Let’s get you playing.

Tell us what happened

Include your Chordglass version and build, device model, operating system version, and the steps that led to the problem. If sound or MIDI is involved, include the controller, adapter, audio route, and instrument you were using. A screenshot can help.

You do not need to share a recording to ask for help. If you choose to send a session, use a copy and remove anything you do not want us to receive. Please do not send passwords, license keys, or other private credentials.

If you cannot hear anything

On iPhone and iPad, check Hear live keys and the instrument above the keyboard. On Mac, open Settings, then Sound & MIDI, and check Play incoming MIDI. Try the included Tine & Reed instrument first. Live playing and take playback have separate destination choices.

Check Output volume and make sure Chordglass output is not muted. External MIDI instruments have their own volume controls.

On first use, Tine is enabled automatically. Chordglass keeps your saved instrument, sound, mute, and routing choices when you return.

Confirm that the operating system sees your MIDI device and that your selected sound destination is available. A disconnected device keeps its selection until you reconnect it or choose another destination.

Shape Tine & Reed

On Mac, open Settings, then Sound & MIDI, then Open instrument controls. On iPhone and iPad, use the controls button above the keys, or Open instrument controls in Sound settings. Choose Tine or Reed, adjust tone, drive, EQ and effects, or start from a preset. Bell applies to Tine.

If an instrument sounds distorted or pops

If you hear distortion, crackling, or pops, try lowering your instrument’s output volume or Chordglass’s output volume. Some sounds can overload at high levels, especially with dense chords.

On Mac, Live soft saturation softens loud peaks from Audio Unit instruments, including Tine & Reed, and can change their tone. Switch it off in Sound & MIDI to compare. It leaves take playback, VST3, external MIDI, and iPhone/iPad sound unchanged.

If a plug-in asks you to authorize it again

Some licensed Audio Unit and VST3 instruments, including older versions, may request authorization inside Chordglass even if they work in another music app. This can depend on the instrument’s licensing system and the host app’s environment. Follow the vendor’s normal activation steps. Authorization may carry across Chordglass updates, but this varies by instrument.

Use a current, compatible plug-in version from its vendor. If it needs sample-library access, select the requested folder through the normal file picker. You can use the included Tine & Reed instrument while troubleshooting.

A macOS security warning is separate from license activation. Obtain an updated vendor installer or contact the vendor for help.

Copy the included Reed sample library

Choose Export Reed samples in Sound & MIDI on Mac, or in Sound settings or the instrument picker on iPhone and iPad. Choose a destination folder in Finder or Files. Export Reed samples is also available inside the instrument controls. Chordglass creates a new folder containing the 42 Reed WAV samples, sample mapping, attribution, and full license, and checks the copied files before reporting success.

This copies the included instrument recordings, not audio of your MIDI takes. Keep the attribution and license with copies you share. See the instrument credits for source and license details.

Repeat the part you want to hear

Stop recording or playback, then open the take’s loop settings. Bars repeats whole bars, including the last bar you select. Beats lets you enter a start bar and beat, then an end bar and beat. A beat can include a subdivision: 4 & and 4.5 both mean halfway to the next beat; a fraction such as 4+1/3 is also accepted when it fits the take’s timing.

In Beats mode, the end position is excluded: playback returns to the start when it reaches that point. Beat numbers follow the time signature’s note value, so 6/8 has six eighth-note beats. Loops stay within the recorded take and repeat the passage without trimming or changing it.

Choose a key for the session

Stop playback or recording to change the key. On iPhone and iPad, open Settings, then Key signature; on Mac, use the Key control or Settings. New sessions start in C major. Choose a major or minor key to guide note spelling and chord names, and to give Solo its musical context. The setting stays with the session and is used in MusicXML export; it does not transpose notes or change recorded MIDI.

If your sustain pedal works backward

Enable Reverse sustain pedal in Settings, under MIDI input on iPhone and iPad or Sound & MIDI on Mac. This preference changes incoming pedal behavior; it does not change saved recordings. On iPhone and iPad, moving a connected pedal also clears touch sustain.

Keep a copy of your music

Use the Session menu to save a copy of your session or export MIDI. On iPhone and iPad, leaving the app finishes and saves a recording and stops playback. Returning to the app does not restart transport automatically.

Instrument credits

Tine uses mda ePiano by Paul Kellett, adapted for native playback with work from Matthijs Hollemans and the Tine & Reed contributors. The component notices are retained here: original MIT license, original license choice, Hollemans MIT notice, and native adapter MIT notice.

Reed uses Wurlitzer EP200 / EP203W recordings by Greg Sullivan, with SFZ conversion and mapping by kinwie, from Greg Sullivan’s E-Pianos. The recordings and mapping are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. Read the source attribution and full sample license.

The recordings were converted losslessly from FLAC to WAV with their loop information retained, and the mapping was adapted for native playback. The underlying PCM recordings are unchanged. No endorsement by the original authors is implied.

Working with MIDI

Chordglass explores notes from MIDI input and saved takes. It does not record audio or video, recognize chords from a microphone, or transcribe lyrics. To edit individual notes or overdub parts, export MIDI and continue in your DAW.

Read more about sessions and export, harmony analysis, or our privacy policy.