Author: Mart

We have identified and fixed an issue that could cause smartChord to crash immediately on startup on devices running Android 11 or earlier. The problem was introduced by an internal library update in version V13.0 and only affected these older Android versions.

If you are experiencing crashes when opening the app, please update to version V13.0.1 from the Google Play Store. This release resolves the issue, and smartChord will start normally again on all supported devices.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

⭐ Fretboard Training Tutorial

▫ A systematically structured course that takes you from your very first note all the way to
reflex-level mastery of the entire fretboard

▫ The tutorial is aimed at beginners and experienced players alike — anyone who wants to finally move their fretboard knowledge from “calculating” to “seeing”

▫ 38 progressively structured exercises across three phases — each with a clear learning objective, didactic framing, and a direct launch button into the Fretboard Trainer

◾ Phase 1: Unlock the fretboard note by note
◾ Phase 2: Bring in octave awareness
◾ Phase 3: Speed and reflex training

▫ Tuning-agnostic: Every exercise works with all supported instruments and any tuning

▫ Links open each exercise tailored to your setup automatically

📖 Fretboard Training Tutorial

📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/fretboard-trainer/fretboard-trainer-how-to-use/

✔ Fretboard + Ear Trainer

▫ Fretboard, Piano and Music Notation views are showing the note range of the quiz before start

✔ Ear Training Tutorial

▫ Redesigned with a cleaner, more polished look — all exercises and functionality remain exactly the same

▫ Pre-filled last selected answer view

▫ Title bar with a Back button to quickly come back to the app

📖 Ear Training Tutorial

📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/ear-trainer/ear-trainer-how-to-use/

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Fred King, Keith Frusiante and Robert Winter for their contribution to this version

⭐ Songbook, Set List:

▫ Option to set the default number of characters per line for the Intelligent Line Break
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/songbook/songbook-user-interface/#intelligent-line-break

▫ Separate scale factors for use with Intelligent Line Break (ILB) enabled and disabled.
◾ These settings are intended to ensure that a song is displayed with maximum clarity and readability across different devices
◾ When synchronizing your songs between your devices
◾ When you get shared songs from your bandmate via Set-List-Link
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/set-list/use-a-song-on-different-devices/

▫ Familiar shorthand notation to define MIDI Commands
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/set-list/use-external-devices/#defining-midi-commands

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Henk Oostrom, Jens Martin, Rob Sektor and Robert Hilverth for their contribution to this version

⭐ Pattern Editor to create exercises

▫ Create exercises from custom scale patterns

▫ Create exercises from custom arpeggio patterns

▫ Edit scale patterns before creating exercises

▫ Edit arpeggio patterns before creating exercises

📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/pattern-editor/pattern-editor-overview/

⭐ s.mart Fretboard Trainer

▫ New Quiz types:
◾ Identify Scale Degree
◾ Locate Scale Degree

▫ More qualified quiz name suggestion

❗ Fix for quizzes in low tone range

✔ Sync: Workaround for Android problems

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Craig Jackson, David Lingerak, Felipe Nobrega, John B. and Scott Noroozi for their contribution to this version

⭐ s.mart Fretboard Trainer

▫ New Quiz types:
◾ Identify Interval
◾ Locate Interval

▫ Quizzes allow more different output and answer components

▫ The piano input takes into account the instrument setting ‘Force root note’ when entering chords

▫ A lot of improvements and fixes

⭐ Ear Trainer: A lot of improvements and fixes

🎧 New podcast: https://smartchord.de/docs/getting-started/podcasts
◾ E57: smartChord – Ear Training Tutorial

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Claus Backhaus and John Rees for their contribution to this version

✔ Open at random:
◾ New item in the ‘Folder’ menu opens an item like a song or exercise at random
◾ Use it to break ingrained habits. It challenges you with unexpected exercises or songs
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/practice/open-at-random/

✔ Tuner:
◾ Cent added in the ‘Detailed’ mode
◾ Microphone gain adjustment (settings)
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/tuner/tuner-overview/#microphone-gain-adjustment

✔ Tuning Favorites:
◾ Possibility to add a capo to a favorite tuning
◾ Possibility to add a tuning multiple times with different capos

✔ Tuning List:
◾ Custom tunings are also listed
◾ The current tuning is pre-selected
◾ Button to select the standard tuning
◾ The current tuning is the template for a new custom tuning

✔ File explorer: Button to view the selected file

✔ Songbook: Improved chord detection

✔ New documentation
📖 How to run smartChord on Windows, Linux, Mac and Chromebook
📖 File Explorer

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Mike Ellis, Lanticina Emiliano, Olivier Pince, Sadicus and Scott Noroozi for their contribution to this version

⭐ Set List

◾ Advanced algorithm for finding your PDF and image files

◾ Option to define a folder of your choice for your PDF and image files. This can greatly simplify the file handling and synchronization

📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/set-list/using-pdf-and-image-files-in-set-lists/

◾ Set-List-Link: Improved stability

✔ New scales:
◾ Major sixth diminished
◾ Minor sixth diminished
◾ Dominant seventh diminished
◾ Dominant seventh flat fifth diminished

❗ Tuner behaviour change: The tuner now vibrates only when a tuning note is hit exactly

🐞 Fretboard Trainer: Changed accidentals in the settings were ignored in the notes input view

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Anke Kellermann, Craig Jackson, Christian Sylvoz, David Lingerak, Franky Ka, Henk Oostrom, Hubertus Gawinski and Lindsay Debb for their contribution to this version

⭐ Set List

◾ Play button to start or stop each Set List entry
▫ Available for Song, Image, PDF or Break
▫ Option to show or hide

◾ Possibility to specify a duration for a note. This can be useful when the note represents an activity — for example, giving a speech.

◾ The songbooks toolbar is fully accessible

◾ The first line of the notes is always visible

◾ The title bar shows the elapsed time since the Set List started

◾ Other improvements and fixes

🐞 PDF is scalable again

✔ Circle of Fifths: Piano is now fully playable

✔ Logbook:

◾ When calculating time, only periods during which the tool was actually active are taken into account

◾ A new logbook entry is created whenever you switch exercises

✔ Bouzouki tunings added:
◾ Tetrachordo: C3C4 F3F4 A3A3 D4D4
◾ Trichordo: D3D4 A3A3 D4D4

🐞 Table of contents: When assigning and filtering categories, the category values of all elements were preselected instead of only the values of the selected elements

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Barth Harrington, Franky Ka, Henk Oostrom, Nikos Karavasilis, Pr. Prom, Scott Noroozi and Tim Rice for their contribution to this version

⭐ Recycle Bin – Safety net for your data

◾ The Recycle Bin temporarily stores deleted items (songs, exercises, …), preventing accidental loss

◾ Restore one or more items

◾ Delete the items permanently

◾ Search deleted items by name

◾ Select multiple items for bulk actions

📖 Documentation

⭐ Support for 9-string custom tunings

✔ Piano:
◾ Option for standard-size piano with 88 keys

◾ Optimized range selection

✔ Songbook: The metronome and drum machine stop automatically after the song has been scrolled through

✔ If a tool has a mode, it is named in the title

✔ New predefined category ‘Status’: ‘◯ Not started’, ‘❌ Abandoned’, ‘🌱 Started’, ‘🔨 Basic’, ‘👍 Solid’, ‘✅ Mastered’, ‘⭐ Stage ready’

🎧 New podcasts:
◾ E55: smartChord – Logbook
◾ E56: smartChord – Tutorials

🐞 Utilizing the entire screen, especially in full-screen mode

🐞 Fretboard Trainer: Invisible notes and accidentals in the staff output view

🐞 Piano: The ‘C4’ was placed on ‘C3’

🐞 Playground: Full range of playground wasn’t possible on small displays

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Dave Clews, Diallo Mudd, Eugene, Heiko Sommer, Martin Schumacher, Matteo Tognin, Paul Schoonderwoerd, Pepe Moscosos and Scott Noroozi for their contribution to this version

⭐ Logbook ⭐

◾ Button to jump from a Logbook entry directly back to the associated tool with its used item

◾ Filter for name and tool allows multiple selection

◾ Filter for the last day, week, four weeks, three months or year

◾ Jump forward or backward on the timeline

◾ Logbook can be opened from the navigation menu of a tool when the tool is configured to create logbook entries

◾ Statistics for the filtered Logbook entries

▫ Summary table

▫ Stacked chart to get the practice time per tool

▫ Stacked chart to get the practice time per exercise

📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/logbook/logbook-overview/

🐞 Songbook: Last song could be unintentionally deleted, if an audio file was added right before a new song from the internet search was saved

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Gabry Ponte, Jens Strohman, Michele Gili and Stepan Heleste for their contribution to this version

⭐⭐⭐ Logbook ⭐⭐⭐

◾ The Logbook allows automatic and manual tracking of your practice, sessions, gigs or ideas

◾ You can choose which tools should use the logbook

◾ A new logbook entry is created automatically every time you start a tool

◾ Option to edit, augment or discard each entry before saving

◾ A Logbook entry records: date, duration, tool used, exercise name. You can optionally add notes, status, energy level and mood

◾ Create entries manually that are not tied to any smartChord tool e.g. for rehearsals or gigs

◾ Filter your entries by tool, name and time range

◾ Sync & cross-device support: Logbook entries are included in smartChord’s synchronization

◾ Statistics & charts will come soon

📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/logbook/logbook-overview/

🐞 Set List: Some PDF files were not displayed on devices with large screens

🐞 Fretboard Trainer could freeze if a very small octave range was selected

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Andrea Petrone, Bruce Reirden, Henk Oostrom, Hubertus Gawinski, John Engelberd, Martin Heissenberger and Vanessa Wong for their contribution to this version

⭐⭐⭐ s.mart Tutorial Series ⭐⭐⭐

◾ Deeper Musical Understanding: This series moves beyond playing, ensuring you to truly understand the underlying structure and theory of music

◾ Maximize smartChord Tools: Learn to effectively use smartChord’s powerful features, such as the Ear Trainer and Fretboard Trainer, through practical exercises

◾ Structured Skill Development: The tutorials offer a step-by-step path to progressively build essential abilities like ear training and fretboard mastery

◾ Practical and Measurable Improvement: Benefit from targeted drills that directly sharpen your technique and expand your theoretical knowledge

⭐ The Ear Trainer Tutorial is the first in the series: It provides a structured, step-by-step path, ensuring you to achieve absolute fluency in recognizing every musical interval, which is the cornerstone for improved improvisation, composition, and transcription by ear

📖 https://smartchord.de/s-mart-tutorial-series/

⭐ Android Home Screen Widgets: You can add a widget for any tool directly to your home screen for instant access and even faster navigation

✔ Picking Pattern Trainer: Menu item ‘Show in Songbook’ opens the song with the same name

✔ Songbook: Improved chord detection

⌂ Home: Sort the home screen either ascending ‘A-Z’ or descending ‘Z-A’

🎧 Help: Listen to our podcasts in your browser if you don’t have the Spotify app installed (https://smartchord.de/docs/getting-started/podcasts)

✔ New Documentation:
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/arpeggio/arpeggio-overview/
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/metronome/metronome-overview/
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/picking-patterns/picking-patterns-overview/
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/playground/playground-overview/
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/practice/practice-overview
📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/tone-generator/tone-generator-overview/

🐞 Chord Name: Optional notes of a chord were not marked in red

🐞 Fretboard Trainer: Determine the correct octave with the microphone

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Adam Brewer, Austin Geraci, Derek D. Lichter, Scott Noroozi and Vito Piscitelli for their contribution to this version

⭐ AI Assistant

◾ A brand-new AI Assistant is now available on smartChord.de! With the AI Assistant, you can:

▫ Get instant answers to your questions about smartChord and its tools

▫ Receive tips and explanations tailored to your musical needs

📖 https://smartchord.de/docs/getting-started/ai-assistant/

⭐ Fretboard Trainer + Ear Trainer

◾ Option to determine the note within the correct octave

◾ Get the latest score of each quiz in the table of contents

◾ The answers to a quiz can be evaluated even before it has started

◾ Option to play intervals melodic, harmonic or random

◾ Option to enable octave transposition

🐞 Fretboard Trainer + Ear Trainer: A new quiz may have been created with invalid settings

🐞 Songbook: Import shared songs

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Daniel Murillo, Dmitry Prokopenko, Gerhard Ungersbaeck, Ulrich Biebel and Yasmin Weiß for their contribution to this version

⭐ Set List

◾ Attractive and well-organized printing and exporting of the set list

◾ New properties for clearer storage of information
▫ Band name
▫ Contact
▫ Equipment
▫ Preparation

◾ Improved editor for multi-line set list information

◾ Set List: Capo can be configured as information for an entry (https://smartchord.de/docs/set-list/create-a-set-list/#configure-information)

✔ Android 16 compatibility

🐞 YouTube player fix: This video is unavailable (error code: 15)

✔ Other improvements and fixes

❀ Special thanks to Dennis Xaine, Gerard Ross, Henk Oostrom, Michael Mazza and Sergei Nikiforov for their contribution to this version

YouTube recently made changes that affect the YouTube player we use in our app. The player is currently being updated to ensure compatibility. Once this is complete, we will prepare a new version and publish it in the Play Store.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.