The Best Guitar Chord Software & Chord Tools On The
Web
From guitar chord finders to interactive chord namers and transposers
(key changers), the web is full of freely available software that can
help you learn more chords and better understand your chord playing.
Here's my run down of the best guitar chord software I've discovered on
the WWW (all free!). Thanks to all the talented programmers who offer
these great tools to the guitar learning community...
Guitar Chord Finders
Chord finders show you how to play a chosen chord in several positions
on the neck. Simply select your chord type, along with a root note, and
watch it appear as a shape on the fretboard.
Oolimo Chord Finder
One
of the newer chord finders and by far the slickest and easiest to use
for basic chord finding. Simply select your root and chord type from
the blocks below the fretboard and use the "prev" and "next" buttons
above to cycle through several chord shapes/positions.
You can also choose whether to use note or interval labels on the chord.
A nice additional feature is the "arpeggio" button, which shows you how
these chord shapes form part of an arpeggio pattern right across the
neck.
A
more comprehensive chord finder with pretty much every possible chord
and fingering you could ever want to play. JGuitar's tool is great for
printing your results because each shape for your chosen chord is
displayed in a separate diagram, not unlike a traditional book chart.
You can also specify the bass note of the chord (for inversions) and
play around with more advanced options such as filtering the results by
number of fingers used, maximum gaps between strings and specify labels
for fingering, notes or intervals.
Note:
if you want to display several different chords on one page (e.g. if
you want to see how a chord progression would be mapped out) also try JGuitar's
Chord Search function. Simply type in the chords you want,
separated by commas, and it will display them all on the same page.
Guitar Chord Namers
Chord namers, sometimes called "reverse chord finders", tell you the
name of the chord you enter on to the virtual fretboard. This is useful
when you want to transcribe your chords using symbols (e.g. Cmaj, Cm9,
C7sus4) rather than charts. It's highly recommended that you spend time
learning how to write chords in symbol form.
Oolimo Chord Analyzer
Another
mention for Oolimo as the most accurate and intuitive chord namer on
the web today. Click your chord shape on to the fretboard string by
string and, not only does it tell you the name of the chord, but also
offers several inversion names for that fingering and standard notation.
Click "up" or "down" to transpose the chord to different roots and use
the "notes / intervals" button to select your fingering labels.
Worthy
of mention, Jamplay's
chord namer is set up similar to Oolimo's, with the main differences
being aesthetic (a vertical fretboard as oppose to horizontal and
colour coded notes/intervals).
Punch your chord on to the fretboard and use the pick slider
to play across the strings. To the right you'll see the chord you've
created and the inversions it creates. Toggle between note and interval
labels.
There's also an option to switch to a left handed view of the fretboard.
Knowing how
to play chords is one thing, but can you identify chords as they're
played? This is a powerful ear skill that, if given enough practice,
will allow you to transcribe entire songs by ear. Here's the perfect
tool for the job...
Fachords' Chord Recognition Game
A
one-of-its-kind tool that plays different chord types and challenges
you to select the correct chord quality from two or more options.
Starting with major and minor chords, and moving to more complex chords
such as major 7th, diminished and minor major 7th, you'll be surprised
at how quickly you can train your ear to identify chords.
Have the chords to a song but want to change the key? No problem...
Chord Changer
Either
type or paste in the chords to your song and use the up and down arrows
to change the key. The tool will automatically change each chord you've
entered to fit that new key. You can then print the revised song sheet
if you wish.
Not only that, but it displays chord diagrams for the new key so you
won't be second guessing where to put your fingers. Hover over the
chord symbols to see the individual chord diagrams. Simple, but very
effective.
Brings
together every chord tool you could want into one menu. Including
innovations such as "chords to scale", "scales to chord" and an
interactive circle of fifths, this site has always had a prominant
place in my bookmarks bar.
While not quite as "slick" as some of the other tools featured on this page, it
does offer the widest range of tools in one convenient place.