Everyone who has to create chord chart and sheets and embed them in a blog knows how tedious the process is and that in most cases the results don’t even look nice. Then, when you readers actually want to use such sheets, the print results are awful, because of the low image resolution.

This is why we created the Uberchord SVG chord rendering engine. It’s powerful, easy to use and delivers supreme, crisp results that look good anywhere — even on a sheet of paper.

Example 1: Embed chords with a single line of code

This is the most straight forward example of how to use the rendering engine inside a blog or any website. You use our code generator or simply write one line of code yourself and embed it anywhere in your blog.

Example 2: Customization

Here we have more complex chords, hid the Uberchord Icon and added a title and description will be shown once you click on the “open” link.

If you are interested in using Uberchord’s rendering engine: it’s free. Shoot us an email.

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THE TIPBOOK SERIES

Essentially, these books tell you everything you need to know about buying an instrument that perfectly matches your sound, the style of music you play, your personal, and your budget.

There are also chapters on tuning, intonation, adjustment and more. The main goal of the books is to allow you to buy the best instrument you can and get the most out of your purchase, so you can make your chords sound the way you like them to.

Each Tipbook title has its own separate app. I’ve been reading the volume on electric guitars (I’m an acoustic player only) and it really helped me understand what influences the sound and playability of these instruments.

The book’s title is ‘eTipbook Electric Guitar and Bass Guitar’ and is available for free for iOS. Android version is €0.99.

So, courtesy of Tipbook we have selected an excerpt for you to read from the current title on how to choose a good instrument (see below).

You find many more titles on Tipbook’s website and in the App Stores.

And you might wonder why they are offering these titles as individual apps, as it can be a somewhat cumbersome experience to have one app per title on a mobile device. However, with 250+ pages per app you can keep it well organised with the following 5 titles relevant to guitar players: Electric Guitar and Bass Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Amplifiers and Effects, Music on Paper, Vocals.

So, go and look for yourself. Tipbook is currently offering really good content for free (available in English and Dutch).

Regular in-app purchase price $6.99. Until January 31: 2016 iOS versions free, Android €0.99 / $0.99.

EXCERPT FROM TIPBOOK

Chapter 5: A Good Instrument

Guitars and basses come in numerous designs, sporting different shapes and sounds, dimensions, wood types, pickup configurations, necks, frets, strings, and so
on. The knowledge presented in the following chapter will help you to make a choice, covering pretty much everything there is to look at and to listen for.

How a (bass) guitar sounds depends not only on the instrument itself and on the person who plays it, but also on the strings, the picks, the cables you’re using, and of course on your amp and effects. Strings, picks, and cables are explored in Chapters 6 and 7 respectively. Amplifiers and effects are covered in a Tipbook by that title.

This chapter

After exploring the various types of guitar finishes and bodies, this chapter covers the neck and fingerboard (page 47), the scale (string length; page 56), frets (58), tuning machines (61), the bridge (64), tremolos (67), pickups (72), tips on auditioning instruments (90), and much more.

Many variations

Few instruments come in as many designs as electric guitars and basses. Some are extremely versatile, created to be used in a wide variety of musical styles. Others are built for a specific type of music. Often their looks alone will tell: A heavy metal guitar looks very different from one that was designed for country music.

Surf on metal

Though you can play surf music on a guitar that was built for aggressive rock, it’s usually better to use instruments for the style of music the designer had in mind. Likewise, knowing which guitar your favorite musician is playing can be a useful guide in finding the instrument that suits you best.

Differing opinions

Musicians rarely agree about anything. The following chapters won’t tell you who is right, or what is best, but rather how different experts think about different issues. You’ll discover whom you agree with only by playing, and by listening to guitars or basses, and to the people who play them.

THE LOOKS

Guitar bodies can be finished with a single solid color; a natural, transparent lacquer; a two- or three-color sunburst finish; or with many other types and styles of finishes. Some companies even allow you to print your own photo or design on your instrument.

Plastic or natural

Most instruments have a polyurethane finish. This is a hard and durable synthetic type of lacquer. Natural finishes, such as nitrocellulose or oil, are typically used on more expensive instruments. These organic finishes, which tend to get darker with age, help bring out the instrument’s resonance.

Pickguard

Pickguards come in lots of different colors and designs too. Laminated pickguards that show their three white- black-white plies at the edge are very popular. Most of today’s pickguards are plastic. Unlike the traditional pickguard material (i.e., celluloid) they don’t warp or expand.

Hardware

The hardware is usually chrome-plated, gold-plated, or black. The pickups or pickup covers typically match the hardware.

A replica is a copy of a (bass) guitar of another brand, and a reissue is a new edition of a older instrument, made by the original company.

SOLIDBODIES

The type of wood used for the body affects both the instrument’s tone and weight. The body shape influences the looks, the balance, and the playability of the instrument. 

Chipboard or solid wood

The very cheapest guitars often have a chipboard or plywood body. A body that consists of one or more pieces of solid wood helps produce more sustain and a richer sound.

Different wood, different sound

Generally speaking, denser types of wood promote a brighter tone and more sustain than lighter types of wood. That said, many types of wood come in different variations and qualities. Also, the way a guitar is built can completely alter some the wood’s typical characteristics, and experts don’t always agree when it comes to describing the effect of certain types of wood. The message? Always listen to the instrument as a whole, rather than focusing on the type of wood it’s made of. Still, it’s good to have some basic knowledge of the subject.

Light or heavy

Poplar, basswood, and alder are three lighter types of wood. They’re often said to help produce a warmer, fuller, fatter type of sound. Maple, at the other end of the spectrum, is very dense, and thus makes for a brighter tone. 

Weights and densities

Mahogany and ash come in various weights and densities. The lighter types, again, enhance a warmer, mellower tone. Denser wood promotes a brighter, ‘airier,’ more open type of sound. Swamp ash is one of the lighter types of ash. 

The top

Because of its beautiful appearance, maple is often used as top wood. It’s available in many variations (i.e., quilted maple, bird’s eye maple, and flamed or figured maple).

Choices

There are companies that offer a selection of ten, fifteen, or even more types of wood. When it comes to such choices, looks often play a larger role than sound. Likewise, with some instruments the wood you get depends on the finish you want.

Photo finish

On some instruments, the ‘wooden’ top is not real flame wood, but a thin photographic film that is applied to the body. It often takes an expert eye to distinguish such a ‘photo flame’ from the real thing, which typically has more depth and character (in sound too!).

Thick

The size and shape of the body influence sound, weight, and playing comfort. Generally speaking, a thicker, heavier body increases the sustain and makes for a richer sound.

Weight

A ‘heavy’ solid-body can outweigh a light one by three or four pounds. This doesn’t sound like much, but you may very well feel the difference after a couple of songs. 

Balance

The balance of the instrument is just as important. A neck-heavy guitar can be more tiresome to play than one that actually weighs more, but has a better balance. An uncomfortable balance can sometimes be cured, for example by relocating the strap buttons. A tip: If you usually play standing up, audition instruments standing up as well.

Solid?

Solidbodies aren’t completely solid. All instruments have cavities for the pickups, the wiring, and the pots, for example.

Sound chambers

Other instruments also have one or more invisible sound chambers that reduce the weight and make for a warmer tone. Their
names (chambered bodies or semi-hollow bodies) are also used
for shallow-body guitars that clearly show their sound chamber through a soundhole in the top.

Contoured bodies

Today, most instruments have contoured bodies with rounded edges. These designs don’t dig in your chest the way some old- style, non-contoured slab bodies do. Many guitars also have a belly cut, a cut-away section on the back of the body. The belly cut leaves a bit of room for your tummy, especially when sitting down.

The heel

The accessibility of the highest frets depends on the depth of the cutaway, but also on the heel, where the neck meets the body. The less pronounced the heel is, the less it’ll be in your way when reaching for the highest notes. A thicker heel, on the other hand, is said to make for a more solid, full-bodied sound — just like a heavier body or a thicker neck.

HOLLOWBODIES

Hollow-body instruments come with shallow and deep bodies, with one or two cutaways, with or without a center block, and in various types of wood.

Jazz

Traditionally, jazz players favor a big-box guitar or jazz box. These instruments are often 17″ wide at the lower bout, and about 3.5″ to 4.5″ deep. (This dimension is known as the rim thickness).

Shallow with block

The deeper the body is, the more sensitive it is to feedback. This explains why guitarists in loud bands usually opt for shallower models. These guitars often come with a built-in center block that reduces feedback even more, besides enhancing the instrument’s sustain. Most hollow-body basses have a similar center block. Some instruments leave a little space between this sustain block and the top, promoting the acoustic qualities of the instrument.

Semi-solid, semi-acoustic

Instruments with a center block are often referred to as semisolids, while the ones without a block are indicated as semi-acoustic instruments — but the same terms are used for different types of instruments as well.

Hollow-body top

The top is one of the most fundamental parts of a hollow-body (bass) guitar. A solid spruce top is usually said to provide the warmest, deepest, most acoustic type of sound. A maple top makes for a brighter tone. Laminated and pressed arched tops tend to produce a shallower and less dynamic sound than tops that are carved from a solid piece of wood. Solid tops are usually bookmatched (see page 174).

Cutaway

A cutaway with a pointed ‘horn’ is known as a Florentine cutaway. A Venetian cutaway has a rounded shape. The same terms are used for acoustic guitars, shown below.

The post Free for a limited time: The Tipbook Series on Musical Instruments appeared first on Uberchord App.

I don’t know how many times I have daydreamed of saying those very three words in the last few years. From its inception up to today’s launch, I’ve poured more sweat, tears and blood into this than anything else in my life.

Uberchord is designed to help you learn guitar chords

The app registers a guitar being played through the device’s built-in microphone and provides instant feedback to what you’re playing. We had been wanting this ourselves for many years and building it was a real quest. Looking forward however, this journey has only really just begun.

We expected the audio recognition technology to be the hardest part, which it duly was. It took us a full two years to get it working. When we finally filed the patent last November, we could hardly believe it ourselves. It’s really the first time that polyphonic pitch recognition (a.k.a. chord recognition) has been able to make sense of complex guitar chords in real-time, including the most evil of Jazz chords. We accordingly gave our technology the name ‘ChordSense’.

ChordSense is a great start, and we will even take it further. ChordSense makes it possible to learn guitar chords like never before, with interactive visual feedback. We tested it with countless guitars and in almost all cases it worked exceptionally well. Being the Swiss and German perfectionists that we are, however, we already have ChordSense 2.0 deep in production. We expect it to be even faster and more precise. We’ve already been approached by several players of the music industry and naturally, we are open to collaboration.

Realtime Chord Recognition Was No Easy Task

While the technology development was a cheerful valley of death, the real surprise was how hard it would be to create the actual app. Music apps often have very cluttered interfaces and we wanted to reduce it to the max. Uberchord looks really simple on the surface, but it’s loaded with technology underneath. At its peak we had eight iOS engineers working simultaneously on this, and those gentlemen were no rookies.

we hope you will enjoy using it as much as we did creating it

Uberchord is finally in the App Store today and I’m so incredibly proud of this team that I have the honor to work with. We’re a crazy bunch of software professionals who happen to love music and have set out to change the way we learn our instruments. Uberchord 1.0 won’t change everything straight away, but we do hope it will make a difference when you begin to learn guitar chords. In fact, we hope you will enjoy using it as much as we did creating it. And obviously, it doesn’t stop here.

That said, we are certainly aware that new products might have bugs and other unexpected problems. If you do have any issues or suggestions for improvement, please drop us a line at support@uberchord.com.

We’ll take it from here and push it further. It’s a long walk to musical freedom but we are looking forward to every single next step — a bit foolish maybe, but definitely hungry. ;-)

Sincerely,
Eckart Burgwedel

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Preface – Work Permits in Germany

Germany is said to be a very efficient country. We work long and hard hours and so do our authorities. Not exactly long hours because they are efficient after all, but all the more thorough. Our German authorities have efficient processes in place, just as you would expect, and there are no exceptions to the law for anyone. This could be the recipe for success and stability, if only a normal human being could understand those processes. I am a German lawyer by training, so I ought to understand, and yet, I often don’t. This is not to say that the processes are overly complicated (sometimes they are, though) — no, the problem is simply the abundance of accessible information.

This post will simplify the process for acquiring a work permit in Berlin.

We Germans are notorious in creating complex, convoluted and incomprehensible documents. Make no error, these documents describe everything perfectly down to the latest detail — if you manage to get this far. Usually you give up after the first paragraph of spaghetti sentences. To make matters worse, Germans continue down a similar path for websites, but we have developed a German style: since the Americans told us not to paste so much text on a single webpage, we simply split it up in as many as necessary to cope with the masses of text without bringing the server down to its knees. Who ends up being on his knees with this strategy, though, is the reader; although I think that the word ‘victim’ would be more suitable. This post will simplify the process for acquiring a work permit in Berlin.

Chapter One – The Research

At Uberchord, we had been looking for a suitable candidate to fill the Marketing Director position. It took us almost eight months to find someone who wasn’t afraid of our ambitious plans and had intimate knowledge of the U.S. market.  After much difficulty, we crossed paths with Lindsay Buescher and we decided to hire her. Lindsay had recently arrived from Los Angeles and was looking to join a startup. We immediately got on very well so the deal was settled in an instant. There was only the question of how to get a work permit for her. We knew that Germany offered a so called “Blue Card”, but we couldn’t quite figure out whether this was a separate process or just part of a normal application to obtain a work permit. Our research through the aforementioned plethora of webpages felt as efficient as swimming in knee-deep mud. Everyone on the web with no exception was complaining about the process. “They should feel ashamed” was one of the nicer statements I came across. Our law firm told us something to the effect of “uh oh, that’s not easy, we suggest you talk to the authorities directly”. Thus, after a week or so of futile research, we decided to do just that.

Chapter Two – Trying to Communicate

We obtained four different phone numbers to the immigration office that might have been applicable, but none of my calls were picked up, no matter how often I tried the following two weeks. I sent a few emails which would all be answered in due course of a few days with a nice gentlemen letting me know that I would find all necessary information under the following seven links, all of which we had already seen. In addition, I was directed to a website that enabled us to schedule an online appointment. We had no idea what documents would eventually be necessary, but we thought it would be a good idea to have the appointment already. Well, it would have been, had the first available appointment not been two months ahead and just a few days after Lindsay’s tourist visa would have expired. By now, more than two weeks had passed and there were less than 6 weeks to solve the matter. At this point, we could only foresee our future marketing director going on a long vacation to Croatia. Our hearts sank.

Chapter Three – Asking for Help

If I have learned one thing in life, it is to ask for help. I have a terrible sense of orientation, so unlike most men I always ask for directions, usually at every second corner. I ended up asking a friend of mine, who pointed me to some obscure agency that I had never heard of called Berlin Partner. I immediately did my research and as it turns out, Berlin Partner is a highly respectable institution financed by the Senate of Berlin to help companies get settled in Berlin. Thus, I found a department that claimed to be helpful in such cases. I immediately wrote them an email, leaving me hopeful for better times to come. Nothing happened. I even tried calling three days later, which resulted in listening to an answering machine. A week passed. Then, one morning, cleaning out my mailbox, I stumbled across an open email draft, nicely written and neatly formatted, all ready to be sent off to Berlin Partner. I bit myself twice and hit “send”. I received an answer the same day.

Chapter Four – Berlin Partner to the Rescue

A really kind Mr. Volbracht let me know that the process was straight forward in the case of a well educated foreigner, especially coming from the U.S. and suggested four simple steps involving a few documents to obtain:

1. For the residence permit, you need

   1. The application for a visa or residence permit (to be filled out by the employee)
   2. CV
   3. Copy of university degree
   4. Copy of passport

2. For the Work permit, you need

   1. Check whether the candidate has a recognized university degree in Germany. Head over to ‘Institutionen’, click “Suche”. Select the country, select the city of the educational institution, and select the relevant item in the resulting list. If there’s an “H+” in the status column, you are done. In case you cannot find it there, go to ‘Hochschulabschlüsse’ (again ‘Suche’) and look for the type of degree instead of the location.
   2. The application for a labour permit (with applicant’s signature).
   3. Job description (filled out by the employer)
   4. Attachment to the job description (precise description of the job posting in respect of the applicant; very important)
   5. Draft of work contract – (Requirements for Blue Card)
   6. Cover letter (explaining why the candidate is so important for the company etc.)
3. Send it all to Mr. Volbracht at Berlin Partner. He will make sure it gets to the right person at the Immigration Office Berlin — they do have a special Business Service that no-one knows about.  If you have any questions, you’ll find Mr. Volbracht here.
4. Wait for the immigration office to contact either you directly or through Mr. Volbracht. They will tell you if anything is missing and when your future employee should collect his work and residency permit.

Chapter Five – Happy End

We followed those steps and submitted everything to Mr. Volbracht within two days. He circled back to us requesting some minor changes and sent our documents off to the immigration office on our behalf. Only a few days later, we received a friendly email from Ms. Webel at the immigration office, informing us of the great news that Lindsay had an appointment scheduled in less than two weeks. She mentioned that I had a (severe) typo in the working contract and asked me to send the corrected version via email. Finally, on September 15th, Lindsay collected her work permit and officially became part of the Uberchord family.

THAT’S IT!

Conclusion

Germany is an amazing country. We create processes so effective and thorough, and then we document them in a way that we have to create a publicly financed agency to help even ex-lawyers to understand them.

Thanks to:

• Burkhard Volbracht of Berlin Partner for providing such invaluable service
• Martina Webel of Immigration Office Berlin for making the process super easy
• Manuel Gerres (@ManuelGerres) of SBB Switzerland for pointing me to Berlin Partners
• Lindsay Buescher for bearing with us

Additional resources (thanks to Johanna Dorsay for pointing me to it):

• http://www.eu-bluecard.com/eu-blue-card-germany/  — detailed and accurate information about EU blue card Germany.
• http://www.germany-visa.org/working-germany-getting-german-work-permit/ — detailed information about getting a German work permit.

The post How to Acquire a Work Permit for Americans in Berlin appeared first on Uberchord App.

Today we have some really good news to share. First, Lindsay Buescher, our marketing pro from Los Angeles received her Blue Card and finally joined our team and second, German bureaucracy is not as bad as everyone says. Both have an impressive track record, though, I have to admit, and both came as a surprise.We had posted a job ad on LinkedIn some two months ago and I was thrilled when Lindsay responded. She had just moved from L.A. to Berlin, for no other reason than the love for the city. For me, who always has been dreaming of building a startup in the Valley, this was an impressive and somewhat surprising move. All the more I was excited to learn that Lindsay had been doing online marketing for more than eight years three of which she was responsible for the digital strategy and analytics for Red Bull in the U.S. Giving up that job to move to Berlin and turning down a job offer by Uber she struck me just crazy enough to take on Uberchord’s marketing. From Uber Technologies to Uberchord Engineering was just an Atlantic Ocean.

Lindsay grew up with classical music education and plays both piano and sax, which makes her ideally suited to understand our concepts but still experience first hand how it feels to learn the guitar.  So, we believe she’s exactly the person we needed. Welcome Lindsay! We are glad to have you on our team and are looking forward to the exciting times ahead.

The second topic is the aforementioned German bureaucracy. Trying to get some foreigner without work permit employed in Germany is a nightmare — according to everyone on the internet and even our law firm. However, it ain’t really, but that’s stuff for the next blog post, which will help Berlin startups in our situation a great deal, promised. Stay tuned.

As always, thanks for reading. There’s more to come, so sign-up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook & Twitter!

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Uberchord Engineering is officially incorporated in Germany! It is exciting to think that what was once an idea more than two years ago drafted on napkins and pizza boxes is now a legally recognized business. We are a fully operational company now with a clear vision to change the way people learn musical instruments and with a product launch only a few months ahead.

We wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for all of those people who encouraged us in moments of doubt and told us to keep going — our families, friends, and future customers. So, here’s a big Thank You! Funny enough, however, we wouldn’t be here either if it weren’t for those who told us “that isn’t possible” because they inspired us to work even harder, so thanks to you, too!

Last but not least, we’d like to thank our investors who believe in us — after all, it’s them who allow us to set forth on this incredible journey.

As always, thanks for reading. There’s more to come, so sign-up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook & Twitter!

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Uberchord is officially one of the winners at IKT Innovativ Startup Competition. As you can imagine, we are very happy about this unexpected success — although it’s the third win we’ve achieved, it always comes as a nice surprise. However, once more we feel encouraged to pursue our bold vision of a mobile app changing the way people learn guitar and other music instruments.

The awards ceremony with take place at IFA on September, 5th in Berlin. See you there and thanks, IKT!

As always, thanks for reading. There’s more to come, so sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Twitter!

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We are very proud and excited to announce that Jonas Schoen-Philbert, professor for composition, music theory and sax at University of Music, Hannover joined us both as advisor and team member. Being not only a great musician but also a musical scientist, he will lead the development of Uberchord’s musical backend — that is, music didactics and theory put into code. What does this mean? Uberchord is going to teach you musical understanding through practical guitar lessons! Welcome, Jonas!

As always, thanks for reading. There’s more to come, so sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook & Twitter!

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Today we’re happy to let you know that our good friend Ken Forster of ThingMUSE joined Uberchord not only as an investor, but also as an advisor.

Ken has a very impressive track record both as a business developer and an investor. Originally from the United States, Ken’s most notable U.S. experience include his 7 years with Coca Cola directing global retail strategy. Ken will be applying that knowledge to help Uberchord launch in the United States later this year. Ken Forster is a currently the Managing Partner at ThingMUSE with 25+ years experience in building connected products, services and business in manufacturing, retail, consumer goods, agriculture and other domains. He is advising and investing in select startups and venture funds in both the US and Europe. To learn more about Ken Forster, take a look at his profile on AngelList. We are very fortunate to have Ken onboard and really looking forward to working with him!

As always, thanks for reading. There’s more to come, so sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook & Twitter!

Today we’re happy to let you know that our good friend Ken Forster of ThingMUSE joined Uberchord not only as an investor, but also as an advisor.

Ken has a very impressive track record both as a business developer and an investor. Originally from the United States, Ken’s most notable U.S. experience include his 7 years with Coca Cola directing global retail strategy. Ken will be applying that knowledge to help Uberchord launch in the United States later this year. Ken Forster is a currently the Managing Partner at ThingMUSE with 25+ years experience in building connected products, services and business in manufacturing, retail, consumer goods, agriculture and other domains. He is advising and investing in select startups and venture funds in both the US and Europe. To learn more about Ken Forster, take a look at his profile on AngelList. We are very fortunate to have Ken onboard and really looking forward to working with him!

As always, thanks for reading. There’s more to come, so sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook & Twitter!

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Our vision to change the world of music education has been validated tremendously. Uberchord won top 6 at BPW 2014, a local startup competition in Berlin. BPW, which stands for The Berlin Business Plan Competition, is the largest regional startup initiative in Germany. For 19 years, the BPW competition has been helping people develop business concepts, promoting successful business startups. An impressive 190 teams participated in BPW 2014, which meant that competition was extremely fierce – it goes to show that we didn’t win despite our rating of 90%. Nevertheless, aside from feeling a little proud, we especially appreciate the opportunity to subject our business plan with the scrutiny of experienced and well respected business experts. We received very clear and helpful feedback to improve our pitch for the next competition. As always, thanks for reading. There’s more to come, so sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook & Twitter!

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