Chord Lens
Chord shapes
Chord shapes for any song: on the instrument you play
Drop in a file or open a YouTube video with the Chrome extension, and Chord Lens draws the shape of every chord in the song for guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin or piano, lit in time with the music.
Last updated
The short version
At a
glance.
every chord, a shape
Chord Lens finds the chords of a song and draws each one for the instrument you pick: a diagram per chord, the one playing now lit, and shapes that follow the key and the capo.
- Five instrumentsguitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, piano
- One tile per chordevery chord the song uses
- The chord nowlit large as the song plays
- Follows the capoguitar, ukulele and mandolin
- Follows the keymove it and the shapes move
- Simplifythe basic chord under a hard one
- Any songa YouTube video or your own file
- In Chrome toobeside the video on YouTube
- Free to startshapes come with every chart
01 / 10 · What it is
The song’s chords.
Your shapes.
A chord chart gives you a chord’s name. When you’re new to the instrument, or it’s an F#m on a ukulele, the name isn’t enough: you need the shape under your fingers.
Chord Lens draws it for you. It listens to the song, finds its chords, and shows a diagram for each one on the instrument you pick, lit in time with the music.
Only want the chord names? That’s YouTube to Chords.
Chord charts
A name per chord, and a separate chart to look up each shape.
Every chord, drawn
The shape of each chord in this song, lit as the song plays.
02 / 10 · How to
See the shapes
in four steps.
nothing to install
Open the Studio
Go to chordlens.app/studio and sign in with Google.
Drop in a file
An MP3, WAV or M4A from your computer, up to 50 MB.
Pick your instrument
Guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin or piano, in the Live chords bar.
Play
Each chord’s shape lights up as the song reaches it.
Watching on YouTube? The Chrome extension shows the same shapes beside the video.
Get the extension03 / 10 · Instruments
Five instruments.
One song.
Pick the instrument you play and every diagram is redrawn for it: strings and frets for guitar, bass, ukulele and mandolin, keys for piano.
- Guitar
- Bass
- Ukulele
- Mandolin
- Piano
- Simplify
Live chords
The chord playing now, large, with the chords around it.
Sheet tiles
One tile per chord in the song, above the chart.
Simplify
A basic shape when a chord is hard to play.
04 / 10 · Key and capo
Move the key.
The shapes follow.
no re-learning
- Capo
- Capo 2
- Shapes for guitar, ukulele and mandolin move to suit the capo you use.
- Key
- −2
- Change the key and every diagram is redrawn in the new key.
- Names
- ♯ · ♭ · 1–7
- Spell the chords with sharps or flats, or read them as Nashville numbers.
05 / 10 · Where
On YouTube
or in the Studio.
In Chrome, the Chord Lens extension shows the shapes beside a YouTube video. In the Studio, on the web or in the Mac app, they sit over the chart of your own file. Key and speed are free in Chrome and, once you sign in, in the Studio, for the whole song up to your plan’s song-length limit.
06 / 10 · How accurate
Right on most songs.
Honest about the rest.
A shape is only as right as the chord under it. Songs with a clear band and steady chords come out right most of the time.
Chord Lens picks one common voicing for each chord. It’s a good place to start, not the only way to play it: the player on the record may use another.
A shape looks wrong?
- Turn on Simplify to see the basic chord.
- Check the capo matches the one on your guitar.
- Loop the bar and listen at a slower speed.
- Check the key: a chart in the wrong key reads strangely.
07 / 10 · Compared
Chord Lens vs
a chord chart.
Three ways to get the shapes for a song, and where they differ.
| Chord sites | Chord chart apps | Chord book | Chord Lens | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The song’s own chords | Typed by hand | No | No | Heard from the song |
| In time with the song | No | No | No | Yes |
| Follows capo and key | Some | No | No | Yes |
| Five instruments | Some | Some | One per book | Yes |
| Pick your voicing | Some | Yes | Yes | No, one shape |
| Cost | Free, with ads | Per app | Per book | Free to start |
08 / 10 · How players use it
Four ways
players use it.
Learn your first songs
Play along with the lit shape until your fingers know it.
Switch instruments
The guitar song, on the ukulele you have.
Play with a capo
Set the capo and keep the open shapes.
Teach a student
Loop the bar, show the shape, slow it down.
09 / 10 · What it won’t do
What it
won’t do.
so you know before you start
No left-handed view
Diagrams are drawn for right-handed players.
No voicing to pick
One common shape per chord; Simplify gives a basic one.
Not a chord library
It shows the chords in the song, not every chord there is.
No tabs
Shapes for chords, not the notes of a riff or a solo.
10 / 10 · Plans
Free to start.
Shapes come with every chart, Free included. Signing in is free; Free has a set number of new songs each month, and Premium and Pro have more.
See plans and prices01How do I see the chord shapes of a song?
Open the Chord Lens Studio, drop in an MP3, WAV or M4A file, and pick your instrument. Each chord’s shape lights up in time with the song.
02Which instruments does it draw?
Guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin and piano. Guitar, ukulele and mandolin show the frets and fingers, piano shows the keys, and bass shows the notes to play, by interval.
03Does it work with a capo?
Yes, on guitar, ukulele and mandolin. Set the capo you use and every shape is drawn for playing above it, so you keep the open shapes. Piano and bass take no capo: they read the chords as they sound.
04What happens to the shapes when I change the key?
Every chord moves to the new key and every diagram is redrawn for it, with the song playing in the new key. With a capo on, the shapes follow both.
05Can I see a simpler shape?
Yes. Turn on Simplify and each chord becomes the basic chord under it: G#m7 plays as G#m, Bsus4 as B, D/F# as D. Turn it off to see the chords as they are.
06Is there a left-handed view?
No. Diagrams are drawn for right-handed players.
07Can I pick a different voicing?
No. Chord Lens picks one common shape for each chord. If it’s hard to play, turn on Simplify for a basic one.
08Does it work on YouTube?
Yes. Add Chord Lens to Chrome, open a song on YouTube and click Chords: the shapes play along beside the video, and the extension needs no account.
09Does it work on my own files?
Yes, in the Studio or the Chord Lens app for Mac. Drop in an MP3, WAV or M4A and its chords get shapes the same way. Uploading needs a free account.
10Is it free?
Yes, to start. Shapes come with every chart, Free included. Free has a set number of new songs each month, and Premium and Pro have more.
11Do I need an account?
Not for the extension: install it, open a video, click Chords. The Studio asks you to sign in free with Google.
12How accurate are the shapes?
A shape is only as right as the chord under it. Songs with a clear band and steady chords come out right most of the time; busy jazz voicings and noisy recordings are harder, so check it by ear.
13Does it show piano chords?
Yes. Pick Piano and each chord is drawn on a keyboard, with its notes marked. A piano takes no capo, so its chords are the ones you hear.
14Can I read the chord names instead?
Yes. Set the instrument menu back to Instrument and the Studio shows the chord names on their own, with no diagrams.
15Is this different from YouTube to Chords?
It’s the same chart, read another way. YouTube to Chords is about finding a song’s chords from a video; this page is about playing them, with the shape of each chord on your instrument.
In short
The whole page
in four lines.
Any song.
A YouTube video or your own file.
Its chords, drawn.
One shape per chord, lit in time.
Your instrument.
Guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin or piano.
Free to start.
Shapes come with every chart.