ChordMatch Information

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Do you ever get stuck figuring out one or more chords in a song?  (I do.)  ChordMatch provides help by listing chords that contain the melody note -- that is, chords that match any given note.  You provide the name of the melody note (or any other note in the mystery chord) and ChordMatch tells you all the common and some uncommon chords that contain that note.

Methods of Figuring Out Song Chords

There are five general alternatives for figuring out chords to a song from a recording. These are:

1. Ear via Pitch Recognition:  Some people can hear and identify chords on the basis of a combination of absolute and relative pitch/interval recognition.  Related to "perfect pitch".
2. Software via Pitch Recognition:  Some available software determines or suggests musical notes and chords from recordings.
3. Patterns of Common Chord Changes:  For example, many songs have I-IV-I-V-I or ii-V-I changes in them.
4. Theory:  Music theory lets you know that certain chords are more likely to crop up when you're in specific keys/modes.
5. Trial and Error (Matching):  This is when you pause a recording, chunk a chord on your instrument, and ask "Does it match?". Often, guesses informed by some knowledge of patterns and theory can make this process pretty efficient. But if you get stuck, this is where ChordMatch can help.

Suggestions for Using ChordMatch

If you're hung up trying to find a chord, try to identify a single note such as the melody note by matching it on your instrument. This works best if you select a note where the melody has "landed" when a chord change takes place.  Try to avoid so-called passing notes which are not a part of the underlying chord.

Once you've identified a single note that's in the chord you need, then you can try all the chords that contain that note and hope you can hear the match. ChordMatch lists common chords that match your specified note, thus giving you a set of chords to try. ChordMatch chord suggestions are grouped into more-common and less-common matches.

So find your note, get your list of chords to try, and check them one at a time. Don't stop at the first chord that sounds OK, unless you are sure it is exactly right. Keep trying until you find the best chord match.

Good luck, and I hope ChordMatch helps you in your efforts.

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