Show HN: A tool for creating chord charts on the go
107 points by tiniuclx 12 hours ago | 29 comments
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 12 hours ago |
    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?

    • tiniuclx 11 hours ago |
      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 :)

      • aanet 9 hours ago |
        Yes please! Plus one for an iOS version !!

        App looks lovely

        • fallingmeat 2 hours ago |
          plus two
    • bejd 11 hours ago |
      >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...

  • cdawzrd 11 hours ago |
    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 10 hours ago |
      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 11 hours ago |
    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 10 hours ago |
      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 9 hours ago |
        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 7 hours ago |
          I haven't thought about that, thanks! I'll probably have to write my own NFC integration with Godot...
  • jpc0 11 hours ago |
    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 10 hours ago |
      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.
  • pimlottc 10 hours ago |
    What advantages does this have over existing apps, like iReal Pro?
    • tiniuclx 10 hours ago |
      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.

  • johnnythunder 9 hours ago |
    Before I spend the dollars for this, does it play/preview the chord for you when you tap it or long press it?
    • tiniuclx 9 hours ago |
      Not yet! That's a planned feature - chords will sound out when entered and when tapped within the chart.
      • johnnythunder 8 hours ago |
        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 8 hours ago |
          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!

  • itslennysfault 8 hours ago |
    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.
  • moefh 8 hours ago |
    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 8 hours ago |
      Yes you are right! I'll fix it straight away.

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

  • recursive 7 hours ago |
    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 5 hours ago |
      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.

  • unkoman 4 hours ago |
    Looks great! Anyone have a good app for remembering chords or notes? Guitar or any other instruments.
    • tiniuclx 4 hours ago |
      My go-to for figuring out chords I don't know on guitar is Oolimo - I hope that suits your usecase.
  • pglevy 4 hours ago |
    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 4 hours ago |
      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.
  • inkognito 2 hours ago |
    Congrats! Reminds me of sequencer which I use often:

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