Welcome to the modernized Chords and Intervals tool! This powerful feature makes it easy to create complex chords and intervals in your guitar tablature. Whether you're building custom chord voicings or browsing from our extensive chord library, this tool streamlines your creative workflow.

This guide will walk you through everything from opening the tool to inserting chords, searching our library, and saving your own custom creations.

Your Chords (Green) - Chords that you've created and saved to your personal collection. These are private to your account and only visible to you.

Community Chords (Yellow) - Chords created by other users and shared with the community. These chords have been published publicly and are available for anyone to use.

System Chords (Grey) - Built-in chords from our comprehensive chord library. These are pre-configured, professionally vetted chord voicings covering common chord types.

Viewing Chord Details: Click on any thumbnail in the gallery to select that chord. The chord diagram will enlarge, and you'll see detailed information including:

• The chord type (User, Community, or System) with corresponding color coding
• Author information (for User and Community chords)
• Chord title/name
• Links to related taxonomy pages for the root note and chord type

Step 1: Click the "Enable Chords" button

Note: This replaces the old "Vertically Stack Notes" feature with a more intuitive interface.

Step 2: Once chord mode is enabled, the interface updates to show:

• "Enable Notes" button - Click this to return to single-note entry mode
• "New Chord" button - Click this to move forward in your tablature and start a new chord
• An active fretboard ready for chord input

For Searched Chords:

1. Click on the desired chord thumbnail in the gallery to select it
2. Click the "Insert" button
3. The chord will be added to your tablature at the current cursor position

For Custom Chords:

1. Build your chord by clicking notes on the fretboard
2. The chord is automatically added to the tablature when you click "New Chord" or switch back to notes mode

Note for Anonymous Users

You must be signed in to save chords to your collection. If you're not logged in, you can still insert chords into your tablature, but the save feature will be unavailable.

Important Note

You cannot save a chord that already exists in your collection. If you select one of your own chords (green background), the "Save" button will be hidden since it's already in your library.

Information Displayed:

• Source Type Icon & Label: Visual indicator showing whether it's Your Chord (👤), Community Chord (👥), or System Chord (🏛️)
• Author Information: For Community chords, shows who created it with a link to their profile
• Chord Title: The name assigned to the chord
• Related Links: Clickable links to taxonomy pages for:
  • Chord Type - Browse all chords of this type
  • Root Note - Browse all chords with this root note

Visualization

Use the real-time chord diagram preview as you build your chord. This visual feedback helps you see the shape and spacing of your voicing instantly.

Minimum Notes Required

A chord must have at least 2 notes before you can save it. The "Save Chord" button will remain disabled until you've placed at least two notes on the fretboard.

Experiment with Community Chords

Don't forget to check the "Community Chords" checkbox when searching! You'll discover creative voicings and variations contributed by fellow musicians that you might not have thought of.

Organize with Descriptive Titles

When saving custom chords, use clear, descriptive titles that will help you find them later. Include the position or unique characteristics (e.g., "A Minor - 5th Fret Position" or "G7 - Open Voicing").

Regular Saving

Get in the habit of saving interesting chord voicings you create. Building a personal library of chords makes your future composing and arranging work much faster!