ChordLab 🎸
A free, interactive tool for learning guitar. Type any chord name, like Am7 or D/F♯, to see its shapes with finger numbers and hear it played on a real guitar. Or tap notes on the neck to find out the name of the chord you’re playing. You can also learn scales and their degrees, build a chord progression and play it at the rhythm and tempo you like, and transpose it to any key or use a capo. It runs in your browser on your phone or computer — no download or sign-up.
Pick a chord from the buttons or type its name to see its shapes and hear it
What can you do in ChordLab?
🎸 Chords
Type any chord name or build it with the buttons: the letter, then ♭ or ♯, then the type and extension. You’ll see several shapes for the chord with finger numbers, notes, or degrees, hear it as an arpeggio, all at once, or with a rhythm, and see all its notes across the neck. It supports more than 30 chord types, including altered chords and slash chords like G/B. You can show note names as letters (C D E) or as Do Re Mi, and next to each term there’s an i icon that explains it when you tap it.
🔍 Identify a chord
Tap the notes you’re playing on the neck, and the tool tells you every possible name for the chord, including inversions. You can add it to your progression with the exact shape you played.
🎼 Scales
Pick any note and any scale: major, or natural, harmonic, or melodic minor. You’ll see its notes correctly spelled and the chord on each degree with Roman numerals. Tap any degree to see its chord shapes, hear it, and add it to your progression — without leaving the Scales tab.
🎶 Progressions
Start from popular progressions or press + and type chords. Drag a chord’s edge to change its length by the beat, long-press and drag it to copy it, and mute it or choose a different shape. Choose a 2/4, 3/4, or 4/4 time signature and a rhythm (folk, pop, reggae, waltz, and more), and play along with the flashing beat — plus a count-in and TAP to set the tempo.
🎯 Teacher tools
The tool detects the key on its own and writes the Roman numeral under each chord. You can transpose the progression up or down a semitone and get a capo suggestion. There’s also undo and redo, saving to “My progressions”, a share link, and a printable sheet with the shapes.
🔊 Real guitar sound
Choose classical (nylon), acoustic (steel), or electric (clean). The sounds are recorded from a real guitar, and the strings ring and get muted just like real playing.
ChordLab FAQ
How does ChordLab work?
The tool has 4 tabs. In Chords, type a chord name or pick it with the buttons to see its shapes and hear it. In Identify Chord, tap notes on the neck and it shows you the name. In Scales, pick any scale to see its notes, the chords on each degree, and their shapes. And in Progressions, build a chord progression and play it with the rhythm you like.
Which chord types does the tool support?
More than 30 types: major and minor; sevenths of every kind (7, maj7, and m7); diminished (dim), half-diminished (m7♭5), and augmented (aug); suspended (sus2 and sus4); sixths, ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths; 6/9 and mMaj7; and altered chords like 7♭9, 7♯9, 7♭5, and 7♯11. It also supports slash chords like G/B and D/F♯. Tap “Available chord types” below the tool to see the full list.
How do I find the name of a chord I’m playing?
Open the “Identify Chord” tab and tap the notes you’re playing on the neck — at least 3 notes. The tool will show every possible name for the chord, including inversions like C/E, and you can add it to your progression with the shape you chose.
How do I build a chord progression and play it with a rhythm?
In the “Progressions” tab, pick a ready-made progression from the popular ones, or press + and type the chords (like C:2 G:2). Drag the edge of any chord to change its length by the beat, or long-press and drag it to copy it. Choose the time signature, rhythm, and tempo, press play, and the beat will flash as it plays.
Can I transpose the progression to another key or use a capo?
Yes. The semitone up and down buttons transpose the whole progression. If you choose a capo, the tool tells you which shapes to play and suggests the capo position that gives you the easiest open shapes. It also detects the key on its own and writes the Roman numeral under each chord.
Can I save, share, or print a progression?
Yes. “Save” stores the progression in “My progressions” on the same device and browser. “Share” creates a link with the progression, rhythm, tempo, and capo. And “Print” produces a sheet with the bars, Roman numerals, and chord shapes.
Can I change the guitar sound?
Yes, from the 🎸 sound selector above the tool: classical (nylon), acoustic (steel), or electric (clean). The sounds are recorded from a real guitar, and strums are played with a natural hand feel — up, down, and muted.
Can I see note names as Do Re Mi instead of C D E?
Yes. Choose “Do Re Mi” with the button above the tool, and note names change everywhere: on the neck, under the shapes, and in the scales. Chord symbols like Am7 stay in letters, since that’s the standard on any chord sheet.
What do terms like beat and key mean?
Tap the i icon next to any term in the tool to see a short explanation, or check the “Glossary” at the bottom of the page.
Is the tool free? Do I need to sign up?
It’s completely free and no sign-up is needed — it opens right in your browser.
Does it work on mobile?
Yes. The tool is designed to work well on mobile with touch, and you can switch the guitar neck between horizontal and vertical.
Glossary
The terms you’ll come across in the tool, as you’ll find them on any chord sheet.
Chord type
Major: a bright sound. Minor: a sad sound. Diminished (dim): tense and wants to resolve. Augmented (aug): mysterious and unsettled. Suspended (sus): no third, so it’s neither major nor minor.
Root
The note the chord is named after, like C in C or Cm7. It’s marked in a different color on the neck.
Degrees
Each note’s number relative to the root: 3 the third, 5 the fifth, 7 the seventh. ♭ means lowered by a half step, and ♯ means raised by a half step.
Fingers · Notes · Degrees
Fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky; the line across several strings is a barre. Notes: the name of each note. Degrees: its number relative to the root (3 the third, 5 the fifth, 7 the seventh). × means the string isn’t played, and ○ means it’s played open.
Extensions
Notes added on top of the basic chord, like the seventh or ninth, that give it a different color. For example, C7 is a C chord plus the seventh.
Inversions & bass
When the lowest note in a chord isn’t the root, we write the chord with a slash, like C/E. It means a C chord with E as the bass (lowest note).
Types of minor scale
The natural minor is the basic one. The harmonic minor raises the seventh degree by a half step to strengthen the pull back to the root. The melodic minor raises the sixth and seventh so the melody sounds smooth.
Roman numerals
They tell you which degree of the key a chord falls on: I the first, IV the fourth, V the fifth. Major chords are written in capitals (IV), minor chords in lowercase (vi), and ° means diminished.
Key
The note the progression keeps returning to and resting on, and whether it’s major or minor. The tool detects it from the chords, and you can change it yourself.
Time signature
It tells you how many beats are in each bar. 4/4 means 4 beats per bar, and 3/4 means 3 beats, like a waltz.
Beats & bars
The beat is the unit we count music in, like tapping your foot: 1, 2, 3, 4. A bar is a repeating group of beats, and the time signature sets how many.
Tempo (BPM)
Beats per minute. 60 means one beat per second, and the higher the number, the faster the playing. Tap TAP along with the beat to set the tempo.
Rhythm
How you strike the strings within the bar: ↓ downstroke, ↑ upstroke, ✕ chuck with your hand, · rest.
Transpose & capo
Transposing moves the whole progression up or down to suit the singer’s voice. A capo is a clamp placed on a fret that raises the pitch of all strings, so you can play easy shapes while the sound comes out higher.