About
The Story Behind GuitarHarmonyLab: Built by a Developer and Guitarist
GuitarHarmonyLab is an independent project built by Nicolas Alteirac, a web developer, guitar teacher in Lozère and former I.M.F.P. student. It began with a practical question: how can a chord chart become clear, playable harmony work on the fretboard?
The origin
A practical problem shared by code and guitar
The project connects two parts of the same working life: building software and teaching or playing guitar. Its starting point was the gap between understanding harmony as an idea and locating useful notes on the neck from a real chord progression.
The frustration that started it
I could read chord symbols and study theory, yet still wanted a clearer route from a progression to the notes available on the fretboard. Chord dictionaries were useful for individual shapes, while tablature answered a different question: what to play at a specific place. I wanted a workflow that began with my own chart, explained its harmonic context and turned it into guitar practice. That became GuitarHarmonyLab.
Who is behind it
My name is Nicolas Alteirac. I run accompagnementweb48.fr, where I build WordPress websites and digital tools for businesses. I also play and teach guitar in Lozère, and I am a former student of the I.M.F.P., where I studied jazz and contemporary music. GuitarHarmonyLab is where those activities meet: software applied to a musical and pedagogical problem I encounter directly.
What an independent project changes
An independent project can keep a narrow product question in view and improve it through direct testing. In GuitarHarmonyLab, that question is the route from chord chart to analysis, fretboard work and Practice Cards. The fretboard supports six- and seven-string guitars, alternative tunings and a left-handed layout so the exercises can reflect different instruments and setups.
The principles it is built on
Understand, don’t copy
Explain the relationship between chords and notes instead of presenting a shape without context.
Show, don’t tell
Use the neck as an essential view of harmony for an instrument organised across strings and positions.
Honest by default
No hype, no fake promises — just tools that hold up when you play.
Review before use
Keep imported chords editable and generated material subject to the judgment of the player or teacher.
What it means for players and teachers
For players, it means a tool designed by someone who knows the gap between theory and the fretboard. For teachers, Teacher Studio keeps lesson material tied to the music being taught. Start with What Is GuitarHarmonyLab? or dive into learning harmony.
Test the workflow yourself
The useful question is concrete: can GuitarHarmonyLab turn a chart you already play into clearer work on the fretboard? Open the current product with one real progression, review the result and decide from the music rather than from a promise.
Free Starter
Start with a chart you already know
Use Free Starter to see how GuitarHarmonyLab connects that progression to playable guitar practice.