FourChords Guitar Songbook Reviews

by Big Daddy 102

As a beginner, this apps makes learning new songs fun. I highly recommend it for beginners and maybe intermediate players. It’s easier to learn the song with the beat and melody going with you. Worth the money to me.

Update. It’s been a year since last update. Still using and liking FourChordsGuitarSongbook but have some improvements it needs. The major one is editing the play list. Adding and removing is all good but you have to move each song line by line to change the order. I.E. if I add a new song, it’s at the bottom of playlist. If your list is 40 songs long, and you want it at the top, you have to hit the move button 40 times.

2nd update. 2 years since the last update. It’s looking like what you see is all they’ll be. Still liking and using FourChordsGuitarSongbook but it could be so much more.

3rd update. Still no app updates or bug fixes. It’s been several months since they’ve added any new songs and customer support has quit responding. Looks like they are abandoning it. I won’t be renewing my subscription

by Bongo727

I use to love FourChordsGuitarSongbook. I purchased hundreds is songs before they went to subscription service. Ever time they upgrade I lost all my songs. I was told to “restore purchases” the first time and I got back most of my purchase but there were still a lot missing. This last time I was asked for receipts for songs I purchased years ago. Who keeps receipts that long? I understand move to subscription due to licensing but not to lose what I paid for. 4 Chords should keep that record.

by Air Blackstone

You can look at the other reviews for what is likable about FourChordsGuitarSongbook , so I won’t duplicate those praises.

The biggest problem with FourChordsGuitarSongbook is that it glitches on a regular basis. One of the most important thing as a beginner needs to work on is their timing. But this Apple often mess up on the downbeat advancing about a half a bar which will totally messed with your time. This is very frustrating and should easily be fixed by the developers.

The other major shortcoming is trying to figure out strumming patterns that go with songs. You can easily start to think that you’re a better player than you really are because of the backing tracks.

The interface is pretty sluggish changing from one Menya to another. Also the songs should remember what tempo you’ve been playing out. So for example knocking on heavens door is 74 BPM, but if you’re learning it at 59 BPM, FourChordsGuitarSongbook won’t save what speed you’re trying to master. It resets to 74 ppm every time. Likewise there’s no tracking of your progress at any particular BPM. That would be a super simple feature to implement.

There’s a microphone icon which I guess is supposed to allow you to record, but it doesn’t work.

by Lookingforsteeldrumapp

I have used and enjoyed FourChordsGuitarSongbook for almost two years. Now it however crashes and is not useable on my first generation I Pad and my older I Pad mini. It used to run fine on them. I was told that recent enhancements such as tracking {no use for that at all} made this happen. I do have an I Pad pro now that it runs fine on but I prefer to use it as a midi controller using Sample Tank etc. and not have to tie it up running the 4 chord app. If you have an older Apple device FourChordsGuitarSongbook will not work well. This is a known problem for them but they have not made it a priority to fix it.

by ChaCha Likes Mint

I love FourChordsGuitarSongbook! It has helped a ton to learn to play a lot of songs on the guitar. I love that it also has the lyrics which helps to learn to sing and play at the same time. I would give it 5 stars if only they would come out with more new songs. It seems like new songs don’t get added very often.

by Quarantine Learning

I’m about 5 weeks into learning guitar - someone taught me several chords but I needed more structured lessons. FourChordsGuitarSongbook has be very helpful to learn how to play songs. There is a weird glitch that happens frequently for me where I can practice one song just fine but if I go to another song, FourChordsGuitarSongbook will open the song, give the countdown to play, but there is no sound and the song doesn’t progress. Overall FourChordsGuitarSongbook is still good, and I would give 5 stars if that one blip were fixed!

by Filterlove649

I use FourChordsGuitarSongbook in my classroom, and it is incredible. My students love rocking out to songs they know. I do wish there was a way to sort songs by chords that are used. It takes too much time to find sit and search for songs using specific chords. Other than that, this is a great tool!

by Howly Hunter

At first I was like what’s this I can’t keep up with the chords but later after practicing I found it got easier and easier I hope to start singing along while playing the guitar with the tracks lots of good choices too ain’t even a song suggestion my rating is superb now if I could just master yousician

Well it’s been several months since I subscribed I haven’t used as much but I wish you could make a bass guitar program.

by Lefty63w

Has selection for rhythm parameters with an excellent how-to for chord construction and strumming. New songs added that provide chord and strumming variations across the group of songs. Also songs have lyrics if you’re talented enough to play and sing (I am not, at least for right now).
So far I his app has provided me with a platform to learn, the play and practice songs using basic chords, adjusting tempo and backing up to replay a section as needed. I like that it can be done with just a touch or swipe of my finger on the screen.
From the library of songs available I’ve built my own playlist of songs for learning and practice. As new songs are posted it’s easy to add them or later delete from the playlist.
As someone who previously had not spent a lot of time with an acoustic guitar, I find FourChordsGuitarSongbook useful and worth the money.
What I haven’t tried yet is setting up a progress sharing account (mic on you device set to On) so I could receive “a more tailored user experience, song recommendations and playing tips”. Wanted to get my basics first so may try it, now that I’m more comfortable with my playing ability.

by Goget11

UPDATE The developers fixed the issues a few months ago and I forgot to update my review. This is an amazing app. If you are learning to play the guitar this is a great song book for beginners. You will enjoy practicing and learning at the same time.

Old review: FourChordsGuitarSongbook deserves 5 stars but the latest update now causes it to crash constantly rendering it unusable. If it weren’t such a good app I would have given it one star. But I’m confident that Musopia will resolve this issue and I will change it to 5 stars.

by DeniseEcho

It’s a great learning and practice app. I'm a returning guitar player after a very long hiatus and it’s fun just to play along with. I use it on the iPad with an acoustic guitar at home and with a JamStik and iPad and headphones while traveling, even on an airplane. App support has been great because I didn’t realize how simple it was and tried to over-complicate it. And they continue to add more songs—lots I’ve never heard and a lot of oldies for me! Plenty of selection!

by MikaUP

As a beginner learning to play guitar later in life, FourChordsGuitarSongbook has helped me progress very rapidly to where I want to be. Without FourChordsGuitarSongbook I would have stopped learning within months (when fingers became too painful) but following songs on FourChordsGuitarSongbook even when using simple down strums only and recognizing the song you’re learning was a great incentive to keep ploughing on. Worth every penny!

by Bmw_riderz

I'm using it to learn both guitar and piano, basically you can turn off either one on FourChordsGuitarSongbook to play along and it lists the chords you need to know for each song and the beats keep me moving along at the proper pace. Tons of modern popular songs which was always the turn off to prior archaic learning! I cant say enough good things about FourChordsGuitarSongbook!

by Tired Of Nickname Trys

I’m picking up the guitar later in life and being able to play along w songs I know and love is a great motivator. Support team is responsive (had a set up problem that they solved quickly) and app is easy to use. W over 2,000 songs to choose from, it’s been easy finding more than I have time to play.

by Albert Einstein.

I’ve been flirting with a guitar for 20 years. Never really was any good at learning how to actually play a song all the way through. FourChordsGuitarSongbook has made it very easy for me to learn chords, strumming patterns, and the lyrics to so many songs. I have fallen in love with my guitar again. And FourChordsGuitarSongbook has helped me find it.

by Mikesouter

It's easy to use - especially with the jamstikPlus, and I like the range of music. I particularly liked the links to videos for some of those tricky chord and transitions. That helped me a lot initially.
I know this is 4 *chords*, but the only thing missing is some exploration of fingerpicking - that would definitely make me maintain my subscription.

by Lefty Slinger

I’ve been taking your beginner course and jumping ahead on 4 chords. All I can say is wow !!! Justin you are amazing, I’ve progressed more in the last three weeks than I have in two years without you lessons.
Beginners start right here with Justin and his apps, I promise you will be playing songs before you know it and singing.

Thank you!!!!
Jeff

by Scarcraig

After spending hundreds on private lessons I stumbled on Four Chords. This is without a doubt the best beginners resource available. Worth the very reasonable price! They're adding new songs almost daily, and it's really a lot of fun to play and practice. I don't dread the hours spent practicing anymore.

Try FourChordsGuitarSongbook you won't be disappointed. The chord recognition piece doesn't work very well, but even without it it's still a very well thought out solution to learning chords and transitions.

You will learn chords faster and better using FourChordsGuitarSongbook, and as a bonus, you'll have a lot of fun too!

by Easilytaken

With the new update I lost full access to all but a few of the songs that I’ve previously had access to for years. I believe I probably paid at some point to access the songs that I am now unable to access because of the update. If I remember correctly, I was a VIP customer before the update.

Update: The software developer responded immediately and brought me up to speed on my status. My subscription had lapsed, so losing access was a “bad” on my part for not renewing. It was just a coincidence that an application update occurred at about the same time that my subscription expired. I owe Musopia an apology and have correspondingly adjusted the star rating upward by two stars.

FourChordsGuitarSongbook is very good for learning strumming patterns, chords, chord changes, etc. I particularly like that the tempo of songs can be adjusted faster or slower as you are learning. Also, the catalog of songs available is very large. Some talented people have put a lot of work into developing this application. Well worth renewing my qsubscription.
Thank you.

by Rick N P

For someone who has only been playing guitar for six months, FourChordsGuitarSongbook, coupled with The Justin Guitar app, has taught me a huge amount. I can play about 15 or so cords and have learned about dozen strumming patterns. While it might not be an app for accomplished players (I don’t really know) this is precisely what a less accomplished player needs. It is super important to be able to have fun while learning and the Hal Leonard traditional method wasn’t for me an adult. FourChordsGuitarSongbook makes it fun to learn and to practice. Just a great idea and so worth the money! This is a must get app for anyone serious about improving. I love it! I’m 56, and have a Martin D-28, a Art & Luther Cedar, a Fender PM-TE travel guitar and a Fender Tele. FourChordsGuitarSongbook has given me the gift of being able to play respectfully within a few short months and I look forward to learning more from it. Can’t want enough good things about it.

by Jeffreaka

Wonderful app! I’ve been using it for several years and it keeps me very busy always working on songs I actually really want to play! I’ve been playing for many years so just following along (I turn the volume on FourChordsGuitarSongbook down all the way) and just play and learn new songs on my playlist (about 800 songs I have on my playlist) so I never get bored with what I’m playing. The chord boxes let you know what chords to play and the lyrics are included. You can slow songs down as you are learning them and increase the tempo as you become more comfortable! You are able, on some songs, to transpose to a different key, which I love for singing in a key in my range! It also has a tuner and lots of videos for beginners as well as strumming patterns with each song. I highly recommend FourChordsGuitarSongbook for anyone, beginner to advanced players!

by Sailboss

I started with guitar with the books that had you stick colored things on your fingernails and match them up to play silly made up teaching songs. Total failure.
Over the next 40 years, I tried numerous times with series of bad guitars and worse books.
You tube was a little bit better, but carpal tunnel, ripped rotator cuffs and tennis elbow made for misery.
I gave up and gave away my guitars.
Got the badness fixed. Enjoyed Rock Band on the Wi and said let’s try again. Found Justin Guitar and that led me to FourChordsGuitarSongbook.
What fun! And finally found music coming from my hands!