Notes on chords, audio and getting the most out of ChordSonic.
Short reads on chord recognition, stem separation, music theory and how to use ChordSonic effectively.
How to find the BPM of a song: 3 methods compared
Three ways to find the tempo of a song — tap along, count beats over 15 seconds, or upload to an audio BPM finder. Trade-offs, accuracy and a genre cheat sheet.
ReadHow to figure out the chords of a song (without going insane)
Two reliable ways to work out the chords of a track: by ear with a clear method, or with an audio chord finder. When each one is right, and the mistakes that quietly cost you hours.
ReadChordify alternatives in 2026: 6 honest picks compared
Looking for something other than Chordify in 2026? Six audio chord finders compared side by side — what each does well, where each falls short, and how to pick the right one for your use case.
ReadWhy your DAW's auto-key detection is often wrong
Ableton, Logic, and FL Studio all ship key detectors, and all of them get it wrong on a meaningful fraction of tracks. Here's why — and what to look at when the answer smells off.
ReadHow to figure out what key a song is in (without guessing)
Three practical ways to find the key of a song — counting sharps and flats, listening for the home chord, or using automatic detection. Plus why the answer is sometimes ambiguous.
ReadWhat is a chord progression, really?
A chord progression is the engine of nearly every song you've ever heard. Here's what it actually is, why some progressions feel 'finished' and others feel like a question, and how to read the most common ones.
ReadMajor vs minor: training your ear to hear the difference
Major chords sound happy, minor chords sound sad — the trope is true but misleading. Here's a more useful way to hear the difference, with exercises that build the discrimination in under a week.
ReadThe 4 chords behind 80% of pop songs: I-V-vi-IV explained
From 'Let It Be' to 'No Woman No Cry,' a single chord progression powers a remarkable chunk of pop. Here's why it works, what it sounds like in every key, and how to spot it in songs you know.
ReadCapo math without overthinking it: the guitarist's transposition shortcut
Stop calculating capo positions in your head. Here's the rule that gets you from any key to any other key with one capo, plus when to use it and when to switch chord shapes instead.
ReadHow to find the chords of any song: 4 methods compared
Four ways to figure out the chords in a track — by ear, with a piano, using chord-finder sites, or with automatic recognition. When to use each and the trade-offs.
ReadWhy stem separation makes chord detection better
Drums and vocals add energy at frequencies that confuse chord detectors. Separating stems before chroma extraction noticeably improves accuracy — here's why, with the audio signal-processing intuition.
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