Appmuse

Although this app hasn't been updated in a bit, I have to say that it is still by far the best. More importantly, there is no other substitute for this app (trust me, I've gotten them all). If you want to make quick chord sheets for yourself, or students. Show more

No longer works. and the app hasn't been updated in long time.

This App is pretty good for putting together chord progressions, however, if you could create midi files from the chords and export them, this program could be great.

Amazing. I was sold on the Mac version over iPad by the fact that it can make sense of custom alternate tunings, which I like to use a lot in songwriting and jamming out in general. I spell open D a bit differently than most, with an E on the high string, for example. Also, chord symbol lookup. I love finding uncommon chords, and incorporating them into my playing vocabulary. Problem is, I rarely know what they are. I already can see, within a day of use, this is a great tool to better understand, document, remember, and communicate what I'm playing. Powerful. Show more

I just got the software and it helped right away. I am sure that it is worth the money. The diagrams show the notes and fingering, very important to learn new chords. I recommend… very good product. Also, I asked for support and got the answer really fast. This is great! Drag and drop would be better if we could include more then one chord at a time, but it is possible to choose "save all…", and get the job done. Show more

This app has helped me so much! With it, I was able to generate *and* bulk export chord images for all the chords I use -- including custom ones! I used these image files to create chord charts for all my favorite songs. Thank you so much! UPDATE: I just got a guitalele, and I can enter the guitlele's custom tuning into the app -- how cool!!! Show more

Recently, after the latest "free" update of CM (2.3), a user complained that the application was broken. Not! That user, evidently not particularly well versed in Mac/Unix, confused a broken app with a broken user (the first thing one checks when an app is not functioning is its Preferences). ChordMate.app is a great tool, both for learning and teaching! I recommed it to beginners, intermediate (me), and advanced (my guitar tutor) users. And it is NOT broken, just improved and more robust. Timothy Show more

When I purchased ChordMate some time ago, I was mainly looking for an application that could generate custom chord diagrams to use in other applications. However, I was excited to discover that ChordMate not only does that extremely well, but does a TON more. It's an entire chord library and even composition/arrangement tool. The search function is superior, allowing filtering by all kinds of variables. The main feature I am impressed by is just how many options the program gives you--down to what kind of guitar you want the chord previews to sound like (acoustic, electric, or classical) and how you want it played (as a chord, fast arpeggio, or slow arpeggio)! You also have the ability to change the tuning that the chord library is based off of, including any custom tunings you add. Just a really powerful, intuitive program that I would recommend whole-heartedly. Worth more than every penny you pay for it. Note: Another reviewer mentioned a problem with the chord previews in the current version (2.3). My experience is the polar opposite. The audio on the previews is even more authentic sounding (sounds like real samples as opposed to synthesized) than the previous versions. There must be something wrong with their audio settings. Maybe they need to restart, update their OS X, and/or do a permissions repair in Disk Utility. Anyway, don't let that anecdotal report dissuade you from purchasing this program. Ilia provides superior customer support (I had to email him concerning an issue I was confused about and got a very detailed reply steering me in the right direction), and even if there were any issues, I am confident he would go above and beyond to help you resolve them. Show more

I have used other chord "dictionaries" and nothing comes close to the ease and versatility of ChordMate 2.3. The multiple graphic representations of any single chord has opened up my ear to the many different voicings of a simple chord. As a learning tool the graphic user interface allows me to try the many different voicings and determine which sounds best for a particular song or idea. I've had no problems with installation or use of the program and feel that I would be much worse off without this as part of my gig bag. Well worth the price. Show more

I discovered this tool through a Web search when I was desperate for a way to easily (quickly) prepare chord charts for students. I bought the application hoping it would at least get me out of my current bind. Boy was I surprised. This tool has so many uses I'm sure I haven't found them all yet. First of all, it was easy to use. I didn't have to get used to its way of doing things. I didn't have to spend time learning the whole application. It was immediately clear how to make the chord diagrams I needed. It let me specify the root, change the fingering, design my own chords, and even decide what I wanted to call each chord if I was unhappy with the choices of default names. Then I discovered I could just drag each diagram onto the Apple Pages document I was building and make each diagram any size I chose. This let me make nice looking chord chart documents for students in a hurry and handily solved my immediate problem. At my own pace, I've discovered the tool can be used in many ways. One of them is to drag diagrams into the progression area and build as complex a prograssion as I can imagine. Then I can just click the first chord followed by the play button and I can listen to my progression played on either a classical, acoustic, or electric guitar. I was delighted to find that the acoustic guitar selection sounds almost exactly like my fine hand built acoustic archtop guitar. I can choose how the chords are played back (simultaneous chord, fast arpeggio, and slow arpeggio) so as to get a good feel for how a new progression is going to sound. Of couse I can listen to single chords played as I build them if I'm looking for a particular sound. There are search filters so when I'm looking for chord in the library I can specify where I want the root, which inversion I'm looking for, where on the fretboard I want the chord voiced, which strings I don't want sounded, whether I want to use barre chords or not, whether I want the notes in ascending order, and more. I can have the search results sorted by quality, ease of playing, or by fret. It even lets me save a library of different filter sets so I don't have to go back and build them again. I can just click my filter set for blues, rock, bluegrass, swing, jazz or whatever I've built and ChordMate will find chords that meet my specifications. The developers seem to be truly involved with this application as they keep adding features, fixing anomalies, and generally keep the application up to date. They also take the time to respond to questions and requests for features. I, personally, have had no problems with this application at all. Like a few others, I initally balked at the price. But after using it and getting to know its features, I don't think $50 is overpriced for this application. If you need a tool like this, I can heartily recommend ChordMate. Show more

When is the last time you bought an inexpensive app and made a query because you were confused and received an actual coherent response the same day? It's new to me but that's what happened when I bought ChordMate. I wrote to ask if I could insert two tunings that were not among the large number they offered. A rep wrote me back and gave me instructions and code so that I could put my tunings in the list. It was a HUGE relief. I don't read music, have made my living at music for 30 years and don't know what most of the chords are that I play. And in one of the tunings I use, not many other musicians do either. ChordMate is a big help in that area. I can create the diagrams in my own tunings and suddenly have a name for my chords. I think there are millions of guys like me out there that would benefit from this. One last thing, After inserting the code, adding my two tunings, a year later I upgraded (if you can call it that) to the latest Mac OS. Lost my two tunings in ChordMate. Don't know why. So I wrote customer service again, describing my situation, reminding them that they had helped me a year ago. They responded with my original email and their original instructions from last year! I highly recommend this app! PS, as for the complaint below that the string sounds are not authentic guitar samples. This is just a tool! It's not meant to be something you perform with. I think the ability to strum the chord to be sure it matches is a magnificent feature. Show more

Thanks for the update..I have been a long time customer of your app, for both Mac and iPad. I just recently updated to version 2.3 only to be surprised that that all the guitar sounds i.e. Classical, Acoustic & Electric all sound the same! None of witch sound like a guitar at all!!! They all sound like a synth!! PLEASE FIX!!!! Show more

I like this program. I'm using it to construct my own chord sheets for a class I'm teaching. It's easy to find a chord and drag it into a word processing program. Once in the program, the frets can be easily re-sized, which I truly love. For my purposes, I frequently move a note or 2 in the chord, or add/ delete notes (simple mouse clicks). Sometimes I rename the chord. By clicking on what looks like a crayon in the menu, a blank fret shape appears off to the side, over which you can drag any chord from the library. It is there that you you change the notes, name of the chord, and fingerings. After that, you drag the chord into your library or into your WP program (like Pages), or both. When I had questions, support was immediate and thorough. The only flaw is that you cannot create a library of new chords that you create. For example I would like to be able to set up my own folder for just 3-note chords. Another thing I wish it would do is, once you line up a set of chords, that it would play the progression. All it does is play each chord as you click on it individually. Those 2 things are what prevent me from going all out with 5 stars. I found this program just 3 weeks before my class and have easily made the 8 worksheets I need. I will be making a lot more with this program. Now if I could find one for ukulele that works like this one. Show more

It's a little steep for what it does, but I like constructing and listening to progressions. It would be nice if I had the option to select a key, then scroll through the variations (minor, major, add9, diminished, etc) without having to search for the chord. Many apps for iPhone, such as GuitarToolkit do this, and it's great. It's got potential, but it's not there yet. Show more

I downloaded v1.5.2 and was using it for a few days when I decided to buy it. What got downloaded was a newer scaled down version with less functionality and fewer features. If, I did, in fact, get the license for the older version I would rate it a 4 or a 5. Do not buy this one until they restore the full functionality of the older version. If nothing else, they should send you a license to enter into the older demo version that you can download. Show more