It is also a great little tool that provides both an audio and a visual demonstration of how to play barre chords on the guitar. What’s more, you can hear sound of each barre chord and understand how they are formed in movable shapes around the fretboard. The idea behind this widget is to make what would be a complicated topic into an easy accessible interactive one.
There is two main chord families on the interface: A-shape and E-shape. These are starting points for all but a few types of barre chords. Because there are major, minor and dominant sevenths included for both families, this equates to six buttons in total. Each time you click one of the shape button, it highlight in red. The diagram changes instantly so that you can see which finger goes where.
How to Use the Guitar Chord Tool
Next, you choose position of that chord up and down the neck via the fret selector. There are buttons from one to nine which take the chord up or down the guitar. Each is a different starting fret for your barre hand. As you go up one fret, the pitch rise a semitone as if you were sliding your finger across real guitar string. The chord change automatically to reflect the new key.
If you look at middle diagram, it depicts precisely how to shape each chord with a thick red bar showing where you place your first finger across the strings. Your remaining fingers is shown by red dots positioned on certain frets, while root note of the chord are represented by gold dot to help locate its position. The x over a string signifies that string should not be played. This provide visual feedback that builds muscle memory even when you don’t have an instrument available.
On the right-hand side of the widget there’s a play button that allows you to strum the selected chord. Each time you select a new chord all the active strings will ring out together, made through the widget. Below the diagram, you’ll find a slider for adjusting the master volume, handy if you’re practising in a quiet place or just want to concentrate on the visual learning initially.
Check the help panel for a quick guide on how to read the chart. You can easily tab around with your keyboard (no mouse needed) and click through options. The shape, fret and control buttons is set up for keyboard navigation; just use the Tab key to move focus between them. Select the currently highlighted one by pressing Space or Enter. That way you can quickly try out a variety of voicings and keys, which comes in especially handy when trying to work out a chord progression in your head.
Try swapping the A-shape major for an E-shape on the same fret to hear what happens. You will realize that you’ve now moved root note up a string (from the sixth to the fifth). Experiment with minor chords too to see how this single finger change changes the feel of chord sequence. Use the volume slider to adjust to suit what you can hear and enjoy the learning process.
For example, play an E shape major on the first fret as an F chord and move it up to the third fret as a G chord to hear difference that makes. Experimenting with minor and sevenths shapes will show differences in finger placement and will help you ‘see’ what is changing. The shortcut keys make experimenting easier, allowing you to use this widget as a handy tool for seeing and hearing barre chords whenever needed.