is there an app that can identify chords?

Which one suits you depends on what you want to do with the chords, so here they are by need.

If you want chords from a song playing nearby

Chord ai is the one that listens. It can use your device's microphone to show chords in real time, for a song playing around you or for your own playing. It also works from your files, YouTube and SoundCloud, and shows beats and lyrics alongside the chords. It is on iOS and Android.

The cost is in the detail. The free download recognises common chords: major, minor, augmented, diminished, 7ths, sus2 and sus4. Advanced chords such as dim7, add9 and 13ths, slash chords and voicings are Pro features, at £9.99 a month or £69.99 a year on the UK App Store.

If you want to play along with a known song

Chordify is a chord player with a catalogue of 36 million songs, showing each chord in time with the music, with diagrams for guitar, piano, ukulele and mandolin. It works with YouTube, so you can play along with the video. It runs on iOS, Android and the web, and the free app covers chords for songs, a personal library and animated chord views.

Chords are one thing, but sometimes all you've got is a tune stuck in your head and no idea what it's called. For that, there's a separate guide on naming a song by humming. It covers the apps that take a hummed or sung melody, and why Shazam, the one most people try first, tends to let you down there.

What you lose on the free app is the practice tooling. Transposing, capo, slowing down, looping and MIDI and PDF downloads are Premium. The UK App Store listing shows several Premium prices, from £6.00 to £8.99 a month, or £36.00 or £48.00 a year.

If you also want to remove parts or change the key

Moises is aimed at practising rather than only reading. It separates a song into stems such as vocals and instruments, detects the chords, key and beat, and transposes chords to all 12 keys. You can take a part out, change the key or tempo, and follow the chords as you go. It runs on the web, iOS, Android, Windows and Mac.

The catch is the free tier, which gives a limited number of uploads each month and a select set of features. Its App Store listing includes chord detection in the free plan but lists fully unlocked chord detection under Premium, and unlimited uploads need a paid plan. Premium is £4.99 a month on the UK App Store, with yearly options of £34.99 or £39.99, and Pro is £24.99 a month. The full pricing table needs a login.

If you want it completely free

Yamaha Chord Tracker is free, and its UK App Store listing shows no in-app purchases. It analyses songs stored on your device and shows their chords as piano or guitar diagrams, on iOS and Android.

What you give up is reach. It does not work with songs in iCloud, DRM-protected songs or streaming services such as Apple Music. If your music only lives in a streaming app, it has nothing to analyse.

When paying is worth it

Every free version here gives you chord names, within limits. The clearest case for paying is Chord ai Pro, at £9.99 a month or £69.99 a year on the UK App Store, if you need advanced chords, slash chords and specific voicings rather than basic chord names. Chordify's Premium is worth it only if you want to transpose, use a capo, slow down or loop, and Moises's paid plans matter once the monthly upload limit or the partly locked chord detection gets in your way.

Yamaha says Chord Tracker's chords match the mood of the original closely but may not be an exact match. Treat its charts as a starting point and check any chord that sounds wrong by ear. It also will not read streamed, iCloud or DRM-protected songs.

Chordify's Android app is listed on Google Play as containing ads, which matters if you plan to stay on the free version.

Chord ai is listed under different developer names: Nomad AI OU on the App Store and Machinita Technologies on Google Play, though both listings point to the same Chord ai website. It is worth knowing who you are paying before you subscribe.

If your music is on a streaming service such as Apple Music, Chord Tracker says it will not work with it, while Chord ai works from YouTube, SoundCloud, your files or the microphone.