# Working with Chords

Using a sophisticated chord detection engine, Capo will automatically detect the chords in a song. Because no chord detection engine is perfect, and music can get complicated, Capo was designed to let you correct its detected chords or add new entries very quickly and easily.

Capo has two mechanisms in place to make corrections fast and easy. First, for a given chord entry, Capo will present you with a list of chord detection results sorted by the strength of the chord matches. Often times this list will include the correct chord.

If the correct chord is not included in the list, you can simply type the chord that should be listed instead. Capo includes a very handy free-form chord parser that can recognize many different kinds of chords in an easy to type syntax.

For instance, "E flat major 7" can be entered as "ebmaj7", "F sharp diminished" can be entered as "f#-", and so on. Below you'll find a comprehensive list of shortcut strings that Capo will recognize.

#### To change a chord entry

- While the song is stopped, double-click an existing chord entry. Then, do one of the following:
- Click the detected chord in the list of detection results. Click outside the popover to dismiss the selection UI.
- Type in a new chord to be placed instead of the one that was detected. Press return to commit your change.

#### To delete a chord entry

- Click on the chord entry you would like to delete to select it
- Press the delete key to remove it

Sometimes, you might want to get a little bit more space to see the spectrogram display, or perhaps you don't need the extra help that Capo's chord boxes can provide.

#### To hide or show the guitar chord boxes, do one of the following

- Double-click the handle at the top of the chord entry list
- Drag the handle upward or downward to show or hide the chord boxes respectively

Because Capo tries to be conservative in its chord detection, the detected chords are typically placed on the downbeats of the song. Obviously, some songs have quicker changes that you'd like to capture. To do this, you can add additional chord entries to suit the song you're working with.

#### To drop a chord entry, do one of the following

- Press the 'k' key to place a chord entry at the cursor
- Press the New Chord Entry button in the bottom toolbar

When you drop a new chord entry, Capo will run a detection at the point where you place the chord marker, and often times you don't need to change the chord that Capo found. If a change is required, just follow the steps above for changing the pre-detected chord entries.

## Capo's Detected Chords

Capo's chord detection is capable of detecting a fairly reasonable set of chords, but not nearly as many as you can enter using your keyboard. In particular, Capo can recognize the following chords:

- Major
- Minor
- Diminished
- Augmented
- Minor 7th
- Major 7th
- Dominant 7th
- Suspended 2nd
- Suspended 4th
- Add 9

## Capo's Recognized Chords

Below are some examples of chord entries that Capo will allow you to enter using the keyboard. In most cases, the shortcuts will be obvious.

Capo implements most, if not all, of the chords listed on this handy Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_(music)

### Root Notes

The root note of a chord can be entered easily, without requiring you to type a sharp or flat symbol on your keyboard. When appropriate, Capo will turn 'b' into a flat symbol, and '#' into a sharp symbol.

For instance, Capo will do the right thing with the following strings:

> "eb", "g#", "c", "bb"

### Chord varieties

> 5 Chords (Power Chords): "e5"

> Major: "e", "bmaj", "c major"

> Minor: "em", "bmin", "f minor"

> Augmented: "e+", "b aug", "baugmented"

> Diminished: "e-", "bdim", "co", "a0"

> Add9: "cadd9"

> Major 4: "e4"

> Minor Add9: "fmadd9", "e minor add9", "a miadd9", "gmin add9"

> Minor 4: "em4", "fmi4", "g min4", "a minor 4"

> Diminished 7th: "e-7", "gdim7", "f diminished 7", "g o7", "a07"

> Half-Diminished 7th: "e m7 (#5)", "fm7(#5)", "b halfdim7", "a half diminshed 7"

> Minor 7th: "a#m7", "g minor 7", "f mi7", "a min7"

> Minor major 7th: "f m(maj7)"

> Dominant 7th: "a7"

> Major 7th: "f# maj7", "ebma7", "a major 7"

> Augmented 7th: "g7(#5)", "a+7", "f# aug7", "b augmented 7"

> Augmented Major 7th: "c+maj7", "g maj7 (#5)"

> Minor 9th: "cm9", "c minor 9", "emi9", "fmin9"

> Dominant 9th: "f9"

> Major 9th: "emaj9", "fma9"

> Augmented 9th: "e+9", "g# augmented 9", "eb aug9"

> Minor 11th: "f m11", "g minor 11", "amin11"

> Dominant 11th: "a11"

> Major 11th: "fmaj11", "g major 11"

> Minor 13th: "e m13", "e minor 13"

> Dominant 13th: "e13"

> Major 13th: "e maj13", "e ma 13", "emajor13"

> 7th, Flat 5: "g7(b5)"

> Augmented 7th, Flat 5: "f +7(b5)", "g aug7(b5)", "g# augmented7(b5)"

> Minor 7th, Flat 5: "am7(b5)", "eb min7(b5)", "f mi7 (b5)"

> 7th, Flat 9: "f7 (b9)"

> Augmented 7th, Flat 9: "g aug7 (b9)", "f+7(b9)"

> Minor 7th, Flat 9: "f m7 (b9)", "e minor 7 (b9)"

> 7th, Sharp 9: "f7 (#9)", "g# 7 (#9)"

> Augmented 7th, Sharp 9: "f +7 (#9)", "a augmented 7 (#9)"

> Minor 7th, Sharp 9: "e m7(#9)", "eb min7 (#9)"

> 13th, Sharp 11: "a 13(#11)"

> Suspended 2nd: "f sus2", "a suspended 2"

> Suspended 4th: "bb sus4", "g suspended 4"

> Major 6th: "f6"

> Minor 6th: "am6", "eb minor 6"