Summary of chord lookup methods.
Source | Dan’s Tests | Cost | Comments | |
Maj7 1 | Bonus 2 | |||
Chord House Simple | Fail | Fail | Free | Beginner site |
Chord House Advanced | Pass | Pass | Free | Shows all scale note positions on neck. Good reference but you have to figure out diagrams. |
Gootar | Pass | Fail | Free | Takes too much work to find variations of chord. |
Chorderator | Partial Credit | Passes | Free | Recommended |
Guitar Chords (UK) | Pass | Fail | Free | Good site. Recommended |
Source | Dan’s Tests | Cost | Comments | |
Maj7 | Bonus | |||
iChord | Pass | Fail | Free | It runs in your browser and requires the internet. |
TuxGuitar | Fail | Pass | Free | It’s chord tool is OK for most users. |
GuitarPro | Fail | Pass | $59.95 | GP5 chord tool about the same as TuxGuitar only GuitarPro isn’t free. |
TablEdit | NA | NA | $59.97 | Not recommend for chord lookup. |
PowerTab | Pass | Pass | Free | It’s good. It’s free. Recommend. |
Guitar Chords.exe | Partial Credit | Pass | Free | Recommended |
Guitar Chord Dictionary 3.0 | NA | NA | $29.99 | The iChord browser tool from the same company is free. I haven’t tried this tool but I can’t see paying for it when there’s so many good free tools. |
Source | Dan’s Tests | Cost | Comments | |
Maj7 | Bonus | |||
The Jazz Guitar Chord Bible Complete (Jazz Masters Series) by Warren Nunes © 1999 Warner Brothers Publications. |
Pass | Pass | $15.56 | Good jazz chord reference. The progressions are a nice addition but get in the way when looking up chords. |
Guitar Chord Encyclopedia (Ultimate Guitarist’s Reference) by Steve Hall. © 1993 Alfred Publishing Co., Inc |
Pass | Fail | $13.57 | Another Good reference. Recommended. |
Mel Bay’s Complete Book of Guitar Chords, Scales and Arpeggios by William Bay. © 1992 Mel Bay Publications. |
Pass | Fail | $16.49 | Very good reference. Recommended. |
Essential Guitar Chords by Robert Hartz. © 1993 Mt. Holly Press. (Only available from used booksellers). | Fail | Pass | NA | It seems to be out of print. Considering the good references in print – and other sources, not a great loss. |
The technology curve
I can’t make up my mind about the order of some of these. Although the technology curve is moving to smart phone apps, I still like books. That doesn’t mean that I won’t go to desktop, online or phone app tool before I go to a book. From oldest to newest tech.
- Books
- Charts
- Desktop Software
- Online Software
- Dedicated Devices
- PDA Software
- Smart Phone Apps
