JamBuddy - Tools for Musicians

JamBuddy

About this app

Sheet music search and display, chord recognition, and live transcription with split screen so you can read and listen at the same time!

JamBuddy names the chord you're playing in real time — root, quality, bass note, and where it sits in the key. It reads the sound, not a fixed fretboard, so real-time chord detection works with any instrument: guitar, mandolin, ukulele, fiddle, banjo, bass, piano, whatever you play. It's a chord identifier, key finder, and ear-training aid in one.

Around that live read is a full practice kit tuned for jams: chord and key detection, a chromatic tuner, an accurate metronome, a searchable tune library, ABC sheet music with tabs, a song slow-downer, and live transcription. No ads, no subscription, core features all work offline.

CHORD & KEY DETECTION
• Real-time chord detection with on-device neural pitch tracking and harmonic analysis — a chord finder/identifier that keeps up as you play
• Root, quality, bass/slash chords, and live key context
• Automatic key detection, or lock the key yourself
• Circle of Fifths that lights up with your harmony
• Next-chord suggestions based on how chord progressions move
• Confidence readout and adjustable detection

TUNER
• Chromatic tuner with cents feedback — a guitar tuner, bass tuner, ukulele tuner, mandolin tuner, banjo tuner, and violin/fiddle tuner in one
• Tap-to-measure spectrum tuner with fundamental and harmonics

METRONOME
• Accurate visual metronome that stays in time
• Custom time signatures, subdivisions, and strum/rhythm patterns
• Tap tempo, count-in, and a vibrate mode for loud rooms

ABC SHEET MUSIC & TABS
• Render ABC notation as clean sheet music with chord symbols, lyrics, and tablature
• Guitar tabs, fiddle/mandolin tabs, ukulele and baritone ukulele tabs
• Transpose by semitone or to any key
• Set tempo/BPM and play the tune back
• Play melody + chords, chords only, or melody only, with note highlighting and repeat
• Choose MIDI instrument sounds for playback
• Override clef, shift octaves, show/hide headers, adjust scale and measures per row
• Print, or export ABC, PNG, SVG, and audio

TUNE LIBRARY
• Built-in Irish, old-time, bluegrass, hymn, and practice tunes
• Search by title, composer, key, rhythm, or genre
• Import ABC files, paste ABC, or pull from online sources like thesession.org and GitHub
• Attach your own PDFs, images, audio, and recordings to any tune
• Link YouTube/Spotify and play linked audio and video in the app
• Keep notes, lyrics, alternate settings, loops, and metadata in collections

SLOW DOWN, LOOP & RECORD
• Song slow-downer: 5%–250% with no pitch change
• Set A/B loop points on a tricky measure or solo, saved per tune
• Record your own takes alongside the song

CHORD BROWSER & FRETBOARD
• A chord dictionary to look up chord shapes and multiple voicings
• Fretboard/fingerboard reference for supported string instruments

LIVE TRANSCRIPTION
• Turn a melody you play into editable ABC notation
• Count-in, grid quantization, and triplet/swing feel for cleaner rhythm

VISUALIZE IT YOUR WAY
• Circle of Fifths, big chord display, fretboard, next chord, histogram, spectrogram, and timeline
• Single, split-screen, or full-screen focus layouts
• Light, dark, Material You, custom themes, and interval colors

SUPPORTED INSTRUMENTS
Chord detection and the tuner work with any instrument. Tabs, chord charts, and the fretboard cover guitar, mandolin, ukulele, baritone ukulele, and fiddle.

FREE & PRIVATE
Microphone audio is analyzed on-device, so chord detection, the tuner, and transcription work with no internet. No ads, subscriptions, paywalls, or locked tools — every feature is in the free app.

Whether you're learning a song by ear, transcribing a solo, running an Irish session or bluegrass jam, teaching, drilling scales and chord progressions, or noodling on the couch, JamBuddy keeps the theory visible and the tools a tap away — great for ear training, music theory, songwriting, and building your own tune book.

What’s new

New split view + dedicated Manage screen for tunes.
New chord view for live performance.
Improved live transcription.
Accurate note highlighting + auto-scroll during playback.
GitHub ABC search, tap tuning tools, UI refinements, and stability improvements.
Makes the native piano soundfont default so playback works offline by default