A playable guitar in your browser. Strum chords with the Space bar or number keys, swipe across the strings, pick single notes on the 15-fret fretboard and build your own chord shapes. Choose acoustic, nylon or electric sound, a capo and alternate tunings.
Last updated:
CC major · C E G
swipe to strum
Keys: 1–8 quick chords · Space/↓ strum down · ↑ strum up · ASDFGH pick strings 6→1 · M mute
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How to use the Online Guitar
Press a chord button or a number key 1–8 to strum one of the quick chords. The shape appears on the fretboard.
Strum with Space or ↓ (down strum) and ↑ (up strum), or drag across the strings in the strum area on the right.
Pick single strings with the keys A S D F G H (low E to high e), or click any fret on the fretboard to play it.
Build your own chord by clicking frets; click the open-string column to mute or unmute a string. The tool names the chord.
Change the sound: pick acoustic, nylon or electric, set a capo or tuning, and adjust the strum speed, volume and reverb.
Common chord progressions to try
Set the quick-chord slots to a progression and play it with the number keys. These four-chord patterns are behind thousands of songs:
Progression
In C
In G
Feel
I – V – vi – IV
C – G – Am – F
G – D – Em – C
Bright pop and rock
vi – IV – I – V
Am – F – C – G
Em – C – G – D
Emotional ballad
I – vi – IV – V
C – Am – F – G
G – Em – C – D
1950s doo-wop
I – IV – V
C – F – G
G – C – D
Blues, folk, country
ii – V – I
Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7
Am7 – D7 – Gmaj7
Jazz
i – VII – VI – VII
Am – G – F – G
Em – D – C – D
Minor rock, folk
A simple strumming pattern to start with is down, down-up, up-down-up (D DU UDU) over one bar of 4/4: press ↓, then ↓ ↑, then ↑ ↓ ↑, keeping an even pulse.
How to read the fretboard
The fretboard is drawn from the player's point of view looking down at the neck: the thinnest, highest string (high e) is at the top and the thickest string (low E) at the bottom, like guitar tablature.
Green dots show where fingers press; the orange dot is the root of the chord. Rings in the first column are open strings, and × marks a string that is not played.
Each fret raises the pitch by one semitone. Fret 12 is one octave above the open string, which is why it has the double dot.
The chord shape line (for example x32010 for C) lists the frets from the low E string to the high e string, the same notation used in chord books.
How the guitar sound is made
Every note is synthesised with the Karplus-Strong plucked-string algorithm. A delay line as long as one vibration period (sample rate ÷ frequency, about 535 samples for the low E at 82.4 Hz and 44.1 kHz) is filled with a short burst of filtered noise, like the pick exciting the string. On each pass the signal is averaged with its neighbour, a low-pass filter that removes high harmonics faster than low ones, exactly as a real string loses brightness while it rings. A fractional all-pass delay keeps every fret in tune, and a comb filter imitates where along the string it was picked. The result then passes through filters that model the guitar body or an amplifier, and an optional room reverb.
The open strings in standard tuning are E2 (82.41 Hz), A2 (110.00 Hz), D3 (146.83 Hz), G3 (196.00 Hz), B3 (246.94 Hz) and E4 (329.63 Hz).
Frequently asked questions
How do I play the guitar with my computer keyboard?
Keys 1–8 strum the eight quick chords shown above the fretboard, Space or the Down arrow strums the current chord downwards, the Up arrow strums upwards, and A S D F G H pluck the six strings from the low E to the high e one by one. M stops all strings.
How is the guitar sound made?
With the Karplus-Strong algorithm, a classic physical model of a plucked string. A short burst of noise (the pluck) circulates through a delay line whose length matches the string's pitch, and a gentle low-pass filter removes energy every round trip, just as a real string loses its high harmonics first. Body resonance filters and optional reverb give the final tone.
What does the capo do?
A capo clamps all strings at one fret and raises the pitch of everything you play by that many semitones. You keep using the same chord shapes: a C shape with the capo on fret 2 sounds as D. The chord display shows both the shape and the sounding chord.
Which tuning should I use?
Standard tuning (E A D G B E) is used for most songs. Half step down (Eb) is common in rock and blues, drop D lowers the low string to D for heavy riffs, and DADGAD, open G and open D are popular for folk and slide guitar. In alternate tunings the chord buttons find a playable voicing automatically.
Can I use it on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Tap the chord buttons, tap frets to pick notes, and swipe up or down across the strings in the strum area. Turn off silent mode on an iPhone to hear the sound, and turn the phone sideways to see more of the fretboard.
Why is there a short delay when I play?
Browsers add a few milliseconds of audio latency, usually 10–40 ms. Wired headphones or speakers are faster than Bluetooth, which can add 100–200 ms. The first note may also take a moment while the sound engine starts.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.