OneChord

Learning the guitar is no overnight feat (I’ve been trying on and off for over 20 years now!).

The hardest part for me is actually picking up the guitar. Every time I look up at the wall, I can see it hanging there, begging me to play it, but I rarely do.

It’s the thought of finding a tab to play, or time to watch a video that drives my attention elsewhere.

That’s where I got the idea for OneChord.

I envisaged a simple one-page app that would work across all my devices (no excuses) and generate a single random chord for me to play.

There are lots of tools out there that offer chords-a-plenty, but most require a login, an app install, or they are cluttered with ads to the point of being distracting.

I wanted the equivalent of a distraction-free editor but for a single chord, so I created one, and distracted myself from picking up the guitar, yet again….

Achieving mastery, like most things in life, requires time, focus, and the right mindset.

Time

Finding time is never easy.

Family, friends, work and hobbies all consume what little time we have left on this planet. So when my brain has to choose between a 10-minute guitar lesson or mowing the lawn, my lazy brain opts for the path of least resistance (that reminds me, I need to mow the lawn).

Swapping a 10-minute lesson for a single chord is enough to convince me to play.

I mean, what could be simpler than a chord? It’s immediately visible, a shape created by your fingers pushing down on the strings, producing a sound that, amidst the fret buzz and muted strings, should sound familiar.

I also read that ten minutes of focused daily practice is far more effective than a two-hour session once a week.

You’ll be amazed at how quickly ten minutes goes by when you’re noodling around the notes of a chord!

Focus

To help me focus while strumming the chord, I made sure the interface was minimal and clean. It had to be fast to load, easy to read on all my devices and, most importantly, something that might tempt me to pick up the guitar.

I tried to include as much detail in as little space as I could (for phones etc), like highlighting the root note, and naming the notes on each string to help me memorise the fretboard (and maybe learn a little music along the way).

I included a few additional items on the page, like 3 songs that contain the chord, be it strummed or part of a riff (work in progress). Plus, if you have the chord down and want to keep learning, there’s a button for the next chord based on probability (I might mess with this over time), or just click the logo for a random chord.

Mindset

They say small victories help with perseverance. Well, mastering that one chord is like a little reward to help you keep playing.

Get your fingers right, and your amp will sound amazing. It might even make you smile, providing a hit of dopamine and endorphins for reinforcement. In fact, even if it makes you sad (yeah, some chords sound sad) the release and emotional processing that you experience all work toward fueling future progress.

To keep me in the right mindset, I’m planning to have enough chords for a new one every day (based on those most frequently used in popular music).

I also use the chord for inspiration when creating new music, a bit like Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies, only with notes.

So there you have it, OneChord, an itch I finally got around to scratching. Just like my music, it exists, and just like my music, I hope that maybe someone out there enjoys it too. Now pick up your guitar!