Introduction

Hi! I’m Adam; I’d like to introduce myself, and my project, to the world. I’m a software engineer who has always liked music. In fact, as a teenager in the early days of the internet, my first website included a ‘chord generator’ that could show how to play certain chords on the fretboard. It was a simple site, but it showed me how I could combine two things I loved into a single project.

27 years later, I still love music, and I still write (and love to write) software. My kids love music too, and that love has encouraged me to spend more time learning and playing music. As I dig deeper into the world of guitar and music, I’ve discovered that I can use my software engineering skills to help me explore and learn all of the wonderful things I have yet to learn.

This rediscovery of what I knew as a teenager has lead to my latest project: majorminorperfect.com. I started this in 2022 and have been gradually forming a vision of what it can and should be. First of all, I recognize there are many tools for musicians on the internet, from google-ad sites with a little bit of chord-chart lookup mixed in, to genuinely great tools that help musicians find what they need every day.

So what is my project for? It’s something for reference, discovery, and exploration of music. Part of this goal is achieved for me, as I write new tools and explore new ways to explain concepts - as many teachers can tell you, preparing to teach can be the best way to learn.

For everyone else though, my hope is that each of these tools can meet each musician (or aspiring musician) where they need to be to learn what’s next. Each of us learn differently, and I don’t believe I can construct the perfect curriculum that will magically work for everyone. So the goal is to be more than just a tool or quick reference; I want to provide many devices to help everyone using them to truly discover something they have never known or understood.

Where do things stand now? As with any ambitious project, there was a lot of groundwork that needed to be done before I could get to the fun stuff. Much of this is done now. Things like simple scale, chord, and chord-chart references. After this was finished, I added ways to find scale and arpeggio charts on the guitar - all for standard as well as alternate tunings. There’s much more that I won’t list here, but, as a reference, things are fairly useful.

Beyond reference material, I’ve just begun adding ‘knowledge drills’, for those topics that (unfortunately) require memorization, or at least repetition - think flash-cards, but online. These are in their infancy at the moment, but I currently have material on intervals, scale, and chords.

From here, I have many things planned. Things to help you hear and recognize a chord, scale, or interval. Visualizations to help you understand how these are constructed. Additional instruments, more reference materials, and even things to help you in the creative process of writing music.

With every new release, I have even more ideas for the future. Stick around and let me know what’s helping you learn, or just use the tools that I’ve created and become a better musician.

I plan to use this space for posts like this, explaining intent, vision, and in-depth exploration of features.

For up-to-date news on the project, follow me on X: x.com/MajMinPerfect

Finally, check out majorminorperfect.com