CifraLab Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated: October 8, 2026
Clear answers on how to use CifraLab to learn guitar and piano, and about your account, your privacy, and CifraLab Pro.
General
What is CifraLab?
CifraLab is a site for learning and practicing harmony on guitar and piano. It has a chord dictionary with real sound, harmonic circles that can be played on a loop, strumming and arpeggio patterns, a tuner, a metronome, and courses by level.
Is CifraLab free?
Yes. The entire website can be used for free.
The site is supported by ads. The app offers CifraLab Pro, an optional subscription that removes ads and adds features.
Do I need to create an account to use the website?
No. You can look up chords, play circles, practice strumming, and use the tuner without registering.
What languages is CifraLab available in?
In 11 languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Indonesian, Tagalog, Russian, Japanese, and Korean.
What instruments can I study?
Guitar and piano are the main instruments. There are also sections for ukulele, bass, and violin.
Does the website work without internet?
No. The website needs an internet connection to load the pages and sounds.
Why is there no sound when I open a page?
CifraLab only plays sound when you press a button, like Play or Listen. This way, nothing plays unless you request it.
If you press a button and there's no sound, check the volume and make sure your phone is not on silent.
Chords
How many guitar chords does CifraLab have?
The guitar dictionary has 223 chords. Many have multiple positions on the fretboard, both open and with a barre.
How do I read a chord diagram?
The vertical lines are the strings and the horizontal lines are the frets. The numbers inside the circles indicate the left-hand finger, from 1 to 4, index to little finger.
An empty circle at the top means an open string, and an x means a string that is not played.
What does barre mean?
It's when a single finger, usually the index finger, presses multiple strings at the same time on the same fret. In the diagram, it's shown as a bar across the strings.
How do I see other positions for the same chord?
Use the arrows on the chord card. Below, it indicates which position you are viewing and how many there are.
Can I print the chords?
Yes. In the downloads section, there are chord and circle sheets and flashcards ready to print.
Are there piano chords?
Yes. The piano section has its own chord dictionary and an 88-key virtual keyboard.
Harmonic circles and progressions
What is a harmonic circle?
It's a sequence of four chords that sounds complete and returns to the beginning. In CifraLab, each circle follows the degrees I, vi, ii, and V7.
For example, the circle of C is C, Am, Dm, and G7.
How many circles are there?
There are 24 circles, 12 major and 12 minor, for guitar and for piano.
How do I practice a circle?
Open the circle and press Play Progression. With the loop button, it will repeat endlessly.
In See More, you can change the tempo, add a barre, and choose the strumming pattern.
What are the Basic, Classic, and Advanced levels?
They change the type of chords in the circle. Basic uses triads, Classic uses seventh chords, and Advanced uses jazz chords with more color.
What are progressions by emotion?
These are progressions organized by the mood they convey, such as happy, melancholic, or flamenco. They help you choose chords based on what you want to express in a song.
Rhythm, strumming, and arpeggios
How many strumming rhythms are there?
There are 121 rhythms, including pop, rock, folk, and Latin American rhythms like pasillo, cumbia, or zamba.
How do I read the strumming arrows?
The down arrow is a stroke toward the floor, and the up arrow is a stroke toward the ceiling. The x is a muted stroke, the B is to play only the bass note, and the dot is a rest.
What do P, i, m, a mean in arpeggios?
These are the fingers of the right hand. P is the thumb, i is the index, m is the middle, and a is the ring finger.
The thumb plays the bass strings, and the other fingers play the treble strings.
Can I change the speed?
Yes. Strumming patterns, arpeggios, and circles have buttons to increase or decrease the BPM.
It's best to start slow and increase the speed when you can play it cleanly.
How does the metronome work?
The metronome ranges from 35 to 260 BPM and has a tap tempo feature, which calculates the speed when you tap the button to the rhythm of a song.
Tuner and tools
How do I tune my guitar with CifraLab?
Open the tuner, allow microphone access, and play a string. The tuner detects the string in standard tuning E A D G B E and shows how much it deviates in cents.
You can also play a reference tone.
Does the tuner record my guitar?
No. The microphone is only used to measure the note while the tuner is open.
No audio is saved or sent.
What other tools are there?
There is an interactive fretboard to hear each fret and learn the notes, an ear trainer to recognize chords, and a transposer to change the key of a progression.
Courses
Is there a course to start from scratch?
Yes. The guitar course has 4 levels and starts with posture and the first chords.
The piano course also has 4 levels and starts with posture and reading in treble and bass clefs.
Do the courses cost money?
No. The courses on the website are free.
Account, privacy, and backup
How do I log in to the app?
With your Google account. It's the only login method.
The account is optional and is used for CifraLab Pro and for the backup feature.
How does the Google Drive backup work?
If you enable it, the app saves a copy of your songs to your own Google Drive. The copy is stored in your Google account, not CifraLab's.
What data does CifraLab use?
The app uses your Google account to identify you, confirm your Pro purchase, and save your course progress. We do not sell your personal data.
Full details are in the privacy policy.
Why are there ads?
Ads allow the website to be free. CifraLab Pro removes ads from the app.
CifraLab Pro and purchases
What is CifraLab Pro?
It's an optional annual subscription for the app, purchased through Google Play. It removes ads and adds features.
The price is shown in Google Play before you buy.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. The annual subscription starts with a 7-day free trial.
If you cancel before it ends, you won't be charged.
How do I cancel my subscription?
From Google Play. Open your profile, go to Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions, and choose CifraLab.
How do I restore Pro if I change my phone or reinstall the app?
Log in to the app with the same Google account you used to purchase. If it doesn't activate automatically, use Restore Purchase on the Pro screen.
Contact
How do I report a bug or make a suggestion?
Write to us from the contact page. If it's a bug, tell us on which page it happened and from what device.