Manual Chord diagrams


 by FireFlyFlo.fr  by FireFlyFlo.fr

This chord diagram feature is still under construction.
Although it is functional, some fine-tuning needs to be done.
And the manual is not complete and still needs some work.
October 2023

Adding chord diagrams

to the chord charts is convenient in many ways.

You can …

  • … create song sheets for beginners
  • … explicitly notate a chord voicing
  • … create a standalone chord dictionary

Guitar

B7 chord diagram

Ukulele

B7 chord diagram - Ukulele

Mandolin

B7 chord diagram - Ukulele

Before you start

You should be familiar with the basics of using this tool to create simple chord sheets.

It's a good idea to add the chord diagrams as a final step.
After finishing a regular sheet.

There are two multi-page PDFs showing the core concepts.

1. What types of applications are intended.

2. How to add the chord diagrams.


Chord diagram dictionaries

You can select a chord diagram dictionary in the settings.
So you don't have to provide the chord diagrams yourself.

However, if the chord is not available in the dictionary, you can add a chord diagram definition yourself.


Examples

Please have a look at the examples.


These chars have a special meaning.

. period
after a chord to show the chord diagram.
. period
before a line to show chord diagrams for this line.
// def
start a line with chord definitions.
// def
diagrams are visible and valid for the whole chart
/// def
diagrams are valid for the whole chart but not visible
//// def
diagrams are visible and valid for the page
///// def
diagrams are valid for the page but not visible
diagram definition fret
x fret
muted string
0 fret
open string
1-9 fret
fret number
a-f fret
fret number, hexadecimal (a = 10, b = 11, ... ,f = 15)
diagram definition fingering (optional)
0 fingering
open string
1-4 fingering
finger
t fingering
thumb

A valid guitar chord diagram definition has to match this pattern:
[0-9a-fx]{6}([0-4t]{6})?

Although it looks overwhelmingly technically complicated, it is very simple once you get the hang of it.

This is an example of a C7 chord. (without and with the fingering)

// C7 x32310
// C7 x32310032410

So it is 6 chars for the fret positions, and optionally 6 more chars for the fingering.

Have a look at this example with some fancy chords.

1. Types of applications
Example "Azzuro"
Example Types of applications
2. How-to
Example "Love Me Tender"
Example how-to
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