OneChord Shorts

It’s coming up on six months since I created OneChord.

I got off to a good start, adding over 100 chords to the site, but between studying and looking for work, I didn’t really pick up the guitar. It was still there on the wall, staring at me.

In fact, if anything, since adding the MIDI download button to the site, whenever I’ve needed some inspiration, my preferred starting point has often been virtual string instruments in Ableton; convenient, but not quite in the spirit of OneChord.

That got me thinking about ways to incorporate my guitar into the creation process.

I originally envisaged a new chord every day of the year, which is all well and good, but you still have to remember to visit the site. It was something I doubted many would do, given all the distractions of modern life.

A daily email was an option, and since I have a Substack, that was always a possibility, but it wouldn’t really add anything above and beyond what was on the site.

I considered adding audio somehow, perhaps with a clickable button that triggers the chord sound. You get to hear what the chord sounds like, and I am forced to pick up the guitar to record it, because who wants to hear some AI-generated synthetic chord, right?

The download size was the limiting factor. It’s only been a few weeks since I joined the Green Team on the 512KB Club, and I didn’t want to throw that away so quickly.

Then it hit me: YouTube Shorts

I could create a brief video with the chord diagram and strum the chord for the audio. I get to pick up the guitar, subscribers get notified when I upload new chords, and YouTube runs on pretty much every device these days, so your guitar should be well within reach. It’s a win all round.

To make it more interesting, I decided to strum three variations of the chord, mirroring the main site’s suggestion of three classic songs. I may experiment with the format over time, but for now, I think it works.

If you are looking for some inspiration, or just a reminder to pick up the guitar, please subscribe here and I’ll do my best to keep them coming.

Now pick up the guitar!