Photo Credit: Fender
Fender has released a new iOS app to help players learn the chords of millions of songs. Guitarists, pianists, and ukulele players can benefit from the app.
Fender Songs is now available to download on iPhone with a rotating selection of chords available for free. The app also includes a subscription-based service starting at $4.99 per month or $41.99 for a full year.
The app appears to be a great way to help players learn their first chords — advanced users may find it a bit simplistic, however.
Fender’s Chief Technology Officer Ethan Kaplan says the app is aimed at any guitar player who wants to know how to play songs they already know. The app has a giant library of chords for recent songs. It’s organized like a music streaming service, with chords and lyrics available.
Of course, chords and tabs have been online for decades. But Fender is hoping to consolidate users around a neater solution, coupled with an app they already use. Let’s see if that works.
The app has an auto-generated bass line and a drum track as backing, but you can strip that as you please. You have the option for either drums or just a metronome to keep time for the songs. Fender Songs also includes a record feature so you can capture yourself playing the song (and singing along to the lyrics).
Fender relies on software to automatically transcribe its library of songs. That’s similar to the now-defunct Riffstation app that would do the same for PC and macOS users. Fender cleans up the transcribed chords before they’re released to the public in the app.
So far, Fender has a deal with Warner Music to ensure the chords are accurately transcribed. Who knows if the other major industry labels will do the same. The app only focuses on the chords that make up the song, not the individual notes.
Fender says artists who want full tablature support should look to Fender Play, its guitar teaching platform.
Generated chords mean guitarists can play songs that have no guitar in them. That’s important for the industry, considering the decline in guitar sales in recent years. Competitor Gibson was forced through bankruptcy last year on a wave of poor sales.
For now, the app features integration with Apple Music only.
In actuality Gibson’s economic troubles were caused by the business realities of their non-guitar ‘other’ business ventures not by poor guitar sales.