Play chords with MsyChords

  MsyChords                     

MsyChords runs on iPhone and iPad for free.
Saving the chord table to the iCloud directory requires an in-app purchase.

Play your chords the way you want with ease.

Control the performance with loudness, sustain and chord inversions.

Select chord tables from the cloud and modify them to your need.

The MsyChords app let you play your favorite chords exactly the way you want with ease. You control the performance with loudness, sustain and chord inversions. Select chord tables from the iCloud or create them yourself. Modify the tables and transpose them to the wanted key.

Showing the use of MsyChords

• Playing the famous 4 chord progression
• Making Billie Jean
• Playing different pad sounds using Adagio from Samuel Barber
• Playing autumn leaves
• Playing Get Lucky (mobile)
• Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht
• Schubert String Quartet No 14, Movement 2 Excerpt
• Julia from The Beatles
• Brain Damage from Pink Floyd
• Colour My World from Chicago

Performance control

Five presets, four buttons and two sliders allow to control the play performance.

• Presets -- Presets can be changed with one finger tip. By touching the white circles on the selector planes, the preset is configured with a chord table selected from a directory, as well as the tone base (key) and the sound.
• Level control -- The sliders allow to adjust the volume at any time while playing. The slider on the left side and on the right side are synchronized and have the exact identical effect.
• Play mode & arpeggiator -- The left top button allows to select different play modes by tapping or sliding the button. Mode 1 plays the chords exactly as they are denoted. Mode 2 supports to play inversions of the chord. Mode 3 to mode 7 provide different arpeggio patterns.
• Speed control & help -- The right top button has two functions. For play mode 1 and 2, the button provides a help and settings page. In play mode 3 to mode 7, the button allows to control the speed of the arpeggios. The speed can be set by tapping or by sliding the button.
• Sustain control -- The left bottom button provides a kind of a damper pedal. If pressed, the played chords continue to sound until the button is released.
• Lock sustain and clear -- The right bottom button provides a lock sustain mode. The touched chord continues to sound until a next chord is played. The mode is enabled by pressing the right bottom button while the left bottom button is pressed.

Chord tables

A chord table is a collection of chords organized in rows and columns. The chord consists of arbitrary tones and a chord name. Further the table has an entry for a base tone (key).

• Chord tones -- The tones are denoted as duodecimal MIDI numbers. Thereby we have two numbers for one tone. The first number is the octave, the second number is the semitone within the octave. As there are twelve semitones in an octave, the tone A#/Bb is denoted as 'X' and B is denoted as 'T'.
  
  Why use XT notation?
• Chord name -- The name of the chords can be chosen arbitrary. But when the first letter is one of ABCDEFG, the letter is used to determine the musical function step in relation to the base tone. In that case the second letter is analyzed in addition if it is a # or b. Also transposing of the chord names is supported then.
• Chord table selection -- The selection panel shows files of the MsyChords directory in alphabetical order. New chord tables can be created, renamed and deleted.
• More chord tables -- A collection of chord tables will be build up in a chord table data base .

Editing chord tables

The edit mode is started by long pressing the preset selector button until the selector button changes to red.

• Editing chord tones -- Editing the chord tones is done with a dedicated keyboard showing the numbers 0 .. 9,X,T.
• Editing chord names -- Editing the chord names is done with a keyboard providing text symbols supporting arbitrary text.
• Add or delete rows or columns -- In edit mode rows and columns can be added or deleted by clicking on '⌑'. Also the position of the chord table button can be changed.
• Move cell -- Chord table cells can be moved to other positions by touching '=' and moving the cell.
• Save -- If a new table is loaded and the current table was modified, the user is asked to save the table or to ignore the changes. Saving is supported in the full version.
• iCloud directory -- Chord tables a can be imported and exported via the MsyChords iCloud directory.

Sound font files

One sound font with 10 sounds is in-build (from FluidR3_GM.sf2 from Frank Wen). Other .sf2 sound font files can be loaded via the MsyChords iCloud directory.

Impressum: Music Synthesis Enterprise -- Bernhard Feiten -- bernhard.feiten@msye.com -- Am Triftpark 13, 13437 Berlin, Germany