Picking a chord
If you've ever been confused about the circle of fifths, this might help.
The left stick Left stick is the chord wheel: six wedges, each holding a chord of your key. Point the stick at a wedge and that chord is armed, and that's what the next strum will play.
- Arming is silent. The stick never sounds a note by itself. Sweep it about, hover, change your mind - nothing plays until you strum.
- Letting go keeps the chord. Centre the stick and the last armed chord stays armed, so you can strum a groove without pinning your thumb into a corner.
- A firm point selects. Drifting near a boundary won't flick you between neighbours.
Layout
The wheel is laid out by function. The tonic sits at the top with its two closest partners either side of it along the top, and the secondary chords underneath. In C Major that's F, C and G along the top, and Dm, Em and Am below.
Every wedge shows its chord name and its numeral, so the wheel reads the same in any key.
Your key
Everything on the wheel comes out of the key - a root and a quality, Major or Minor - which you declare once in the header at the top of the window. Change it and every wedge follows.
- Any root, any time. All twelve roots are yours.
- Relative keys hold the same six chords. A Minor's wheel has C Major's chords on it, rearranged around a different tonic.