# The Chord Wheel

> A musical tool for understanding chords, improvising, transposing, and composing. (iPhone/iPad app by Chord Wheel.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-chord-wheel/id444931977 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Chord Wheel](https://appshunter.io/developer/419959184)
- Category: Music, Entertainment
- Price: $6.99
- Rating: 4.00/5 from 15 App Store ratings · 94 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 9.0 · 96 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2011-07-24
- Data updated: 2026-09-13
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-chord-wheel/id444931977/reviews.md

## What is The Chord Wheel?

The best-selling book is now an iPhone App at last.

***** THE CHORD WHEEL; The Ultimate Tool for All Musicians *****

The Chord Wheel is a revolutionary device that puts the most essential and practical applications of chord theory into your hands. 

This tool will help you:
UNDERSTAND CHORDS - Know the 'when, why and how' different chords work together.
IMPROVISE & SOLO - Talk about chops! Comprehend key structure like never before.
TRANSPOSE KEYS - Instantly transpose any progression to any key. 
COMPOSE MUSIC - Watch your songwriting blossom! No music reading is necessary. 

"I have given this information in lectures for years, but it's great to just tell people to go to your website and buy this thing. It's an amazing way to understand tonality and harmony."
              - Bonnie Hayes, Songwriter “Have a Heart” and “Love Letter” from Bonnie Raitts’ multi-platinum, multi-Grammy ‘Nick of Time’

"This is the kind of device that players of any instrument can use to enhance their musical understanding. Chord and key relationships are inseparable, and learning these relationships is a must in becoming a successful musician." 
              - Alan Remington, Orange Coast College Music Dept.

The word of mouth from the first 100,000 customers as well as recommendations for countless teachers worldwide has made The Chord Wheel the most successful device of its kind.  Countless testimonials from users (see Amazon.com for numerous examples) assure you that this will help you in your quest to become a better musician.  This product is intended for beginners and intermediate students; if you can rattle off the chords of a ii-V7-I progression in the Key of Bb and know whether a C7 sound good in this key without thinking about it, you may not need it.  For the rest of us, here is the answer.

Though it's still primarily intended for musicians, the iPhone App version allows users to depress the wheel's cells and hear the chords played back in the instrument and chord voicing selected in the 'Settings' page.  The result is an entertaining song composer that allows you to play chord progressions without any musical knowledge whatsoever.  For musicians, it allows your ears to hear the relationships between chords and key.

## Key features

- Understand chord theory
- Improvise and solo
- Transpose keys instantly
- Compose music without reading notes
- Hear chords played back
- Select instrument and chord voicings

## What do users think of The Chord Wheel?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 👍 Simple and quick
- 👍 Great for beginners
- 👍 Helpful for writing progressions
- 👍 Piano sounds are good
- 👍 Clear interface
- 👍 Useful for transposing
- 👍 Great chord wheel concept
- 👍 Good for understanding music
- 👍 Works on iPhone and iPad
- 👍 Sound inclusion is useful
- 👍 Great tool for songwriters

**Cons**

- 👎 Old app, not updated
- 👎 Expensive for value
- 👎 Guitar chords out of tune
- 👎 Screen too small on iPad
- 👎 Stuck in portrait mode
- 👎 Limited instrument options
- 👎 Upside down on iPad
- 👎 C chord strummed too slow
- 👎 Chord numberings not visible on iPad
- 👎 No full screen on iPad
- 👎 Expensive for limited features
- 👎 Sound issues reported
- 👎 App crashes
- 👎 No longer works with newer iOS
- 👎 Poor customer support
- 👎 Overpriced
- 👎 Not intuitive

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Guitar chords out of tune
- Diminished 7ths wrong on guitar
- C chord strummed too slow
- Chord numberings not visible on iPad
- Screen not full screen on iPad
- App stuck in portrait mode
- Sound issues (touchy, no sound, pops/clicks)
- App crashes on launch
- App doesn't work with newer iOS versions
- App exits immediately
- App won't open after iOS update
- Upside down on iPad
- Latency in chord playing

**Most requested features**

- Toggle chords to 7th, 6th, sus4, etc.
- Add note on keyboard
- Adjust screen orientation
- Change instruments
- Enlarge screen on iPad
- Add modes
- Add note numbers in scale
- Enable rotate to portrait mode
- Font resizing for explanation
- Toggle sound option
- Zoom into key signature
- Export MIDI files
- Show minor scales
- Show scales when tapping
- Play two keys at once
- Highlight notes when chord pressed
- Add MIDI output
- More voicings and instrument sounds

## Recent user reviews (10 of 94)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-chord-wheel/id444931977/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Can’t believe Apple hasn’t removed.  Waste!

*2021-12-15*

thought I’d buy the app instead of replacing the paperback.  Don’t make same mistake.  App is 4 years old and the pics aren’t even from the actual app.  Waste of 6 bucks.

### 5/5 — Great app - Simple and quick

*2021-11-02*

Love this app. It’s a very simple and quick way for someone who is not very clued up on music theory. 

Great for just figuring out what chords belong to what key. I use it all the time as a beginner musician. 

It’s works great on both IPhone and IPad. 

I am not sure what others are saying about the screen to small for iPad. You just click the bottom right corner to bring it to full screen.

### 4/5 — Nice but a few bum guitar chords

*2021-05-20*

The wheel is a helpful layout for writing simple major/minor progressions. Piano sounds are bold and in tune, and sustain for two good legato whole notes while you consider the next chord. However, some of the guitar chords are well out of tune, and one or two of the diminished 7ths are downright wrong on guitar. But the majority are OK. I stick with the piano. 

This would be excellent tool if there was a simple way to toggle any chord to and from its 7th, 6th, sus4, or 2nd/9th — or maybe add the note on the keyboard (which in inactive and purely decorative).  But overall the wheel is a nice idea for establishing harmonic context.

### 4/5 — Screen too small on iPad

*2021-05-15*

This is an excellent app. It even plays the chords when you tap on them. Unfortunately on iPad the image is small and, for those of us with poor sight, is difficult to read. Enlarging the screen on iPad would make this a killer app.

### 1/5 — Could be a lot better.

*2021-02-08*

The app needs a lot more development to be worth the money. You can't adjust basic things like the screen orientation that s permanently stuck on portrait mode. Also would be nice to be able to change instruments instead of only having piano and guitar. If you're looking for something more useful for reference, writing and practicing I'd say but the Tonaly app.

### 1/5 — Esta aplicación no sirve

*2020-09-07, version 1.1.22*

Esta aplicación esta muy simple no da la opción de más instrumentos se supone que debería darla por lo que dice estoy i conforme y trate de regresarla y no te da la opción ahora tengo que tenerla y no la quiero esta apliciom apesta !

### 4/5 — Pretty Good Chord Wheel App

*2020-05-20*

This app is pretty good.  It is rather expensive for what you get though, and it is always upside down on my iPad.  Also, there is something wrong with the C chord, as it is strummed too slow on the guitar.  I also have The Chord Wheel as a printed book, and there is more of an explanation of its use in the printed book, however, the book has no sound.  The sound inclusion in the app makes it more useful, and it is less than half the price of the book, and I can use it on my iPod, iPad mini, or iPad Pro.  So, all in all, it’s pretty good, but there is room for improvement.

### 5/5 — Works on my iPhone 6s+

*2020-01-27*

Looks like the developers fixed the issue some users were having. The app works fine on my iPhone 6s+. Great tool overall.

### 5/5 — Clear easy to use interface.

*2019-05-25*

Chord information distilled into a simple to use graphical format.

### 3/5 — Chord numberings not visible on the iPad app

*2019-05-05*

Please help

## Frequently asked questions about The Chord Wheel

### What does The Chord Wheel app do?

The Chord Wheel app is a revolutionary tool designed to help musicians understand chord theory, improvise, transpose keys, and compose music. It visually demonstrates how chords work together and allows users to hear chord progressions played back in various instrument and chord voicings.

### What are the key features of The Chord Wheel app?

Key features include understanding the 'when, why, and how' of chord relationships, comprehending key structure for improvisation, instantly transposing progressions to any key, and composing music without needing to read musical notation. Users can also depress wheel cells to hear chords played back.

### Is The Chord Wheel app free to use?

Based on the provided information, The Chord Wheel app is a paid application. There is no mention of free usage, in-app purchases, or advertisements, indicating a one-time purchase model.

### Who is the target audience for The Chord Wheel app?

This app is primarily intended for beginners and intermediate students of music. It is designed for those who want to improve their understanding of tonality, harmony, and chord relationships, rather than advanced musicians who already possess this knowledge.

### How can The Chord Wheel app help with composing music?

The app allows users to compose music by providing an intuitive way to explore chord progressions. By hearing the chords played back and understanding their relationships, users can watch their songwriting blossom, even without prior musical reading knowledge.

## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 1.1.22 — 2017-02-15

This update from Apple will improve the functionality of this app. No new features are included.

Fixed the sound issue on the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 devices

### 1.1 — 2016-01-27

iOS 9 compatibility

### 1.0 — 2011-07-21

No release notes.

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## Related topics

[chord wheel](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chord-wheel) · [the chord wheel](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/the-chord-wheel)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-13.*