WhatChord

Earthman Muons

About this app

Identify chords from live MIDI or manual note entry, follow the key as you play, then explore the harmony behind them.

Stop guessing what chord you're playing.

WhatChord gives musicians fast, musically informed chord names and live key context. Connect a Bluetooth or USB MIDI keyboard for instant feedback, or use the lookup pad to enter notes from any instrument, sheet music, or recording. Auto key detection listens to your recent live chords, shows confidence, and waits when the evidence is ambiguous. Explore Chords and Explore Scales let you build and hear chords, browse a wide range of scales, inspect keyboard patterns, and understand diatonic harmony.

Play it. Explore it. Learn it.

WhatChord goes beyond simple note matching. Its musically informed analysis considers inversions, extensions, slash chords, altered tones, key context, and conventional naming practices so chord names appear the way musicians expect to see them. When you're comping with a bassist, Ensemble mode names rootless voicings as the chords they imply and marks the implied root on the keyboard.

FEATURES

- Real-time chord recognition
Chord names update immediately as you play.

- Automatic key detection
Auto mode estimates the current key from recent live chords, shows confidence across major and minor keys, and can keep the app's key context following your playing.

- Manual chord lookup
Enter notes directly to identify a chord, choose its bass note, and inspect alternative interpretations without connecting a MIDI device.

- Explore chords
Tap the chord card to open explore mode and build or hear chords without a keyboard by adjusting the root, quality, extensions, and bass note.

- Explore scales
Tap the scale-degree strip to browse a wide range of scales with tones, keyboard patterns, and diatonic chords.

- Musically informed analysis
Recognizes inversions, extensions, slash chords, upper structures, altered tones, and complex harmony.

- Ensemble mode
When comping with a bassist, switch to Ensemble so rootless voicings are named as the chords they imply.

- Alternative interpretations
See other valid chord names when more than one reading makes musical sense.

- Context-aware spelling
Uses enharmonic notation based on key signature and chord function.

- Customizable notation
Choose the chord symbol style you prefer.

- MIDI compatibility
Works with standard Bluetooth MIDI and USB MIDI keyboards and controllers.

RECOGNITION

WhatChord identifies everything from simple triads to rich extended harmony and follows key context from real playing. Whether you're practicing theory, learning progressions, exploring altered dominants, or working through dense extended chords, the app names what you play with accuracy and musical intent.

PRIVACY

WhatChord is free, contains no ads, and collects no personal data. All analysis happens locally on your device.

GET STARTED

Play through MIDI, enter notes manually, or start exploring chords, keys, and scales right away.

What’s new

- New Ensemble mode names rootless voicings as the chords they imply when you're comping with a bassist. Implied roots appear on the keyboard, and shared links preserve the playing mode.
- Automatic key detection follows clear openings, cadences, and modulations sooner.
- Chord naming now uses the current key to resolve common sixth-versus-seventh ambiguities.
- Added a Scale Degree Guide to the website.