Chord Notepad

A simple text editor for musicians that automatically detects and plays guitar/piano chords using FluidSynth synthesis.

Features

• Text editor with syntax highlighting for chord symbols
• Real-time chord detection (supports major, minor, 7th, dim, aug, sus, and complex jazz chords)
• Interactive chord playback (click any chord to hear it)
• Auto-play mode with configurable BPM and time signature
• Visual chord highlighting during playback
• File operations (New, Open, Save, Save As)
• Recent files menu
• Configurable font size and BPM settings

Requirements

Runtime Requirements

• Linux: FluidSynth library (libfluidsynth package)

  # Fedora/RHEL
  sudo dnf install fluidsynth
  
  # Ubuntu/Debian
  sudo apt install libfluidsynth3
  
  # Arch
  sudo pacman -S fluidsynth

• Windows: No additional dependencies needed (FluidSynth DLL will be bundled with the executable)

Development Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• Pipenv for dependency management

Installation

Option 1: Use Pre-built Executables (Recommended)

Download the latest release from the Releases page:

• Linux: ChordNotepad-linux-x64 (standalone executable)
• Windows: ChordNotepad-windows-x64.exe
• macOS: ChordNotepad-macos-x64

All releases are automatically built and tested using GitHub Actions.

Option 2: Run from Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/chord-notepad.git
   cd chord-notepad

2. Install dependencies:

   pipenv install

3. Run the application:

   make run
   # or
   pipenv run python src/main.py

Building from Source

Prerequisites

Install development dependencies:

pipenv install --dev

Build for Your Platform

Build a standalone executable for your current platform:

make build

The executable will be created in the dist/ directory:

• Linux: dist/ChordNotepad
• Windows: dist/ChordNotepad.exe

Cross-Platform Build Notes

Building on Linux for Linux:

make build
# Output: dist/ChordNotepad

Building on Windows for Windows:

pipenv install --dev
pipenv run pyinstaller --clean chord-notepad.spec
REM Output: dist\ChordNotepad.exe

Note: PyInstaller creates platform-specific executables. To build for Windows, you must run the build on a Windows machine. To build for Linux, run on a Linux machine.

Usage

Basic Workflow

1. Create or Open a File: Use File > New or File > Open

2. Write Lyrics with Chords: Type chord symbols above lyrics

   C       Am      F       G
   This is a simple song
   
   Dm7     G7      Cmaj7
   With jazz chords too
   

3. Click Chords: Click any highlighted chord to hear it

4. Auto-Play: Click the Play button to auto-play all chords sequentially

5. Configure Settings:

   • Settings > BPM: Adjust playback speed (default: 120)
   • Settings > Font Size: Adjust editor font size

Supported Chord Types

• Major: C, D, E, F, G, A, B
• Minor: Cm, Dm, Em, Am
• Seventh: C7, Dm7, Gmaj7, Am7
• Diminished: C°, Ddim, Cdim7
• Augmented: C+, Daug
• Suspended: Csus2, Csus4, Dsus
• Extended: C9, D11, E13
• Alterations: C7b5, D7#9, Em7b5
• Half-diminished: Cø7, Dm7b5
• Add chords: Cadd9, Dadd11

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+N: New file
• Ctrl+O: Open file
• Ctrl+S: Save file
• Ctrl+Shift+S: Save As
• Ctrl+Q: Quit
• Ctrl+MouseWheel: Zoom in/out

Project Structure

chord-notepad/
├── src/
│   ├── main.py                 # Application entry point
│   ├── ui/
│   │   ├── main_window.py      # Main window with menu and toolbar
│   │   └── text_editor.py      # Custom text editor widget
│   ├── audio/
│   │   ├── player.py           # FluidSynth audio player
│   │   └── chord_picker.py     # Chord-to-MIDI converter
│   └── chord/
│       └── converter.py        # Chord notation parser
├── resources/
│   └── soundfont/
│       └── GeneralUser-GS.sf2  # Bundled soundfont
├── chord-notepad.spec          # PyInstaller spec file
├── Pipfile                     # Python dependencies
├── Makefile                    # Build commands
└── README.md

Development

Running Tests

make test

Clean Build Artifacts

make clean

Code Style

The project uses standard Python conventions with:

• 4-space indentation
• Clear, descriptive variable names
• Docstrings for all public methods

Architecture

Threading Model

• Main Thread: Tkinter GUI event loop
• Player Thread: FluidSynth playback with precise timing
• Cross-thread Communication: Queue-based invoke system for thread-safe GUI updates

Audio Playback

• Uses FluidSynth for high-quality MIDI synthesis
• Supports real-time note triggering (click-to-play)
• Scheduled playback with configurable BPM and time signatures
• Each chord plays for 1 bar (4 beats in 4/4 time)

Dependencies

Runtime

• pyfluidsynth: Python bindings for FluidSynth
• pychord: Chord parsing and music theory
• tkinter: GUI framework (included with Python)

Development

• pyinstaller: Creates standalone executables
• pytest: Testing framework

License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify for your own projects.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Acknowledgments

• FluidSynth for MIDI synthesis
• PyChord for chord parsing
• GeneralUser GS soundfont by S. Christian Collins