Navichord • MIDI controller

Better than the circle of fifths! this is a really powerful tool. I like the ability to play chords with one finger. There’s a helpful diagram to show how to play different chords although this could be expanded. It sure would be great to have the chords translated on a guitar fretboard as an option. I think the functionality of the app could be improved say if you move your finger in a designated space and the notes shifted upwards in pitch or downward expanding the notes of the cord. Also would be great to have some sort of velocity control. One thing that’s a little annoying is that it’s easy for your finger just to veer off a little bit and play a bunch of notes that you did not intend to play. Overall I think this app is very helpful.

Should have a manual to show you how to use all the option instead of just a couple videos especially controlling other apps and setting up controllers

Great app, music theory made easy. Chords and scales made easy to understand and chord progressions fun

After a chord progression has been set up, and external midi device like a foot controller with buttons can click forward through a progression one click/cord at a time, and also configure a different button to step back in like one cord at a time in the progression. This feature is not found in other cord sequence or apps, except one old one. I play bass in a three-piece band that does not have any keyboards, just a guitar singer and drummer. With Navichord one can set up a cord progression for songs in a set list, choose the keyboard sounds to play for each song then play keyboard chords with 1 foot. This is also a fantastic feature because it allows the band to be spontaneous and stretch out songs, play faster slower, pause, hold, stop or whatever. Having to follow a metered sequence where things can run off the rails and the band loses some authenticity and that live feel. Also the developer is available if needed. It would be really cool if he continue to evolve Navichord with new features, not complaining, but…

The app (while lacking in some functionality) helps to make the simple seem more obvious.

I have tried so many apps – so many – to try and find an app that would let me lay out the chords to songs on the go, move things around, experiment with different chords and voicings. This is the only one I've ever found that lets me find and save complex chords, and also piece them together with varying durations into progressions that I can hum along to on the go or further refine. There are a couple things that could be more intuitive (like switching between the different editors – it took me forever to find the main chord editor; you have to tap the edit icon then tap the chord's duration #). But once you get past a couple of those quirks, you realize it has everything. Love the copy and paste functions – of individual chords AND of entire sections of the song.

I wrote an earlier review, but didn’t mention the internal sounds. I’m using the Navichord as a live instrument in a classic rock band (wife playing it), and didn’t realize how authentic the rock organ and strings are, also the Rhodes piano. Rod Stewart’s Maggie May sounds amazing! We can stick with the Navi sounds and make song transitions easier, since the Navi program remembers which instrument you save in each song, as well as the volume. Really glad Navi still works with iPad 2, or I might not have discovered what a powerful tool it is. Best $8 I’ve ever spent!!

Most ppl probably use this to record song ideas or explore and learn chord progressions, but I got it so my wife (not a musician, but a great singer) could add 1 finger chords to our songs. It is amazing for that purpose, especially considering $8.00!!! I have several hardware synths that don't do half as good a job. Sliding a finger along the glass makes organ or string chords easy.and seamless. Super value in this app!!

A couple of years ago I downloaded Navichord Lite on a whim. After a day of playing with it, I purchased the full version. It's a fascinating way to explore chord sequences and harmonic progressions. And the app has seen a lot of great updates over the last couple of years, so it's even better now than it was when I first learned about it. I will give this advice to those who are thinking about buying Navichord: working with the iPad version of the app and with the iPhone version are two very different experiences. The latter is much less versatile, and the fact that there is only room for the keyboard to show one octave at a time makes it hard to try out different melodic ideas over a set of chords. Even so, I still would have considered it well worth the $9 (I think that's what I paid for it) if I didn't own an iPad.

For some reason, when i click the edit button and then try to press the square on the bottom right of the chord, nothing happens. I can no longer edit any of the chords.