Theory

Chord Sharing

Type any chord name to map its notes across the fretboard with the root ringed, and compare it with up to three other chords.

Guitar
Ukulele
Banjo
Bass

Chord Sharing on guitar, the Chords tab, with a box for entering a chord name and four chords listed: Daug9 (D, F♯, A♯, C, E), D7, Am7 and Emaj7. Only Daug9 (blue) is switched on. Its notes are shown across the fretboard from fret 3, with the root D ringed.

Type a chord name, even an unusual one like Daug9: its notes across the neck, root ringed.

Chord Sharing on guitar with D7 (green) switched on alongside Daug9. The notes the two chords share, D, F♯ and C, are split into blue and green pie slices, and A, the note only D7 has, is a solid green dot.

Add D7: it shares D, F♯ and C with Daug9, and only the A is new.

Chord Sharing on guitar with Am7 (orange) switched on as well as Daug9 and D7. Notes shared by Am7 and the other chords are pie slices, and G, the note only Am7 has, is a solid orange dot.

Add Am7: it shares A, C and E, and only the G is new.

Chord Sharing on guitar with all four chords switched on: Daug9 (blue), D7 (green), Am7 (orange) and Emaj7 (purple). Emaj7 shares only the E; its G♯, B and D♯ are solid purple dots, and the roots are ringed.

Four chords at once: Emaj7 shares only E, so G♯, B and D♯ stand out in purple.

Chord Sharing on ukulele, the Chords tab, with a box for entering a chord name and four chords listed: Daug9 (D, F♯, A♯, C, E), D7, Am7 and Emaj7. Only Daug9 (blue) is switched on. Its notes are shown across the fretboard (the four strings A, E, C and G), with the root D ringed.

Type a chord name, even an unusual one like Daug9: its notes across the neck, root ringed.

Chord Sharing on ukulele with D7 (green) switched on alongside Daug9. The notes the two chords share, D, F♯ and C, are split into blue and green pie slices, and A, the note only D7 has, is a solid green dot.

Add D7: it shares D, F♯ and C with Daug9, and only the A is new.

Chord Sharing on ukulele with Am7 (orange) switched on as well as Daug9 and D7. Notes shared by Am7 and the other chords are pie slices, and G, the note only Am7 has, is a solid orange dot.

Add Am7: it shares A, C and E, and only the G is new.

Chord Sharing on ukulele with all four chords switched on: Daug9 (blue), D7 (green), Am7 (orange) and Emaj7 (purple). Emaj7 shares only the E; its G♯, B and D♯ are solid purple dots, and the roots are ringed.

Four chords at once: Emaj7 shares only E, so G♯, B and D♯ stand out in purple.

Chord Sharing on banjo, the Chords tab, with a box for entering a chord name and four chords listed: Daug9 (D, F♯, A♯, C, E), D7, Am7 and Emaj7. Only Daug9 (blue) is switched on. Its notes are shown across the fretboard (the four strings D, B, G and D, plus the short g drone string, which starts at fret 5), with the root D ringed.

Type a chord name, even an unusual one like Daug9: its notes across the neck, root ringed.

Chord Sharing on banjo with D7 (green) switched on alongside Daug9. The notes the two chords share, D, F♯ and C, are split into blue and green pie slices, and A, the note only D7 has, is a solid green dot.

Add D7: it shares D, F♯ and C with Daug9, and only the A is new.

Chord Sharing on banjo with Am7 (orange) switched on as well as Daug9 and D7. Notes shared by Am7 and the other chords are pie slices, and G, the note only Am7 has, is a solid orange dot.

Add Am7: it shares A, C and E, and only the G is new.

Chord Sharing on banjo with all four chords switched on: Daug9 (blue), D7 (green), Am7 (orange) and Emaj7 (purple). Emaj7 shares only the E; its G♯, B and D♯ are solid purple dots, and the roots are ringed.

Four chords at once: Emaj7 shares only E, so G♯, B and D♯ stand out in purple.

Chord Sharing on bass, the Chords tab, with a box for entering a chord name and four chords listed: Daug9 (D, F♯, A♯, C, E), D7, Am7 and Emaj7. Only Daug9 (blue) is switched on. Its notes are shown across the fretboard (the four strings G, D, A and E), with the root D ringed.

Type a chord name, even an unusual one like Daug9: its notes across the neck, root ringed.

Chord Sharing on bass with D7 (green) switched on alongside Daug9. The notes the two chords share, D, F♯ and C, are split into blue and green pie slices, and A, the note only D7 has, is a solid green dot.

Add D7: it shares D, F♯ and C with Daug9, and only the A is new.

Chord Sharing on bass with Am7 (orange) switched on as well as Daug9 and D7. Notes shared by Am7 and the other chords are pie slices, and G, the note only Am7 has, is a solid orange dot.

Add Am7: it shares A, C and E, and only the G is new.

Chord Sharing on bass with all four chords switched on: Daug9 (blue), D7 (green), Am7 (orange) and Emaj7 (purple). Emaj7 shares only the E; its G♯, B and D♯ are solid purple dots, and the roots are ringed.

Four chords at once: Emaj7 shares only E, so G♯, B and D♯ stand out in purple.

Chord Sharing is the Chords tab of Scales. It shows where a chord’s notes sit across the whole fretboard, and where several chords overlap.

Use the instrument tabs above the screenshots to see it on guitar, ukulele, banjo or bass; the strings and tuning follow the instrument.

How it works

Type any chord name – even unusual ones such as Daug9 – into the box at the top and add it. GTK lists the chord’s notes and maps them across the fretboard, with the root ringed.

View up to four chords. Each gets its own colour – blue, green, orange or purple – and they’re drawn on one fretboard. Where chords share a fret, the dot is split into pie slices, one per chord. Dots that belong to only one chord stay solid.

Tap the eye to show or hide a chord; tap the trash to remove it.

Reading the fretboard

Pie-slice dots are notes two or more chords have in common. Notes shared with a neighbouring chord are your anchors when you change chord.
Solid dots are the notes only that chord has. They’re what changes when you move from one chord to the next.
Ringed dots are roots, so you can always see where each chord is “home”.

Ideas to try

Find the common notes – add two chords that follow each other in a song and look for the pie-slice dots. Staying on a shared note, or moving to a nearby one, keeps your playing connected across the change.
See what actually changes – with a progression on screen, the solid dots show the notes that appear only in the new chord. Aim for those when you want the change to be heard.
Aim for the roots – when you want your line to land on the chord, target its ringed root.
Try the unusual chords – add a chord you don’t know yet, such as an augmented or extended one, and see how its notes relate to the chords around it.

Looking for a shape you can play, or the name of one you’re holding? Use Chord Master or the Chord Library.