How CifraLab Was Born

The Story of CifraLab

I'm Adrian. CifraLab began long before it had that name, in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, which is where I'm from. About ten years ago, I started singing. I was pretty bad at it, but I loved music and kept at it. Over time, I learned to listen to myself better, to practice, and to understand what I was doing.

Years later, I ended up directing a choir. That's when music stopped being just something I listened to. I had to prepare, accompany, repeat, and help everything sound better. I wanted to play the guitar to accompany our singing, but at first, I didn't know how to play.

I didn't have a grand product idea. I just wanted to learn and have what I needed at hand.

The conversation that changed how I learned

There was a time when I felt frustrated with my voice. I didn't want to keep singing just by instinct. I wanted to learn how to sing well for real. I told Tod, a friend I'd had many conversations with, how I felt. I asked him to find someone who truly knew how to teach singing, no matter the language or the country.

That search led me to someone who really knew how to teach singing. I started following his explanations and exercises. Little by little I sang better and kept learning guitar. Later, when I couldn't find chords displayed the way I needed them, I made a small page just for myself. I had no idea it would eventually become CifraLab.

First, There Was Libro de Acordes Pro

To practice, I made a simple page on GitHub Pages. It was called Libro de Acordes Pro, and at first, it was just for me. It had chords, a metronome, tools for transposing, and a progression that changed automatically after a certain time. This way, I could keep playing without having to stop and touch the screen all the time.

That page ended up becoming part of how I learned guitar. Every time I needed something, I added it. A chord. A progression. A more comfortable way to practice. A tool for listening. Then another.

At some point, I thought that if it was useful to me, maybe it could be useful to someone else too. That's when it stopped being just my practice page.

I Also Had to Learn to Code for Real

CifraLab grew as I learned to code. I started building it while I was in college. By my third semester, I felt like I was the worst programming student in the class.

A C# application was a reality check. I realized how much I still didn't know. Instead of giving up, I started studying more. I tried things, broke things, started over, and kept learning.

Over time, I went from falling behind to becoming much more comfortable with programming. Then came other websites, other applications, and bigger projects. CifraLab grew with me and became the place where I could combine what I was learning about music with what I was learning about software.

Why the Characters Exist

There was another problem that had nothing to do with chords or code. Practicing alone for a long time felt empty. Sometimes I would play YouTube videos in the background just to feel like something was accompanying me while I played.

I would look at the screen, look around, and there was nothing. I didn't need another video lesson. I wanted the page to have a bit of life while I practiced.

Then I had a very simple thought. Why couldn't a music website have a character who was just there, moving, reacting, or dancing while I practiced?

That's how Señor Guitarra was born. At first, it was just a small idea. Then came the poses, gestures, and reactions. Then I thought of another character. And then another.

But something didn't feel right. I didn't want them to just appear out of nowhere. I like writing stories and had already spent time writing on my own, so I ended up asking myself another question. If these characters live here, where do they come from and why are they together?

The story of CifraLab was born from that question. The characters stopped being just decoration and started to have their own place within the project.

From a Personal Page to CifraLab

From that point on, everything started to connect. Chords led to progressions. Progressions led to chord cycles, rhythms, and theory. Then came the sounds, worksheets, lessons, courses, more instruments, and new ways to practice directly on the site.

The characters ended up accompanying that learning process. The story gave them a reason to exist. The visuals helped explain things that were cumbersome with words alone. The programming made it possible to touch, hear, or try out many of those ideas on the spot.

CifraLab ended up becoming something I hadn't planned at the beginning. It's theory, practice, interaction, drawings, sound, tools, and a story that unites its characters.

Many of its features exist because I once needed something myself while I was learning. That's still the idea. That studying music doesn't feel like looking at a page full of information, but like entering a place where you can understand something and try it out right away.

Something I Made from the Heart

I was almost always in places where I didn't quite fit. I thought differently, and people often didn't understand me.

My ideas live in CifraLab. The ones nobody asked for and the ones I couldn't explain any other way. I don't know if it will succeed. What I do know is that I made it from the heart.

Behind every page there are many late nights. Nights reading, writing the characters' book, composing melodies, breaking things and putting them back together. It was often hard, but I never did it out of obligation.

If something here helps you play better or understand music a little more, it was worth it.

What You'll Find Here

• Chords and diagrams for guitar, piano, ukulele, bass, and violin.
• Chord cycles, progressions, strumming patterns, arpeggios, and practice tools.
• Sounds and examples that let you hear what you're studying.
• Educational lessons and organized courses to help you advance step by step.
• Worksheets, illustrations, and visual resources for studying without relying only on text.
• Characters that accompany parts of the experience and an original story that explains why they are here.

How the Content Is Created

The chord positions come from a proprietary database and are checked by playing the shapes on the instrument. The frequencies use the standard concert pitch with A4 = 440 Hz.

For the history and theory lessons, I did my own research. I read about Rameau's Traité de l’harmonie from 1722, Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum from 1725, and Fernando Sor's guitar method from 1830.

Everything presented comes from published works and verifiable sources. When a piece of information needs context, it is cited. Traditional rhythms are explained from their musical practice and presented as such.

The interactive part is tested along with the content. If something is explained, the idea is that you can also hear it, play it, or see it when it makes sense.

If you find an error in a chord, a frequency, a link, or a historical fact, you can write to me from the contact page. I'll review it and, if necessary, correct it.

How It's Funded

CifraLab is free. The project may display advertising from Google AdSense and accept voluntary support. Advertising does not decide what is published or how it is explained.

Privacy

The website does not require an account to study. Preferences and progress that work locally are saved in your browser. Google AdSense may use cookies to show and measure ads. The details are explained in the privacy policy.

Where else to find me

If you want to know more about me, here are my professional profile, the channel where I upload when I sing and play, and the stories I write.

• LinkedIn
• The CifraLab channel on YouTube
• My stories on Wattpad

Sound credits

CifraLab instruments play real recordings published under free licenses. Thanks to their authors:

• Piano: Salamander Grand Piano, Alexander Holm. CC BY 3.0.
• Acoustic guitar, nylon guitar, electric guitar, violin and electric bass: tonejs-instruments, Nicholas Brosowsky (from University of Iowa Electronic Music Studios, Freesound/quartertone, Karoryfer Samples and Versilian Studios VSCO 2). CC BY 3.0.
• Ukulele: Mahalo Hano Ukulele, Simone Piervergili (NeoSoundFonts). CC0.

The recordings were trimmed and volume-adjusted for the site. The melodies of the CifraLab book are original compositions.