Show HN: Guitoro, a virtual guitar you strum with your keyboard
guitoro.com1 minute video demo: https://youtu.be/DtcluMLdSgs
I would love feedback on how the strumming feels and sounds.
Player view does show a left handed guitar. Two reasons: 1. matches what a right handed player sees looking down at their own guitar: low E on top, neck on the left. 2. players without guitar, to lined up with the pc keyboard that is on the left.
True Audience view is like you watch right hand guitar player.
no, it's wrong
Only suggestion I would have would be to make all 6 strings strummable independently in the chord instead of just the 4, so you can do finger picking on it.
I wanted to play some chords when Im away from my guitar and none of the browser online guitars I found were at the level I was looking for.
The keys follow the song's key: A row = the 5 main chords (I IV V vi ii), Q row = their sevenths Z row = color chords
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DDDDDDI noticed that the strumming seems a bit off on chord changes. A good default is to let strings that don't change on chord change to continue to ring through. Just think about the strings as actual strings and the kinds of things that happen to them when you play.
Also, different songs will have different techniques like bar chords that may have less brightness, palm muting etc.
I'm working on a physical guitar digital luthier kit right now as part of a project at Toronto Metropolitan University working with disabled musicians. Our aim is to release it so anyone can build one.
Here is our documentation of examining an existing assistive guitar built a few years ago in the UK. https://www.designingsoundfutures.org/kellycaster-mark-1/
Now we're taking lessons learned from that and working on robust versions for touring musicians, and variations to adapt to different assistive and artistic needs.
Great to see others doing nifty work with this guitar based music stuff.
Your project sounds wonderful. Good luck with it, I'd love to see it when it's out.
It is nice that it shows the chords.
It's not a tool, it's a toy man. Chill out.
You did, not could. All those things that you said you could do? You literally did them.
You are right, but it is fun.
As a guitar substitute, sure, it's an approximation that can't possibly measure up. But as a modernized version of an autoharp, this could be a legit musical instrument.
The fact that it presents itself as a virtual guitar makes it accessible. You see it as a limitation. But limitations are actually great for creativity.
Another idea I had was being able to bend by holding two keys like monophonic synths.
A couple of UX thoughts I had while using it:
1. Since the chords are all within a specific key, have you considered using the numbers 1 through 7 to play the respective chords? That way playing a 1-4-5 or a 2-5-1 would be very intuitive?
2. Have you considered using modifier keys (shift, ctrl, alt) to control whether a chord is strummed down versus up (e.g. pressing A would be down, but Shift+A would be up) or major/minor (A would be major, Alt+A would be minor)? I guess Ctrl could be a 7th chord modifier too.
Just some thoughts. Great tool!
My tool does not focus on strumming at all as this one does though.
Nice work. Am having fun with it.
and switch to A minor
Aaah, "tab" view is the view that is one I'd expect.
It would really help if you mention whether you tested it on mobile or desktop.
It basically gives you the chords for a given key signature aligned verticall, and then you can use your finger to pick or strum - it even lets you do string bends.
Question: OOC, where did you source the string sample recordings from?
With solo mode, I asked ChatGPT to translate the songs to keyboard notes, and I was just typing the notes as if I was doing a typing test, and I was playing songs. lol the easiest "sight-reading" I've ever done.
Is this the every persons instrument?
Here is Happy Birthday in solo mode:
E E T E I U E E T E P I E E B X I U T C C X I P I
Crazy unlock!
I love the idea of treating it like a typing test, maybe it is the new guitar hero.
The full challenge however is that "knowing how to play an instrument" in the musical context is a deeeeep, deep well, and that any musician is only as informed as their experience. Hitting-notes-in-order means you've just walked into the atrium of a potentially lifelong learning experience, no matter what the instrument.
I hope you take it positively and I am hoping community contributes to the flute sounds and make it better and right.
My dad had a stroke years ago and hasn't been able to hold a guitar, but I showed him this tonight and he thought it was awesome. Excited to see what he does with it.
This, I think, is great product design. More than babysitting the code, it's about hammering the experience until it's as useful, ergonomic and delightful as possible for the user.
This is also how it looks when you hold a guitar, so I have no idea where this "player view" comes from. If I take my guitar and lay it on the table in front of me, the low strings are closest to me not farthest.
For example, did you notice that if you look at your own body, your legs are pointing "up"?
I am also building a music game/app for learning piano basics:
The previous view would still be valid view for left handed guitars. The 10% or so of left handed population would appreciate it, just don’t make it the default and clearly label as a left handed, or a mirror reflection. And the “player view” for left handed should have the headstock pointing to the right.
Like other already mentioned, the orientation is bit odd, like you play with guitar facing you.
Maybe add an option that shows the finger positioning (with adjustable transparency so you can also see the touch points on the strings).
(And there are perhaps hundreds of songs that use the same chords [2].)
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%E2%80%93V%E2%80%93vi%E2%80%9...
I used to play the piano and am learning electric guitar, and guitar feels way harder because there are 1000 ways to pick a note (articulation wise), bending, legato, plus the complexity of the fretboard vs linear piano layout.
Classical piano was hard mainly because there are sooo many notes to read all the time for all the different voices.
I agree there are a lot more little techniques on guitar that don't exist on piano but a lot of them are very easy to master in a short amount of time.
I think getting really good at either is a lot of work, but I can teach someone to play a recognizable song on guitar in a very short amount time, a few hours or less depending on the person, to play even "beginner" songs on piano can be weeks of practice for a newcomer.
But this is nice, simple and fun.
Will def use this in my job as a high school music teacher.
If I could wish for one thing it would be to have just a little more authentic guitar sound. Works as it is, but can't help but hearing "MIDI".
Great work!
Does anyone else remember Frets On Fire? That could be a fun mode to try to adapt.
I.e. the player view is a left-handed guitar (confusing, but to leftie players); audience view, right-handed.
5/7 stars.