ChordMate Tutorial

Create Custom Diagrams

ChordMate lets you create your own custom diagrams. Go to the Chord Progression menu and select "Custom Chord."

You can drag-and-drop chords from the Search Window and the Chord Progression Window into the Custom Chord Window to use as a template. Then use the simple interface to customize the chord. Click on the custom chord to hear how it sounds. When you are done, drag-and-drop the new diagram into the Chord Progression Window or into your favorite text editor.

ChordMate uses standard notation to specify chord diagrams. The following chord is written as [X 0 2 2 2 0]. The X means that the sixth string is silent. The 0's mean that the fifth and the first strings are played open. The 2 2 2 indicate that the fourth, third, and second strings are played on the 2nd fret. Additionally, you can add a B next to a string to indicate the start of a barre and R to specify the root note. For example, [5R 4 2B 2 X X] results in: ChordMate also understands the shorthand notation often used when all frets are single digits, so the above chord could be written as 5422xx. However, this notation doesn't let you specify the root and barre.

See the Custom Chords reference page for more details on how to enter custom diagrams.