How to Get Chords from a Recording – Creating a Chord Sheet

Get Chords from Recording

If you need a Chord Sheet for yourself, your students or a band, here is how to create one in just a few minutes!

Using this method, you will get an automatic chord transcription that you can edit, as well as change the key and tempo.

YouTube player
Music by Mark J Bradlyn

To get the chords, we’re using the program ScoreCloud Songwriter to import an audio file or even paste a YouTube link and get an automatic lead sheet with melody, lyrics and chords.


Here’s how to get the chords of your songs:

  1. Import the audio file, or paste a YouTube link into ScoreCloud Songwriter
  2. Listen to the results and tweak if necessary
  3. Transpose or change tempo
  4. Choose what to display: Melody Notation, Lyrics, Chord Symbols, Guitar Diagrams, Accompaniment Notation
  5. Share or Print your sheet

And that’s it!


Using ScoreCloud Songwriter really helps the process of making a chord chart, lead sheet or lyrics sheet. It works best for songs with acoustic instruments, single vocals and not too much effects, but this method is used by a wide range of musicians for many different styles!