When You Need This
Chord identification comes up more often than you'd think:
You stumbled onto something good. You were noodling, your fingers landed somewhere, and it sounded great. Now you need to know what it's called so you can use it intentionally.
You saw a shape online. A chord diagram in a forum post, a freeze-frame from a tutorial video, a photo of someone's hand on a fretboard. No label. You want to know what chord it is.
You're watching a video and can see the fingers but not the chord name. Pause, tap the frets into Fretscape, and instantly know.
You want to understand a shape you already play. You've been using it for years but never knew its proper name. Is it an add9? A sus4? A slash chord? Knowing lets you find it in other positions and use it in new contexts.
How It Works
So what is a chord identifier? It's a tool that works backwards - instead of searching by name, you tell it what you're playing and it tells you the name. Fretscape's takes seconds:
1. Tap frets on the interactive fretboard - mark which strings and frets you're pressing. Mark open strings and muted strings too.
2. See the chord name instantly - Fretscape analyses the note combination and identifies the chord. Not a database lookup - real harmonic analysis.
3. See every alternative interpretation - many shapes can be read as more than one chord. A simple C major shape? Fretscape also shows you it could be a G6sus, an Emb6, an Am7, and more. You see all valid readings so you understand the full picture.
4. Play it back - hear what the shape sounds like before you even pick up your guitar.
5. Transpose and explore - slide the shape up or down the fretboard to see how the chord changes. Change the root note. Switch between showing fingers, notes, or intervals on the diagram.
Works With Your Setup
The reverse lookup isn't locked to standard tuning. Switch to any of the 16 preset tunings, set up a custom tuning, or add a capo - the identification adjusts automatically. Left-handed mode flips the fretboard so everything reads correctly for you.
Beyond Identification
What makes Fretscape the best chord identifier app isn't just naming the chord - it's what happens next.
Explore all voicings
Found out you're playing an Fsus2? See every other way to play Fsus2 on the fretboard, narrowed down to your skill level and setup.
Explore voicingsSee how it connects
Now that you know the chord, see how it fits with the chords around it. Find the fingering that makes the change smooth.
Learn about transitionsBuild it into a progression
Add your identified chord to a sequence and let Fretscape find the smoothest path through it.
Build a progressionFind the key
Not sure what key your newly identified chord fits in? Add it to a progression and Fretscape will tell you.
Find your keyEvery feature connects. Identification is just the starting point.
Name that chord in seconds.
Tap the frets. Get the chord name, intervals, and every alternative interpretation. Then explore everything Fretscape can do with it.