings coming soon"
+                aria-disabled="true"
+                onClick={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
+                className="cursor-not-allowed rounded-xl p-2 text-slate-600 opacity-50 transition focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300 aria-disabled:hover:bg-transparent"
+              >
                 <span className="sr-only">Settings coming soon</span>
-                <button type="button" disabled aria-hidden="true" className="pointer-events-none rounded-xl p-2 text-slate-600 transition">
-                  <Settings className="size-5" aria-hidden="true" />
-                </button>
-              </span>
-              <span tabIndex={0} role="button" aria-disabled="true" title="Help coming soon" className="inline-block cursor-not-allowed rounded-xl focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300">
+                <Settings className="size-5" aria-hidden="true" />
+              </button>
+              <button
+                type="button"
+                title="Help coming soon"
+                aria-disabled="true"
+                onClick={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
+                className="cursor-not-allowed rounded-xl p-2 text-slate-600 opacity-50 transition focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300 aria-disabled:hover:bg-transparent"
+              >
                 <span className="sr-only">Help coming soon</span>
-                <button type="button" disabled aria-hidden="true" className="pointer-events-none rounded-xl p-2 text-slate-600 transition">
-                  <CircleHelp className="size-5" aria-hidden="true" />
-                </button>
-              </span>
+                <CircleHelp className="size-5" aria-hidden="true" />
+              </button>
             </div>
           </div>
         </aside>
@@ -646,17 +654,17 @@ export function App() {
                     Save Project
                   </Button>
                 ) : (
-                  <span tabIndex={0} role="button" aria-disabled="true" title="Analyze a song to enable saving" className="inline-block cursor-not-allowed rounded-xl focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300">
-                    <Button
-                      disabled
-                      variant="outline"
-                      className="min-h-11 border-white/10 bg-white/5 font-semibold text-slate-100"
-                      aria-label="Save Project"
-                    >
-                      <Save className="mr-2 size-4" aria-hidden="true" />
-                      Save Project
-                    </Button>
-                  </span>
+                  <Button
+                    variant="outline"
+                    title="Analyze a song to enable saving"
+                    aria-disabled="true"
+                    onClick={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
+                    className="min-h-11 cursor-not-allowed border-white/10 bg-white/5 font-semibold text-slate-100 opacity-50 focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300 aria-disabled:hover:bg-white/5 aria-disabled:hover:text-slate-100"
+                    aria-label="Save Project"
+                  >
+                    <Save className="mr-2 size-4" aria-hidden="true" />
+                    Save Project
+                  </Button>
                 )}
                 <Button
                   onClick={handleStartAnalysis}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/features/workspace/Workspace.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/features/workspace/Workspace.test.tsx
index 39ffa05d..0e8c0d8b 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/features/workspace/Workspace.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/features/workspace/Workspace.test.tsx
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ describe("Workspace", () => {
     fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("tab", { name: "Bass Guitar" }));
 
     const transcribeButton = screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Transcribe Bass" }) as HTMLButtonElement;
-    expect(transcribeButton.disabled).toBe(false);
+    expect(transcribeButton.hasAttribute("aria-disabled")).toBe(false);
     expect(transcribeButton.title).toBe("Transcribe part");
   });
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/features/workspace/Workspace.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/features/workspace/Workspace.tsx
index 2f990eec..6f836181 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/features/workspace/Workspace.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/features/workspace/Workspace.tsx
@@ -311,15 +311,36 @@ export function Workspace({ song, sourceBootstrap = null, onSongUpdate }: Worksp
                 <p className="text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-[0.24em] text-emerald-200">Stem Player</p>
                 <p className="mt-1 text-sm font-semibold text-slate-100">{activeRoleDetails?.name ?? activeRole}</p>
                 <div className="mt-3 flex flex-wrap gap-2">
-                  <span tabIndex={0} role="button" aria-disabled="true" title="Coming soon" className="inline-block cursor-not-allowed rounded-xl focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300">
-                    <Button type="button" disabled variant="outline" className="min-h-11 border-white/10 bg-white/5 text-slate-400">Play stem</Button>
-                  </span>
-                  <span tabIndex={0} role="button" aria-disabled="true" title="Coming soon" className="inline-block cursor-not-allowed rounded-xl focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300">
-                    <Button type="button" disabled variant="outline" className="min-h-11 border-white/10 bg-white/5 text-slate-400">Loop section</Button>
-                  </span>
-                  <span tabIndex={0} role="button" aria-disabled="true" title="Coming soon" className="inline-block cursor-not-allowed rounded-xl focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300">
-                    <Button type="button" disabled variant="outline" className="min-h-11 border-white/10 bg-white/5 text-slate-400">Solo / mute others</Button>
-                  </span>
+                  <Button
+                    type="button"
+                    variant="outline"
+                    title="Coming soon"
+                    aria-disabled="true"
+                    onClick={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
+                    className="min-h-11 cursor-not-allowed border-white/10 bg-white/5 text-slate-400 opacity-50 focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300 aria-disabled:hover:bg-white/5 aria-disabled:hover:text-slate-400"
+                  >
+                    Play stem
+                  </Button>
+                  <Button
+                    type="button"
+                    variant="outline"
+                    title="Coming soon"
+                    aria-disabled="true"
+                    onClick={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
+                    className="min-h-11 cursor-not-allowed border-white/10 bg-white/5 text-slate-400 opacity-50 focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300 aria-disabled:hover:bg-white/5 aria-disabled:hover:text-slate-400"
+                  >
+                    Loop section
+                  </Button>
+                  <Button
+                    type="button"
+                    variant="outline"
+                    title="Coming soon"
+                    aria-disabled="true"
+                    onClick={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
+                    className="min-h-11 cursor-not-allowed border-white/10 bg-white/5 text-slate-400 opacity-50 focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300 aria-disabled:hover:bg-white/5 aria-disabled:hover:text-slate-400"
+                  >
+                    Solo / mute others
+                  </Button>
                   {canTranscribeBass ? (
                     <Button
                       type="button"
@@ -330,16 +351,16 @@ export function Workspace({ song, sourceBootstrap = null, onSongUpdate }: Worksp
                       Transcribe Bass
                     </Button>
                   ) : (
-                    <span tabIndex={0} role="button" aria-disabled="true" title={`${activeRoleDetails?.name ?? "This role"} transcription is coming soon. Bass is ready first.`} className="inline-block cursor-not-allowed rounded-xl focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300">
-                      <Button
-                        type="button"
-                        disabled
-                        variant="outline"
-                        className="min-h-11 border-emerald-300/20 bg-emerald-300/10 font-semibold text-emerald-100 disabled:border-white/10 disabled:bg-white/5 disabled:text-slate-500"
-                      >
-                        Transcribe Bass
-                      </Button>
-                    </span>
+                    <Button
+                      type="button"
+                      variant="outline"
+                      title={`${activeRoleDetails?.name ?? "This role"} transcription is coming soon. Bass is ready first.`}
+                      aria-disabled="true"
+                      onClick={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
+                      className="min-h-11 cursor-not-allowed border-white/10 bg-white/5 font-semibold text-slate-500 focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-cyan-300 aria-disabled:hover:bg-white/5 aria-disabled:hover:text-slate-500"
+                    >
+                      Transcribe Bass
+                    </Button>
                   )}
                 </div>
                 <div className="mt-4 grid gap-3 lg:grid-cols-2">