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Chords.fm is a browser-native transcription toolkit for musicians at any level. Drop in an mp3 and you can slow it down to 25% (5% on Pro) without changing pitch, set multiple named-section loops, transpose for any instrument, and isolate stems. Pitch shifting uses a phase-locked phase vocoder with optional formant preservation, so vocals don't go chipmunky when you transpose. There's also a separate Pro feature for automatic chord chart generation. Free tier has no signup; Pro is $4.99/month, $29/year, or $119 lifetime.

Both, but the headline is the transcription toolkit. Most users open Chords.fm to slow down a song, loop a section, and work out a part by ear. Automatic chord-chart generation is a Pro feature for songs you've uploaded — it gives you a time-aligned chord chart as a starting point, not a replacement for ear-training. The two tools share the same waveform / loop / transpose UI; the chord chart just appears as an overlay if you have one.

Yes — formant compensation is a Pro feature in the Pitch panel. Toggle it on and vocals stay recognizably the same singer when you pitch-shift up or down, instead of going chipmunky. The pitch engine uses signalsmith-stretch, which is a phase-locked phase vocoder with explicit formant separation. Without formant compensation (the default), pitch shifts move the spectral envelope along with the harmonics, which is how vocals turn into chipmunks past +3 or so semitones.

Yes — a detailed zoomable waveform is the primary navigation surface in the transcription tool. Zoom from 1× (fit-the-window) up to 8× with horizontal scrolling, click anywhere on the waveform to seek, and watch the playhead cursor scroll in real time. It's a continuous detailed audio envelope (not a stylized bars treatment) so transients and dynamics are visible directly. Markers appear as labelled chips along the top of the waveform, and the active loop section is highlighted with a spotlight effect (the section pops, everything outside dims), so the loop boundaries are unmistakable.

Chords.fm uses a markers + sections model, not a single A/B loop. You drop markers (auto-labelled A, B, C, …) along the waveform, and the active section is automatically the span between two adjacent markers. Click any marker to jump to that section instantly. Pro users get 10 saved section slots per song for one-click recall, plus BPM-aware nudge controls (Beat / 1s / 0.1s / 0.01s) for fine-tuning section bounds. Looping bounces inside the active section with no audible click at the boundary.

Yes. On Pro, you can solo or mute vocals, bass, drums, guitar, and 'other' independently — useful for hearing a single instrument's part clearly. Stem separation is currently available on songs you've chord-charted (the pipeline produces stems as a side-effect). On-demand stem separation for any uploaded file is in development. There's also a karaoke mode (phase-cancellation of center-panned content) that works on any file, no separation required.

Free: 25% to 150% (no pitch change at any speed). Pro extends to 5% on the slow end and 200% on the fast end. The 5% sub-quarter range is for transcribing very dense passages; most users don't go below 25%.

Free is permanent. Pro has three billing cadences: $4.99/month, $29/year (~50% off the monthly cadence), or $119 lifetime (one-time payment, no subscription). All three Pro tiers unlock the same feature set; pick whichever billing fits.

It's the headline tool — a free transcription toolkit that runs entirely in your browser. No upload, no signup, your audio never leaves your device. Drop in an mp3 (or wav, m4a) and slow it down to 25% with no pitch change, set multi-section loops with markers, transpose for any instrument, and see auto-detected key + BPM. Pro adds formant-preserving pitch shift, sub-quarter speed, 4-band parametric EQ, stem isolation, saved sessions across devices, and 10 saved section slots per song.

No, not for the transcription toolkit — it's public and runs locally. Sign-in is only required for the automatic chord-chart pipeline (which processes audio server-side) and for Pro features like saved sessions, EQ, stem isolation, and formant compensation.

A standalone web app at chords.fm. You upload a file or drop it into the page; there's nothing to install. This is different from browser-extension tools that hook into YouTube/Spotify playback — those have advantages (works on streaming services without download) and disadvantages (subject to DRM and 'No Media Found' errors when sites change their player). Chords.fm bypasses extension fragility but you need a local file.

MP3, WAV, and M4A files up to 20 MB. A typical 3–5 minute song at a reasonable bitrate lands well under that. The same formats work in both the browser transcription tool and the automatic chord-chart pipeline.

About 2 minutes per 4 minutes of audio in typical cases. If it takes longer, you can safely navigate away from the page and come back later — your chart will be waiting on the home dashboard when it finishes.

No for the transcription toolkit — it doesn't upload audio at all and runs locally in your browser. For the chord-chart pipeline (server-side), the source audio is deleted automatically after rendering finishes. For experimental guitar-tab mode there's a separate, off-by-default checkbox that lets you keep the audio so we can use it to improve our guitar-tab results; if you tick it, the file is retained and you can delete it at any time from the /account page.

You need to own the recording or otherwise have the right to process it. Chords.fm is a tool for transcribing your own material or material you're authorized to transcribe — not a way to publish chord charts of other people's songs.

Very good on clean solo or small-group instrumentation and acoustic recordings. Rougher on dense full-band mixes, heavy distortion, or unusual jazz voicings. Pro customers can edit chords to fix anything Chords.fm got wrong, or open the song in the transcription tool to slow it down and verify by ear.

Yes to transpose and capo on every plan, on both the chord chart and inside the transcription tool. PDF export, MIDI export, and chord editing are Pro features.

Yes — Pro customers can export the chord chart as a Standard MIDI File. The file includes the chord progression as audible note voicings, chord-symbol meta events, and a click track sourced from the detected beat grid, so you can drop it straight into Ableton, Logic, Reaper, or any DAW and have the tempo and chords lock in automatically.

Other chord sites host licensed transcriptions of published songs — you search 'Wonderwall' and get someone else's tab. Chords.fm doesn't have a catalog at all. It's a tool: you bring your own audio, and the transcription toolkit + automatic chord-chart pipeline help you work out the song. No catalog, no search, no licensing layer. Different job.