# CHORDS FOR YOUTUBE, RIGHT ON THE VIDEO. press Chords, then play > Chords for YouTube, right on the video: the free Chord Lens Chrome extension shows each chord in time while YouTube plays, with the shape, key and stems. Source: https://chordlens.app/guides/chords-on-youtube Using Chord Lens · 01 of 02 - Any instrument - Beginner - 8 min read - Updated Nov 2026 - Chord Lens Team The short answer To get chords for YouTube while the video plays, add the Chord Lens extension to Chrome on a computer, open a song and press Chords in the player. The chords appear over the video in time with the music, with the shape to play, the key and the tempo. Change the key, slow it down or split the stems too. 01 / 10 · WHAT ## The chords, where the song already is. Most songs you want to learn are already on YouTube. The usual routine is to play the video in one tab, search for a chord sheet in another, and hope the sheet matches the version you are listening to. It often doesn’t: a different key, a missing bridge, a chord that was guessed. The Chord Lens extension skips the second tab. It adds a Chords button to YouTube’s own player. Press it, and Chord Lens listens to that video’s recording and lays its chords over the video, in time, so the chord lights up as the band plays it. Nobody had to write the song up first, so it works for the live take, the acoustic version and the song from last week alike. It works on a computer, in Chrome. Phone browsers don’t take extensions, so on a phone, paste the YouTube link into the [Chord Lens Studio](https://chordlens.app/studio) instead, which shows the same chords. 02 / 10 · EXTENSIONS ## Chrome extension that shows chords on YouTube Chord Lens is a Chrome extension that shows chords on YouTube. It puts a Chords button in YouTube’s own player and plays each chord in time with the video, drawn for guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin or piano, with the words, the key and the tempo. On the [Chrome Web Store](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/chord-lens-ai-youtube-cho/iedoccahfccciahmalgjakejfmbnahnp) it has 487 users and a 5.0 rating from 19 ratings (read on 4 November 2026). It isn’t the only one. Here is what the other extensions’ own Store listings said on 4 November 2026, and Riffloop’s on 5 November 2026. **[Chord Finder](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/chord-finder/aneiojbkgndkaneajdclemjenliondfa)** adds a button to YouTube videos and shows the chord progression over the video as it plays, for guitar and piano, with no account. It has 3,000 users and a 4.7 rating from 15 ratings. **[EarChord](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/earchord-find-chords-on-y/pefpplpojeconbanakggbdpaahaldjle)** shows chord names, the key and the tempo under the video, free and with no account, and works the chords out in your tab with nothing uploaded. Its listing says it names only the 24 major and minor chords, so a seventh or a suspended chord shows as the nearest one. It has 61 users and no ratings yet. **[Riffloop](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/riffloop-ai-stem-splitter/meinmcdiijnhaljldocknpglaehbmbmd)** adds a practice toolbar under the video: it splits the song into six stems in your browser, loops a section and changes the key and speed, and when you split it shows the chords, the key and the BPM under the waveform, with guitar diagrams. No account is needed to start, and it offers in-app purchases. It has 858 users and a 4.3 rating from 18 ratings. **YouChords** had no listing on the Chrome Web Store when we looked, and [its website](https://www.you-chords.com/) says it is going open source. Where Chord Lens differs: it names sevenths, suspended and added-note chords as they are, and draws the shape for guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin or piano, where Riffloop draws guitar diagrams. Of the others, only Riffloop also moves the key and the speed of the recording and splits the song into stems under the video. 03 / 10 · START ## From install to playing along in five steps. In the screenshot the extension is on a YouTube video of the hymn Amazing Grace. The chord bar over the video shows the key, G, and the tempo, 110 BPM, with the section the song is in. The D playing now is drawn large in the middle, as a guitar shape, with the chords before and after it either side. Under the video the Stems Mixer waits for a sign-in to split the song. The video itself is hidden in our capture; on your screen it plays as normal. 1. **Add it to Chrome** Open Chord Lens on the Chrome Web Store and press Add to Chrome. It is free to add. 2. **Open a song on YouTube** Go to any YouTube video with music in it, the version you want to learn. 3. **Press Chords** Press Chords in the player’s control bar. The first time a song is opened, Chord Lens takes a moment to work out its chords. 4. **Pick your instrument** Choose guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin or piano from Instrument, and every chord is drawn as the shape you play. 5. **Play along** Play the video. The chord now sits in the middle, the next ones beside it, and the words underneath where the song has them. ![The Chord Lens Chrome extension on a YouTube video of Amazing Grace, with the video hidden: the chord bar over the player shows Key G, 110 BPM, the Verse section, Guitar, Capo 0, Simplify and Sheet, the current chord D drawn large as a guitar shape between Em and G, the Chords and Sheet buttons in YouTube’s control bar, and the Stems Mixer under the video.](https://chordlens.app/assets/guides/chords-on-youtube/chords-under-the-video.webp) Key and tempo, found for you The chord now, the next ones beside it Chords, in YouTube’s player Stems under the video 04 / 10 · READ IT ## Everything you need, in one bar. The chord bar sits over the top of the video, and every control is in it rather than behind a menu. If it covers something you want to see, drag it by its grip. **The chords** run as a row of cards, the current one in the middle and drawn largest, with a bar under it that fills up as the chord plays. The chords coming next are to its right, so you can see the change before it arrives. Left on Instrument, the cards show chord names only; pick an instrument and each one becomes a diagram. **The words**, where the song has lyrics, sit under the chords: the line being sung now, in time with the singer. Not every song comes with lyrics. On Premium and Pro, Chord Lens can write them for a song that has none, with Generate lyrics. **The section** the song is in, such as Verse · 00:32, is a menu too. Pick another section from it and the video jumps straight there, which is the quickest way to get back to the chorus you keep missing. **Simplify** turns hard chords into the plain major or minor chord under them. In the toolbar popup you can also switch chord names to Nashville numbers, so the chart reads 1, 4, 5 and 6m in any key, and choose whether chords are spelled with sharps, with flats, or as the key asks. Our guide to [chord symbols](https://chordlens.app/guides/chord-symbols-explained) covers what each name means. 05 / 10 · KEY & SPEED ## Your key, your speed. **Key** moves the song itself, not just the chord names, up to 6 semitones either way, and the tempo stays put. Every chord and diagram moves with it. A badge on the key says how far you have moved it, and pressing the key returns it to the recording. It is the quickest way to try a song lower for your voice; our guide to [the best key for your voice](https://chordlens.app/guides/best-key-for-your-voice) has a quick test. **Capo** works the other way round. Pick a fret from 1 to 12 and the chord names and shapes change to what you play with a capo there, while the recording stays where it is. Capo is hidden for piano and bass, which take no capo and read the chords at concert pitch. **BPM** slows the song down or speeds it up without changing its pitch, using YouTube’s own playback speeds, from 0.25× to 2×. Slow a fast passage down until you can play it, then bring it back up a step at a time. Chord Lens remembers the key, the speed and the capo for each video, so the song is how you left it next time you open it. Learning a hard change? Pick its section from the section menu, slow the video to 0.75×, and play just that part until it feels easy before you go back to full speed. 06 / 10 · SHEET ## The whole song on one sheet. The chord bar shows a few chords at a time. Press Sheet, in the chord bar or in YouTube’s control bar, and the whole song opens on one sheet, every bar from intro to outro, following along as the video plays. Click any bar and the video jumps to it. The sheet has three views. Lead puts each chord above the word it lands on, Lyrics shows the words alone, and Grid lays the song out bar by bar. Where it opens is up to you: in Chrome’s side panel beside the video, which is where it starts, in its own window, or in a panel on the YouTube page itself. Set it under Sheet Open Location in the toolbar popup. On Premium and Pro the sheet prints, or saves as a PDF, with the key and tempo at the top. That is handy for a chart on a music stand; our guide to [making a chord chart](https://chordlens.app/guides/how-to-make-a-chord-chart) goes into which view suits which player. 07 / 10 · STEMS ## Hear one part, or take one out. Under the video, the same press that turned on the chords opens the Stems Mixer. It splits the song into six parts, vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano and other, on your own computer while the video plays. Then you can mute or solo any part, set each one’s level and pan, or use a one-press mix: Vocals only, Instrumental, Karaoke or Rhythm only. It is a live mix, so there is nothing to download from the extension. Mute the guitar and play over the band; solo the bass and hear its line clearly. Our guide to [making a backing track](https://chordlens.app/guides/how-to-make-a-backing-track) goes through the routine. The mixer has more practice tools too. Mark the song’s sections, loop a stretch from A to B to drill it, and switch on a metronome that clicks on the song’s own beat. Splitting needs a free Chord Lens account, signed in with Google, and a computer whose browser and graphics card support WebGPU. When you want more room, the mixer opens the same song in the Chord Lens Studio, already signed in. The Studio adds things the extension doesn’t have, such as spoken cues and a key range of 12 semitones either way. 08 / 10 · PLANS ## Free to start. Free gives you the chords, the shapes, the lyrics where a song has them, the key, the tempo and the sheet. It has a monthly number of new songs: 20 new songs a month, up to 7 minutes long. It also splits a 2-minute part of a song that you choose, 5 times a day, and keeps 3 saved loops a song. Premium adds longer songs and longer splits, printing, lyrics written for songs that have none, and every loop you save. Pro has everything in Premium, with the longest songs and the longest splits. One account covers the extension and the Chord Lens Studio, so a plan bought in one works in the other. Chord Lens sends only the YouTube video’s ID to work out the chords. The key change, the tempo and the stems run in your browser, and your own audio is never recorded or uploaded. 09 / 10 · Do it in one click ## Chord Lens for Chrome Chords in time on any YouTube song, the shape to play, your key and speed, and stems under the video. [Open Chord Lens for Chrome](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/chord-lens-ai-youtube-cho/iedoccahfccciahmalgjakejfmbnahnp) [Open the Studio](https://chordlens.app/studio) 10 / 10 · Quick answers ## Quick answers. the short answers ### Still stuck? Open the Studio and send us a note with Feedback in its sidebar. A person reads every one. [Send feedback](https://chordlens.app/studio?feedback) ### How do I see chords while a YouTube video plays? Add the Chord Lens extension to Chrome on a computer, open a song on YouTube, and press Chords in the player. The chords appear over the video, in time. ### Is the Chord Lens extension free? Yes, to add and to use. Free gives the chords, lyrics where a song has them, key, tempo and the sheet, with 20 new songs a month. Premium and Pro add more. ### Does it work on any YouTube video? Any video with music in it. Chord Lens works the chords out from the recording, so it doesn’t need anyone to have written the song up first. ### Can I change the key of a YouTube song? Yes. The key moves the recording up to 6 semitones either way with the tempo unchanged, and every chord and diagram moves with it. ### Does it show guitar chord diagrams? Yes. Pick guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin or piano from Instrument and every chord is drawn as the shape to play, with a capo from 1 to 12. ### Does it work on a phone? No. Phone browsers don’t take extensions. On a phone, paste the YouTube link into the Chord Lens Studio, which shows the same chords. ### Can I print the chords? Yes, on Premium and Pro. Open the sheet and print it, or save it as a PDF, with the key and tempo at the top. ### Do I need an account? Not to add it and see the chords. Splitting a song into stems needs a free Chord Lens account, signed in with Google. ## Keep going [Back to All guides](https://chordlens.app/guides) [Next in Using Chord Lens **02** Chord Lens for Mac](https://chordlens.app/guides/chord-app-for-mac) ### Related guides - [Start here · Any instrument Find the chords 8 min](https://chordlens.app/guides/how-to-find-chords-of-a-song) - [Practise and play · Any instrument Make a backing track 7 min](https://chordlens.app/guides/how-to-make-a-backing-track) - [Practise and play · Any instrument Slow down a song 7 min](https://chordlens.app/guides/how-to-slow-down-a-song-without-changing-pitch)