A guitar chord generator, also known as a guitar chord finder, is a tool for learning and referencing guitar chords. Musicians create fingering charts for various guitar playing positions along the neck using a generator. Any stringed, fretted instrument, such as the mandolin, steel guitar, banjo, or bass, can benefit from chord finders. They’re used to look up scales and chord charts in almost any tuning imaginable by the guitarist. Many online guitar chord generators let you customize the chart for left-handed or right-handed players.
Guitar chord finders are useful teaching tools for practicing musicians who are learning scales and chord construction. Major and minor scales, as well as Dorian, Aeolian, Locrian, Pentatonic, and other scales, are all covered. A guitar chord finder aids in ear training because most generators will play back the chord so that the musician can hear how it sounds. Musicians can also learn parts by looping the chord progression at any speed. When learning a song, for example, the guitarist can practice slowing it down until he or she understands it, then speeding it up until the desired speed is reached.
The user must first select a tuning and key before using an online guitar chord finder. If the guitarist is left-handed, he or she will change the neck to a “lefty.” The player’s preferences are submitted to the generator’s internal search engine, and the results are displayed on the screen after the player chooses whether to search for chords, scales, or notes. The chord charts can then be saved, printed, or played back through the computer speakers. Users can listen to chords played on a variety of stringed instruments, with the option of adding effects like reverb or distortion.
Other options include viewing the chords in notation or tablature, or reading both at the same time. The guitarist can choose to look at intervals or the scales on which they are based. The speed of strumming can be adjusted by the user, and certain strings can be muted or unmuted if desired. Many guitar chord finder programs also have a useful capo function for transposing keys. Guitarists who want to be more creative can use a guitar chord generator to make and save their own custom chords.