Chordify alternatives for guitar players

Chordify turns a song into a scrolling chord chart so you play along. But the free tier has limits. So what's out there that's free?

Some apps detect chords, some are tab libraries. I was very curious about the options; I will keep adding to this list as I find something interesting.

Maybe you don't even need a chords app. Maybe you need a serious talk.

Quick picks

ChordU

Link: chordu.com

ChordU has more free features than Chordify. You can pick between chord variations (simple/advanced) and bass. I find both to be hit or miss though.

Yamaha Chord Tracker

Link: yamaha-chord-tracker

Free, shows chords for songs on your phone.

StrumTube

Link: strumtube.com

You paste a YouTube link, get chords. Free.

Ultimate Guitar

Link: ultimate-guitar.com

UG is great. Of the tools here, I've used UG the most; but their staff-created pages aren't freely available. Unofficial pages are free to view, they're good enough most of the time.

Songsterr

Link: songsterr.com

Popular, good, but throttled for free users.

TheoryTab by Hooktheory

Link: hooktheory.com/theorytab

Free, unlimited views. I think this is the one you should pick.

I find chord lookup tools a substitute for learning theory.

Chordify is interesting. Songs uploaded on YouTube are copyrighted by YouTube, but Chordify gets around that by not hosting those files. It embeds those videos on its platform and shows chords for them.

I'm not exactly convinced running an algorithm on YouTube videos is legally allowed, but let's skip that for now.

Anyway, Chordify takes you from "I've heard that song" to "I can play that!". Cool, right?

Not exactly. I think (A) looking up chords to a song and playing them is very different than (B) figuring it out, then playing it. A means - you have no idea why you are playing those chords. B means - you understand the key, progressions, and probably know how to play in any key you want.

I hear friends saying the right chords for Hotel California are Bm F♯ A E G D Em F♯ (which is true). But then, they judge people when they don't see a Bm. It feels very strange to me because Hotel California was lowered to Bm (from Em) to match Don Henley's voice.

I'm curious - are you looking up chords because you forgot some parts or are you trying to avoid learning any part of music theory?

If you learn to hear the key, then figure out chords by ear, not only can you do the same thing for all instruments you play, in every key, but you will also better understand the choices behind those chord changes. You can imagine yourself as the guitarist writing those songs, and think why a certain chord makes more sense.

Perhaps you can reason why a different chord progression may fit the song better. Then, you're basically reharmonizing the song. I feel like this is a much more meaningful goal than the instant gratification of being able to play songs by looking up chords.

You can start with the circle of fifths and browse our chord library if you'd like to learn more about understanding and applying music theory.

You seem to have many options

I think the best alternative to Chordify or any chord app is putting in some effort to understand theory. There's friction and it takes time, but it's an investment and makes you a much better player :)

But if you're looking for a quick reference, something like Ultimate Guitar or ChordU or StrumTube can be a good idea.

FAQs

What is the best free Chordify alternative?

Try TheoryTab. For guitar parts, Ultimate Guitar or Songsterr work fine. My opinion? I want you to put in some time to learn the theory well and avoid relying on these apps alone :)