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New Released in April 2026
Learn Guitar by Playing a Game, Even Self-Taught
You can learn guitar by playing a game, as long as the game hears your real guitar. Teaching yourself has a hard middle part: you know the shapes, but changing between them is slow, and drilling changes alone is dull. That is exactly where a game helps. You strum, the microphone listens, and every clean chord keeps your runner alive.
No account, no download. The demo has limited content. Advanced features are in ChordRunner Premium.
- MIDI keyboard
- Digital or acoustic piano
- Guitar
- Computer, phone or tablet
The split that works
Learn each new shape slowly from a chord chart, without a clock. Then hand it to the game, which shows only the chord name and asks for it again and again, in random order. The chart teaches the shape; the game makes it fast.
A first month
- Week 1: Em and Am, then G and C, from the chart; two minutes of practice mode a day.
- Week 2: add D; play the first level with chords in random order.
- Week 3: clear the level twice in a row, then add a short speed run.
- Week 4: try sus2 and sus4, which are one finger away from shapes you know.
Learn Guitar by Playing a Game, Even Self-Taught
ChordRunner is a browser game that teaches piano and guitar chords: a chord appears on screen, you play it on a real instrument, and your runner jumps.
Play the demoSore fingers and buzzing strings
Fingertips hurt for the first two weeks; short daily sessions toughen them faster than long ones. If a chord buzzes, press just behind the fret, not on top of it. The game counts a buzzing chord as a miss, which is useful: it tells you which shape needs care.
Acoustic, electric or classical
All three work with the microphone. Tune before each session, because the game hears real pitches: a guitar a little out of tune can make a right shape sound wrong.
The levels in ChordRunner
- Beginner: major, minor, augmented and diminished chords.
- Intermediate: adds sus2 and sus4.
- Advanced: adds 6th, 7th and 9th chords.
- Pro: adds 11th, 13th and altered chords; an adaptive mode adds the next family when you are ready.
Common questions
Can you teach yourself guitar by playing a game?
Yes, for chords and chord changes, if the game hears your real guitar. Learn each shape from a chart, then let the game test it through the microphone.
Does the game show where to put my fingers?
No. It shows chord symbols only, so you learn to recall the shape yourself. Diagrams belong on a chart or our easy chords page.
How long should I practise?
Ten to fifteen minutes a day, split between new shapes and a run in the game.
Which instruments work?
A USB MIDI keyboard, detected automatically, or a piano or guitar through the microphone. Everything runs in Chrome or Edge on a computer, tablet or phone.
How is this different from apps where you tap the screen?
Tapping trains your eyes and fingers on glass. Here you press real keys or fret real strings, and the game hears the actual notes, so what you practise is exactly what you will play on your instrument.
Is everything in the demo?
The demo has limited content. Advanced features are in ChordRunner Premium.
Your instrument is the controller.
ChordRunner is a browser game that teaches piano and guitar chords: a chord appears on screen, you play it on a real instrument, and your runner jumps. MIDI keyboard or microphone, both work.
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