I have looked on-line and found a number of programs that say they can give the chords to a song just by downloading the song and playing it with their software ... has anyone tried any of these?
Here is one site:
http://www.chordpickout.com/

Hi Tony,

I tried a product that was advertised on the top page of the forum. Called Riffstation.com I think there is a demo you can try.

It works well, but does not do any (show) difficult chords

I've used Chordify, a free online music service that transforms music, from YouTube, SoundCloud or your mp3 upload, into chords.

Duane

I use Powertracks and Band in the box..they work great..

Fran, I guess my versions of those programs are really old. Mine only converted midi files - not MP3s.

Most of the time, I just look up the song on Chordie and there have only been a few times when I couldn't find a song. And, with Chordie, you can transpose to fit your vocal range. Nice feature.

Gary

Gary ... I usually GOOGLE the name of the tune and add 'chords and lyrics' and any number of chord sites will come up, including Chordie, A-Z chords, Ultimate Guitar tabs, etc., etc., but for many songs by less POPular artists that I want to learn and play for myself, sometimes they just ain't there ...
These other software programs will be a help ...

I'm sure you're right, Tony. I still try to learn at least one new song a week, but lately, with the deteriorating health situation, I just really haven't felt like doing it.

Good luck,

Gary

That's very useful. Doesn't require installing software which is always a plus. And being able to paste in a Youtube link makes it easy.

I tried both Riffstation and Chordify, and, for ME, the way Chordify shows the chords is easier to work with ...
One thing I noticed is that both picked up a lot of the 'passing' or what I might call 'incidental' chords that guitar players play while strumming ...

IMO none of these programs makes you play smoother as your always looking at the real time chord changes popping up and many times you have no idea what they are and by the time your brain absorbs them your playing & timing falters big time creating a choppy performance at best....I say just write them out yourself if needed or use a very simple fake sheet or better yet just memorize and improvise the song in your own style. and while this is going on you also have to navigate the keyboard also changing sounds, variations, singing etc etc ...

Not at all
Chord charts are a guidance tool, much like driving directions..you can make as many wrong turns as you like, but won't get lost, because it is correcting your path.
You are confusing music scores where you have to be precise, especially with arrangements with other musicians..
BTW: If you guys have not tried BB or Powertracks since 2012..you are missing the boat..packages include some of the best sounds you can buy with real drums and other sampled sounds..Go to their site and check them out..no not free and 60gb in size..and not for impatient folks that do not want to learn something new..

Donny ... I really had no intention of using any of the software to show me the changes while I am playing as I would need to be looking at a laptop to do it ...
It just makes natural sense to write the chords down and learn the song ...
I don't know if you looked at the output of Riffstation or Chordify, but I think it would be near impossible to play while looking at those chord changes ...

[video:youtube]http://www.pgmusic.com/videos.bbwin.htm[/video]