Hardware that works with Chordzy
Chordzy needs one piece of hardware, a MIDI keyboard, and works with a few more. Microphones and web cams are optional, and only the desktop app uses them, for live jams. The following peripherals are supported:
- Instruments & MIDI: which instruments work, from USB and Bluetooth keyboards to the on-screen piano, and why an acoustic piano does not.
- MIDI keyboards: what to buy, how to plug one in, and which browsers can see it.
- Microphones: sending your sound to the other players in a jam.
- Web Cams: sending your video in a jam.
| Hardware | Website | Desktop app | Account tab |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIDI keyboard | Chrome, Edge, Opera, Firefox | Yes | Instruments |
| Speakers or headphones | Your system's output | Pick a device and latency | Speakers |
| Microphone | No | Jams only | Voice |
| Web cam | No | Jams only | Video |
Each tab is on your account screen; user settings shows where.
When hardware misbehaves
Most hardware trouble is one of four symptoms, and each has a first thing to check.
The keyboard lights up but Chordzy sees nothing. Suspect the cable or the browser's MIDI permission, in that order. Allowing MIDI access has the fix for every browser.
You hear two pianos at once. Your keyboard is playing its own speakers while Chordzy plays through the computer. Turn one of them down: the keyboard's volume knob, or Volume (Levels) for that keyboard on the Instruments tab.
Notes sound a moment after you press them. In the desktop app, lower Latency (milliseconds) on the Speakers tab. Too low and the sound starts to crackle, so go back up a step when it does.
Nobody in a jam can hear or see you. Look at the Volume Meter on the Voice tab and the preview on the Video tab. Microphones and web cams take it from there.