How GuitarTuna transcribes chords and tabs
Selected chord and tab pages on guitartuna.com carry a 'Transcribed by real musicians' badge. This page explains what the badge means, who does the work, and how MIDI matching, professional musician review, and feedback from players combine to make those pages more accurate, more playable, and more useful for learning.
What we review on a transcribed page
Accuracy
Chords should match the song as closely as a single guitar arrangement can. Wrong roots, missing accidentals, and incorrect quality (major vs minor, suspensions, sevenths) are the first things the reviewer catches.
Timing
Chord changes should land where players expect them. We check section starts, downbeats, and pickup phrases so the chart follows the song instead of fighting it.
Playability
Voicings have to work for a real player on a real instrument. If a shape needs a capo, a thumb fret, or a hand position that breaks the flow of a song, the reviewer flags it and proposes an alternative.
Learning value
A technically correct chart is not always a good chart for someone who is learning. Simplified versions sit next to original chords on hard songs so a beginner has a way in on day one.
Step 1: Selecting the songs
We do not apply the badge to every page automatically. The transcription queue is built from high-traffic songs, popular learner repertoire, songs with strong search demand, and pages where transcription quality has the biggest impact on the player experience. Keeping the badge selective is what keeps it meaningful.
Step 2: MIDI matching and technical checks
Before a musician opens the chart, we run the candidate transcription against reference material. Audio recognition and signal processing tools compare chord change timing, look for missing sections, and surface harmonic conflicts. These checks do not replace a musician. They give the reviewer a shortlist of places to look first, which makes the human pass faster and more focused.
Step 3: Review by professional musicians
Our in-house content team reviews every flagged section by ear. They cross check the recording, internal references, and published sources, and they make the final call on every chord, every change, and every voicing on the page. The reviewers are working musicians (guitarists, bassists, pianists, music teachers) so they evaluate not only whether a chart is theoretically right but whether it sounds like the song.
Step 4: Playability and learner check
Once the chart is accurate, the reviewer plays it through and asks a different question: is this version useful? Difficult voicings get replaced when an equivalent shape is easier to fret. Songs that beginners ask for get a simplified version that sits next to the original on the same page. Section labels, lyric alignment, and chord placement get one last pass so a learner can scroll, sing, and play at the same time.
Step 5: Sign off and publishing
A transcribed page only goes live after the content review is signed off and the page itself passes our normal product and engineering checks. From that point on the page carries the badge, and the link from the badge brings the reader to this page so anyone can see what the badge stands for.
How players help us catch what reviewers miss
GuitarTuna has more than 100 million app downloads and more than one million monthly visitors on the web. Across the Yousician family of products we see around 20 million monthly active users every month. That activity tells us which songs are most worth a closer transcription pass, which sections are confusing learners, and which charts deserve a second look. Reports, in app corrections, and repeated friction signals feed back into the transcription queue. The badge is not a one time stamp. It travels with the page and the page can be re reviewed.
Transcription is an ongoing process
Music content gets better over time. If we find a clearer voicing, more accurate timing, a missing section, or a beginner arrangement that works better than the one we shipped, we update the transcribed page. The badge marks the level of review applied to the chart you are looking at today, not a promise that the chart will never change.
What the badge does not mean
The badge does not mean that this is the only correct way to play the song. Many songs can be played in more than one valid arrangement, in different tunings, on different instruments, or with the voicings a particular live version uses. The badge also does not mean that every page on guitartuna.com has been through the same review. It is applied selectively, to the pages where the extra work has the biggest impact for the player.
Built by the team behind GuitarTuna and Yousician
GuitarTuna is built by the same team that ships Yousician, the music learning platform that has been around since 2010. We are roughly 100 people across Helsinki and Berlin: musicians, software engineers, audio researchers, designers, content curators, and music educators. The transcription process pulls expertise from across that team so a transcribed page is the product of music judgement, audio technology, and learning design working together. You can read more about the team on the about page.
Found something that sounds off?
Tell us. Reports from real players are how we find chord pages that need another pass. The most useful reports name the song, the section (intro, verse, chorus, bridge), the chord you think is wrong, and what you would play instead. Even a one line note helps the reviewer get to the issue faster.
Report an issue on a chord pageHäufig gestellte Fragen
What does 'Transcribed by real musicians' mean?
It means the chord or tab page has been transcribed and reviewed by GuitarTuna's content team, including a check on accuracy, timing, voicing, and playability, in addition to the standard catalog process.
Do all GuitarTuna chord and tab pages carry the badge?
No. We apply the badge selectively, to high traffic and high impact pages. Keeping the badge meaningful matters more than putting it on every page in the catalog.
Who transcribes and reviews these chords and tabs?
GuitarTuna's in house content team. The reviewers are working musicians: guitarists, bassists, pianists, and music teachers based in Helsinki and Berlin. They make the final call on every chord on a transcribed page.
Does MIDI matching replace human review?
No. MIDI matching and audio analysis flag the parts of a chart that look suspicious so the reviewer can focus on them. The musician still makes every final decision about what ships on the page.
Can a transcribed page still change after publishing?
Yes. If we find a better voicing, a more accurate timing, or a beginner version that works better than the one we shipped, we update the page. The badge reflects the review applied to the current version, not a promise that the chart will never improve.
How do I report a chord I think is wrong?
Use the report option on the chord page. The most useful reports name the song, the section, the chord you think is wrong, and the chord you would play instead. Reports go straight to the content team and feed back into the transcription queue.