TwinkleLab

Free guitar tools · beginner to pro

Free Guitar Chord Finder & Fretboard Studio for Any Tuning

Find chords that sound good together, see exactly where to put your fingers, tune your guitar, train your ear with real melodies and progressions, and turn ideas into tab — in standard tuning or any other. Free, in your browser, no account.

Start here — what do you want to do?

1. Chords & Voicings: Browse every playable grip (V1–Vn) or filter by Beginner / No-Barre.
2. Scales & Arpeggios: Dedicated tab for position boxes, 3NPS runs & open pull-offs.
3. Looper & Tab: Type or pick any chord in any key right inside the Looper.
4. Tension Lab: Check string pull in lbs/kg & auto-balance custom gauges.

Fretboard & chord finder

Choose your tuning and the key of your song. The neck lights up the notes that fit, and the chord cards below show every chord in that key — click anything to hear it.

How to use it
  1. Pick your Tuning (leave it on Standard if you have never retuned) and the Key of your song.
  2. The neck shows the notes that fit: orange is the key note, blue the main chord, purple the other notes. Click any note to hear it.
  3. Scroll to the chord cards and press ▶ Show & play — the shape appears on the neck with finger numbers.

Tip: Build a chord lets you click frets yourself; the chord’s name appears automatically.

24 Frets • Polyphonic Synth
Try a famous sound:
C Major Scale • Root Triad Color Chord
Scale shapes Show / Hide ▾
Scale Finder: C Major (Full Neck) • Notes: C (1) – D (2) – E (3) – F (4) – G (5) – A (6) – B (7)
Scale shape ready

Chord voicings

8 chords

The chords that belong to your key, each with several ways to play it (V1, V2… go from the bottom of the neck upward). Click ▶ Show & play to see one on the neck. Start with “Easy (no barre)” if you are new.

How to use it
  1. Each card is a chord that belongs to your key. The Roman numeral (I, ii, V…) is its place in the key — songs mix these.
  2. V1 is the shape lowest on the neck; tap V2, V3… to see other ways to play the same chord.
  3. Press + Looper on the chords you like to build a progression you can loop and turn into tab.

Tip: “Easy” chords use no barre — the best place to start.

Progression looper & tab

Put chords in order to make a song idea, pick how they are played (strum, arpeggio, fingerpicking…) and press Start Loop. The tab underneath is written for you, ready to copy, print or share.

How to use it
  1. Add chords: press + Looper on any chord card, use the quick buttons, type a chord name (like Am7) and press + Add — or pick a ready-made one from the chord progressions library and press Open in Looper.
  2. Choose a Picking pattern and a Meter (4/4 fits most songs), then press ▶ Start Loop.
  3. Read the tab underneath as it plays — then copy it, save a printable sheet, or download MIDI for your recording software.

Tip: Press 1 Bar on a chord in your progression to make it last two bars or half a bar.

120 BPM
Add a chord 12 voicings
Cmaj7 (V1)
Library ↗
Saved songs & demos
Your progression — tap a chord to hear it, tap V1 to try another shape
Save or share it

          
Chord Diagrams (Queued Voicings)

String tension calculator

How hard each string pulls on your guitar. Too little tension feels floppy and buzzes; too much feels stiff and can snap strings — so check it before changing tuning or buying strings.

How to use it
  1. Set your guitar’s Scale length: most Fender-style guitars are 25.5", Gibson-style 24.75".
  2. Pick the string set you use from the list — the table shows how hard each string pulls in the current tuning.
  3. Green bars are comfortable. If a string shows as loose or tight, press Suggest balanced strings.

Tip: Changing to a lower tuning? Heavier strings stop the low end from feeling floppy.

Total: 103.8 lbs • Avg: 17.3 lbs • All Strings Safe (Balanced) • Custom .010–.046

Str Pitch Scale Gauge Tension Status
Tuning Stability & String Match

Checking string pull across all 6 strings...

What TwinkleLab does

TwinkleLab is a free set of guitar tools that works in any tuning. Pick the key of your song and it shows the chords that belong to it, with every way to play each one — from easy open shapes to barre chords further up the neck. Every shape is checked to be playable with four fingers, and you can hear it before you try it. It is built for beginners learning their first chords as much as for players of Midwest emo, math rock, folk, slide, post-rock or metal who live outside standard tuning.

Around that core are the tools you reach for while writing: a microphone tuner with per-tuning targets, an odd-time drum machine, a reverse chord identifier and capo transposer, a fretboard and ear trainer, a string tension calculator, and a looper that exports ASCII tab, Standard MIDI and PNG chord sheets. Your tunings, progressions and settings auto-save in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

Is TwinkleLab really free?▾

Yes. Every tool on the site — chord finder, fretboard, tuner, drum machine, tension calculator, trainer and exports — is free to use with no account. If it helps you, you can support development on Ko-fi.

Which guitar tunings are supported?▾

Twenty tunings are built in: Standard, Half-Step Down (Eb), D Standard, C Standard, Drop D, Drop C, Drop B, Double Drop D, DADGAD, Open D, Open D minor, Open E, Open G, Open A, Open C, FACGCE, DAEAC#E, CGDGBD, CGCFCE and an F# drone tuning, and you can enter any custom six-string tuning. Each tuning has its own page with verified chord diagrams and a printable chart.

Does it work on a phone?▾

Yes. The layout is mobile-first; the fretboard scrolls horizontally with a sticky headstock, and the tuner uses your phone microphone. Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge are all supported.

Can I export what I make?▾

Progressions export as ASCII guitar tab (.txt), Standard MIDI (.mid) that opens in any DAW, or a PNG chord sheet. You can also copy a share link that restores the exact tuning, chords, meter and tempo.

Related tools & tunings

Found a mistake or want a tuning covered? Leave a note on Ko-fi. Last updated 2026-10-31.

Alternate tuning chords

More tunings

Free guitar tools

TwinkleLab

Free, open-in-your-browser guitar studio for alternate tunings: playable chord voicings, fretboard maps, tuner, tension calculator, odd-time looper and tab/MIDI export. Built by a guitarist, funded by listeners.

Support on Ko-fi