Show HN: A tool for creating chord charts on the go

[tiniuclx]

https://tiniuc.com/chord-chart-memo/

Author here - one of the most notable facts about the app is that it's made entirely in Godot Game Engine! I think it's great for apps like this because it makes it especialy easy to iterate on GUI designs such as this one.

Feel free to ask me anything about Chord Chart Memo, or my experience with Godot.

[maroonblazer]

Congrats on shipping!

I enjoyed your write up, and was surprised to read that it was built in Godot, which I'd only ever considered for games, but of course it makes sense that games are simply a kind of app.

Love that you employ the circle of 5ths in the keyboard, whereas a more naive approach might've been to just ascend stepwise from C.

Any plans for an iOS version? Does Godot make it easy to port to other platforms?

[bejd → maroonblazer]

>was surprised to read that it was built in Godot, which I'd only ever considered for games

The Godot editor is built in Godot [0]

[0] https://docs.godotengine.org/en/3.5/getting_started/introduc...

[tiniuclx → maroonblazer]

Thanks a lot! Yeah, when I had the idea for the circle of fifths keyboard, I knew I just had to build it because it has so many benefits compared to the naive approach, especially when thinking "harmonically".

Yes, there are plans for an iOS version! Godot has native support for iOS, so it should be pretty much plug-and-play. I haven't done it yet because of the developer fee that Apple charges, and because I am mainly an Android user myself. If there is enough interest though, I'm sure my partner would let me borrow her Macbook & iPad in order to bring this out though :)

[kvakkefly → tiniuclx]

Yes, would love this on my iPhone. Reach out on andershaf@gmail.com if you want help on shipping in the Apple app store, I have a few apps there myself.

[aanet → tiniuclx]

Yes please! Plus one for an iOS version !!

App looks lovely

[fallingmeat → aanet]

plus two

[bobbles → tiniuclx]

please do ios! would be happy to pay

[jpc0]

Looks really cool.

Would you concider addinf support for numbers only. Generally for my use case I actually only use numbers and not specific chords... I IV V vii etc

[tiniuclx → jpc0]

Yes I have considered support for roman numeral notation! It would not be too hard to put the keyboard into a mode where roman numerals are displayed for the note keys & chart itself.

[cdawzrd]

Congrats! Looks like a very clean app.

Because it isn't clear from the launch page: can it play sounds? I'm wondering if it can "audition" chords so that I can get a double-check on whether I'm picking the right one. I'm a musician who mostly plays by ear and improvisation, and I sometimes have to spend an annoying amount of time figuring out the correct name of a chord if I want to write it down for another musician to play. (a feature that showed which notes made up each chord, maybe behind a long press or something, would also be handy for this)

[tiniuclx → cdawzrd]

No sounds just yet - but that is a planned feature. The sounds of the chords will play every time a chord is input, and upon tapping any given chord, for feedbock.

Interesting suggestion about showing the note names that make up each chord! The data will definitely be in the app when sounds are added, I'll have to think about adding that.

[jonrosner]

Nice tool, congrats. Looks reasonable for the target audience. Is there a chord library for common songs? Or even sharing my chords with others?

[tiniuclx → jonrosner]

A share button is pretty high on the priority list, as that's what musicians in bands would need the most.

As for libraries of charts, there are many other apps that do that very well already! I wanted to focus on fast editing of charts for musicians writing original songs, who are not really served that well by other apps at the moment.

[gstrike → tiniuclx]

Seems like NFC may be a nice way to share since musicians would most likely be physically close to each other. Congrats on shipping!

[tiniuclx → gstrike]

I haven't thought about that, thanks! I'll probably have to write my own NFC integration with Godot...

[naiquevin]

Looks really good. I've felt the need for such an app on more than one occasions. But I'll have to wait for the iOS version I guess (based on the other comment).

Aside: Following your github link led me to discover another one of your music related projects, harmony-explorer which seems quite similar to something I've wanted to build for myself.

[tiniuclx → naiquevin]

Thanks - it's good to know there really is demand for iOS!

Parts of Harmony Explorer are kind of still in the app to this very day, namely the modulo-12 arithmetic for notes. And once support for sounding chords is added, that will also be heavily based on how things were done in Harmony Explorer.

[moefh]

Small nitpick:

> For example, the I - IV - VIIm - V7 progression below uses the same motions in A as it would in C, where the chords would be C F Am G7.

Shouldn't that be "I - IV - VIm - V7" instead? (The transposition from A to C looks right, it's just the roman numeral for the 3rd chord in the text that is wrong).

[tiniuclx → moefh]

Yes you are right! I'll fix it straight away.

The transposition is correct because I used the app for it ;)

[itslennysfault]

Awesome! I've been brain storming an app for a while and have been debating between Flutter and Godot. I've done a couple small games in Godot and really enjoyed it, but I was hesitant to do a non-game with it.

[RALaBarge]

This looks really cool.

How long have you played the Stick? I’ve played a few stringed instruments, but I’ve never even seen one irl. I’m curious as to how you would compare playing that vs. a traditional guitar?

[tiniuclx → RALaBarge]

Hah, I did not expect _this_ question! I've been playing the Stick since 2020. Most of my technique is self-taught, or based on the book that comes with the instrument, but I did take lessons with the late Greg Howard for a while

It doesn't play anything like a traditional guitar! Some of the shapes are the same on the melody side, but you're now tapping them with your right hand instead of fretting them with your left. In a lot of ways it's more like playing the piano than any other fretboard instrument.

Lately I've been performing in a band, where the Stick slots into the traditional 'bass guitar' slot. There the technique is quite similar, a lot of the time I am playing it exactly like a bass. However it has a much bigger pallette of sounds available to you: tapping the strings (instead of plucking) creates a much more aggressive & throaty bass tone. And at the same time you can very easily play broad, airy chords, or harmony & melody.

My only wish is that it came with a sustain pedal like the piano ;)

[pglevy]

Very cool! Sharing with my wife, a high school music tech teacher. I could see this being helpful for her students both preparing for shows and learning about composition.

[tiniuclx → pglevy]

Thanks a lot, definitely! Education would be a great usecase for this, as it is so easy to create charts on the go for students to play or practice.

[ehnto]

Interesting! How was Godot for a UI intensive application like this?

I have been using it for games and am totally enamoured by the speed, pragmatism and simplicity of the engine. I would totally use it for non-game projects.

A small aside, this reminds me of one of my first attempts at a digital side hustle, a website called "What fucking chord is this" that let you enter the notes, and get back all the different chord names.

[tiniuclx → ehnto]

Godot is great for UI, mostly thanks to the editor itself being made in Godot.

I've written another blog post about this very topic: https://tiniuc.com/godot-for-apps/

[joshdavham]

> It always takes longer than you think

Thanks for sharing this! Honestly makes me feel better about some of my projects

[mrdevlar]

Glad to hear that people are finally realizing that Godot is an excellent app development framework.

[unkoman]

Looks great! Anyone have a good app for remembering chords or notes? Guitar or any other instruments.

[tiniuclx → unkoman]

My go-to for figuring out chords I don't know on guitar is Oolimo - I hope that suits your usecase.

[inkognito]

Congrats! Reminds me of sequencer which I use often:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a8KYHfCKr8

[johnnythunder]

Before I spend the dollars for this, does it play/preview the chord for you when you tap it or long press it?

[tiniuclx → johnnythunder]

Not yet! That's a planned feature - chords will sound out when entered and when tapped within the chart.

[johnnythunder → tiniuclx]

Amazing - you've got my money! and a feature request to maybe add variations to each of the chords (inversions, arps, etc) when you edit them, and maybe a player/looper to preview the sketched ideas!

[tiniuclx → johnnythunder]

Thanks a lot!

You are already able to input inversions, using the Slash Chords feature. Once the sound engine is implemented, being able to hear the specified inversion will come for free.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll keep them in mind!

[recursive]

This is exactly what I need. Thanks. Just bought it. Is there a way to indicate major chords with "M" instead of "maj"? I find that easier to read.

[tiniuclx → recursive]

Many thanks for your purchase!

Not at the moment, but a "Preferences" menu is in the works. This would be a great addition to that, alongside an option jazz notation and the like.

[pimlottc]

What advantages does this have over existing apps, like iReal Pro?

[tiniuclx → pimlottc]

Chord Chart Memo is much cheaper than iReal Pro, and it is laser-focused on making it as easy as possible to enter your own charts. Most apps on the market are designed for playing charts made by other people - Chord Chart Memo aims to serve musicians and songwriters working on original music which might not have a widely available chart online.

Chord Chart Memo is also specifically designed with the stage in mind: charts load quickly & work entirely offline.