Chord and fretboard diagram plots — plot

Create a fretboard diagram for a single chord or a general progression.

plot_fretboard(
  string,
  fret,
  labels = NULL,
  mute = FALSE,
  label_size = 10,
  label_color = "white",
  point_size = 10,
  point_color = "black",
  point_fill = "black",
  group = NULL,
  horizontal = FALSE,
  left_handed = FALSE,
  fret_range = NULL,
  fret_labels = NULL,
  fret_offset = FALSE,
  accidentals = c("flat", "sharp"),
  tuning = "standard",
  show_tuning = FALSE,
  asp = NULL,
  base_size = 20
)

plot_chord(
  chord,
  labels = NULL,
  label_size = 10,
  label_color = "white",
  point_size = 10,
  point_color = "black",
  point_fill = "black",
  group = NULL,
  horizontal = FALSE,
  left_handed = FALSE,
  fret_range = NULL,
  fret_labels = NULL,
  fret_offset = FALSE,
  accidentals = c("flat", "sharp"),
  tuning = "standard",
  show_tuning = FALSE,
  asp = NULL,
  base_size = 20
)

Arguments

string: integer or as a space-delimited character string; instrument string numbers.
fret: integer or as a space-delimited character string; fret numbers.
labels: NULL or character, optional vector of text labels, must be one for every point; or just the special value "notes".
mute: logical vector or specific integer indices, which notes to mute. See details.
label_size: numeric, size of fretted note labels.
label_color: character, label color.
point_size: numeric, size of fretted note points.
point_color: character, point color.
point_fill: character, point fill color.
group: optional vector to facet by.
horizontal: logical, directional orientation.
left_handed: logical, handedness orientation.
fret_range: fret limits, if not NULL, overrides limits derived from fret.
fret_labels: integer, vector of fret number labels for fret axis. See details.
fret_offset: logical set to TRUE to shift the fret axis number labels (if present) from being directly next to the fret to being aligned with the circles behind the fret.
accidentals: character, when labels = "notes" represent accidentals: "flat" or "sharp".
tuning: explicit tuning, e.g., "e, a, d g b e'", or a pre-defined tuning. See details.
show_tuning: logical, show tuning of each string on string axis.
asp: numeric, aspect ratio, overrides default aspect ratio derived from number of strings and frets.
base_size: base size for ggplot2::theme_void().
chord: character, a single chord given in fret notation. See details.

Value

a ggplot object

Details

These functions are under development and subject to change. They each return a ggplot object.

Use plot_chord() to create a fretboard diagram of a specific chord. plot_chord() accepts a character string in simple fretboard format, e.g., chord = "xo221o". Zero is allowed in place of "o". This only works when no spaces or semicolons are detected. The function checks for spaces first, then semicolons, to split fret numbers. Do not mix formats. For example, you can use chord = "xo221o", chord = "x 8 10 10 9 8" or chord = "x;8;10;10;9;8". Trailing delimiters are ignored (LilyPond format: "x;8;10;10;9;8;"). If there are fewer fret values than there are strings on the instrument, as inferred from tuning, then muted strings, x, are inferred for the remaining lower-pitch strings.

plot_fretboard() produces a more general fretboard diagram plot. It is intended for scales, arpeggios and other patterns along the fretboard. For this function, provide vectors of string and fret numbers. mute is available but not as applicable for this function; it is a pass-through from plot_chord(). For single chord diagrams, use plot_chord(). The letter "o" is also allowed in fret for open strings and will display below the lowest fret plotted. The number 0 is treated with the intent of displaying the corresponding position on the instrument neck.

Number of strings is derived from tuning. See tunings() for pre-defined tunings and examples of explicit tunings. tuning affects point labels when labels = "notes".

Providing fret_labels overrides the default (minimal) fret numbering behavior for the fret axis. These are only intended to be integers. The vector of integers given is sorted and subset if needed to the range of frets that appear in the plot. See example.

Examples

# General patterns: scale shifting exercise
string <- c(6, 6, 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1)
fret <- "2 4 5 2 4 5 2 4 6 7 9 6 7 9 7 9 10 7 9 10" # string input accepted
plot_fretboard(string, fret, labels = "notes", fret_offset = TRUE)

plot_fretboard(string, fret, fret_labels = c(3, 5, 7, 9, 12), show_tuning = TRUE)


# open and muted strings on shifted general fretboard layout
# try to use plot_chord() if more suitable
plot_fretboard("6 5 4 3", "o 9 10 12", mute = 2, show_tuning = TRUE)


# Single chord diagrams
# open chord
idx <- c(1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1)
fill <- c("white", "black")[idx]
lab_col <- c("black", "white")[idx]
plot_chord("xo221o", "notes", label_color = lab_col, point_fill = fill)


# moveable chord
plot_chord("355433", horizontal = TRUE, show_tuning = TRUE)


# leading x inferred; same as plot_chord("xxo321")
plot_chord("o231", fret_labels = 3)

plot_chord("10 12 13 11", show_tuning = TRUE)

plot_chord("o x 10 12 13 11", fret_range = c(9, 14), fret_labels = c(9, 12))