# Tonic - AR Chord Dictionary — See chords on your piano in AR

> AR chord dictionary for pianos, showing finger placement for over 130 chords. (iPhone/iPad app by Coda Labs Incorporated.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tonic-ar-chord-dictionary/id1427039232 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Coda Labs Incorporated](https://appshunter.io/developer/1139019669)
- Category: Music, Utilities
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.00/5 from 204 App Store ratings · 67 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 11.0 · 13 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2018-08-31
- Data updated: 2026-08-14
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tonic-ar-chord-dictionary/id1427039232/reviews.md

## What is Tonic?

Tonic is the world's first AR chord dictionary. 

Chords are amazing. But for musicians who aren't jazz aficionados, finding a chord from a lead sheet is often frustrating and time consuming. And for the many talented musicians who don't read sheet music, chord dictionaries with music notation don't make things any easier. 

Tonic is the solution. Using AR, Tonic lets you easily view over 130 chords on your own piano. It tells you exactly where to place your fingers to play almost any chord. Great for students, professionals, or anyone interested in music. 

Features:

- Over 130 chords with music notation
- Flat/sharp display modes
- Works with 88, 76, 61, 49, and 25 key pianos
- 3 octaves to choose from
- An adorable app icon

## Key features

- Augmented reality chord display
- Over 130 chords
- Finger placement guidance
- Flat/sharp display modes
- Works with various piano sizes
- 3 octave options

## What do users think of Tonic?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 💡 Cool idea for learning
- 👍 Great for beginners
- 🚀 Works well (for some)
- ✨ Amazing application of AR
- 😊 Helpful for learning chords
- 💯 Brilliant idea and execution

**Cons**

- 🐛 Calibration issues
- 🐛 Alignment problems
- 🐛 Doesn't work on smaller keyboards
- 🐛 Limited chord selection
- 🐛 Second target doesn't appear
- 🐛 Dots not centered on keys

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Calibration doesn't work
- Dots move perpendicular to what they should
- App thinks piano is rotated 90 degrees
- App won't pick up the piano
- Keys never show
- Dots overlap and don't align for each key
- Dots slide around after calibration
- Target for placing a dot can become permanently rotated
- Second marker/target never appears
- Blue circle pops up floating around
- Target doesn't pop up for alignment
- Notes don't align perfectly
- G# is completely off
- Diminished triads and augmented triads switched in notation
- Highest key not detected
- Second target won't appear on screen
- Dots are not centered on the keys correctly
- Doesn't detect highest key on 61 key pianos
- First target aligns perfectly but second target doesn't show up
- Second dot will not appear during alignment
- No second target to align
- Can't calibrate, second target doesn't appear
- Calibration dot gets stuck in one place
- Second target doesn't appear for alignment
- Hard to calibrate properly
- AR is not perfect

**Most requested features**

- Fix calibration tool
- Make YouTube video with instructions
- Add more chords (9ths, 11ths, 13ths, jazz chords)
- Add chord inversions
- Support for smaller keyboards
- Display all key names
- Add basic music playing/ar tutorial
- Specify number of keys for unconventional keyboards
- Auto-calibrate by detecting keyboard
- Allow searching all chords and inversions

## Recent user reviews (10 of 67)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tonic-ar-chord-dictionary/id1427039232/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Cool app

*2023-07-22, version 1.2*

I really like this app

### 1/5 — Kalibrierung funktioniert bei mir auch nicht

*2022-09-08*

Schade, nachdem ich die Tiefste und die höchste Taste definiere, scheint die App zu glauben, dass Piano stünde um 90 ° gedreht. 

So nützt mir die App gar nicht. 🙁

### 1/5 — Not calibrating

*2022-05-28, version 1.2*

Not calibrating. It move dot perpendicular to what it should be moving

### 5/5 — Love it

*2021-09-11, version 1.2*

I love it so much tanks for making it

### 2/5 — Please fix recalibration tool or make a YouTube video with instructions!

*2020-12-29*

I was very interested in this app, and after I downloaded it, I tried to calibrate the dots. After 5 or 6 times trying and still not getting the dots in the right place (they appeared to be vertical), I resorted to a Google search to find out more instructions, to find nothing. Please fix this!

### 1/5 — Doesn’t work

*2020-12-29, version 1.2*

Never could get it to align. It always thinks the keyboard is sideways no matter what.

### 1/5 — Won’t pick up the piano

*2020-06-03, version 1.2*

This App is awful. I’ve been scanning across the piano for 10 minutes, and it will not pick up the piano. DO NOT GET THIS APP

### 1/5 — Totally broken

*2020-05-29, version 1.2*

Yeah, this worked about as good as I thought it would. Couldn’t even calibrate it.

### 1/5 — Doesn’t work anymore, please fix!

*2020-05-16, version 1.2*

This app used to work 6 months ago but, now it just view keys from the side. Please fix this app

### 1/5 — Doesn’t align at all

*2020-03-11, version 1.2*

Tried a bunch of different ways. Just doesn’t work at all.

## Frequently asked questions about Tonic

### What does Tonic - AR Chord Dictionary do?

Tonic is an augmented reality chord dictionary that displays over 130 chords directly on your piano. It shows you exactly where to place your fingers to play each chord, simplifying the learning process for musicians.

### How does the AR feature work?

The app uses augmented reality to overlay chord diagrams and finger placement instructions onto your piano keys when viewed through your device's camera. This provides a visual guide directly on your instrument.

### Is Tonic free to use?

Yes, the application is available for free. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned in the provided data.

### What types of pianos is Tonic compatible with?

Tonic is designed to work with a wide range of pianos, including those with 88, 76, 61, 49, and 25 keys. It also offers 3 octaves to choose from.

### Who would benefit from using this app?

This app is beneficial for piano students, professional musicians, and anyone interested in learning to play chords more easily. It's particularly helpful for those who find traditional music notation challenging or don't read sheet music.

## Version history (last 4 releases)

### 1.2 — 2018-11-06

- Added support for 25-key keyboards
- Improved calibration sequence for tracking accuracy

### 1.11 — 2018-09-08

- Improved piano key tracking accuracy

### 1.1 — 2018-09-06

Thank you to everyone who downloaded and submitted feedback! Your voices have been heard :)

- Support for 76, 61, and 49 key pianos. Just calibrate like normal and Tonic will figure out what type of piano you have - automagically.
- Fix for iPhone 5SE layout bugs.
- Bug fixes & performance enhancements

If you have comments or suggestions, feel free to email me: daniel@kuntz.io

### 1.0 — 2018-08-29

No release notes.

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## More apps by Coda Labs Incorporated

- [Tone - Learn Perfect Pitch!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tone-learn-perfect-pitch/id1139019670)
- [Pitch Pro Tuner & Metronome](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pitch-pro-tuner-and-metronome/id1169667039)
- [os - Sound Machine](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/os-sound-machine/id1222344264)
- [Ж - Russian Declensions](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/russian-declensions/id1323551789)
- [Cycle - Time Lag Accumulator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cycle-time-lag-accumulator/id1403146926)

All apps by Coda Labs Incorporated: https://appshunter.io/developer/1139019669

## Related topics

[chord progression lab](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chord-progression-lab) · [tonic](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/tonic) · [tonic music](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/tonic-music) · [piano chords dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/piano-chords-dictionary) · [chord dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chord-dictionary)

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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 2026-08-14.*