Button Types

The main iShred screen includes 10 buttons at the top. Each button can be programmed as one of 6 button types that let you play in different ways. Moving from button to button lets you quickly change chords and lead lines. Each of these 6 button types is described in detail in this chapter.

1. Blank

When you make a "New Song" it starts with 10 Blank buttons. These buttons have no labels. When the button is pushed, the guitar body is shown, and if string labels are being shown then each string is labeled with an "X." When you play this string all you hear is a thwack as if striking a muted string on a real guitar. Playing a Blank button can be useful for some percussive "chicka-chicka" sounds, but otherwise it is just an empty space waiting to be filled with a more interesting option.

2. Chord

Chords are often the most-used button type. iShred comes with 32 different built-in chord types. Each can be played in every key. And if this isn't enough, every one of those chords in every one of those keys can be played in 5 different variations up and down the fretboard.

A chord button is labeled with its key, an abbreviation of its chord type (unless it is a major chord), and if it is not the lowest version of the chord it also has some number of single quote marks on the second text line to show which variation it is. For example, this button is the second variation up the fretboard of an A Minor 7 chord. (Note that sometimes the chord type will be on the second line, or split between the two button label lines.)

3. User Chords

While iShred comes with over 1,900 built-in chord definitions, you can still program your own chords with unusual harmonies, open notes, or whatever you wish. You can create and delete user chords, and edit their voicings, name, and how they are labeled on a button. All the details can be found in the User Chords chapter.

4. Scales

Scale buttons map the notes of a scale onto three fret spaces across the six strings of iShred. Only notes in the scale are mapped to fret spaces! In this sense, it is unlike a guitar fretboard, but it can also make it very easy to play tunes. With a scale button active, you can only play notes that are in the scale.

For a detailed example, let's check out what happens when you press a "C-s3 Major" button. "C" and "Major" tell you it is mapping a C Major scale onto the frets. The "s" stands for "Scale" and the "3" means that the mapping starts on the 3rd fret of the Low E string. That's a G which is in a C Major scale, so that's the first fret note, followed by an A and a B on that string. The next consecutive note, a C, is mapped to the first fret of the next string.

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To help you find notes in Scale mode, some rectangular inlays are shown in some fret positions. The largest inlays show you the roots of the scale, the next largest show the 5ths, and the smallest show the 3rds. For example, tapping the third fret of the Hi-E string sounds the root of the scale, a C, since it has the largest inlay on it. Again, this layout is not what you would find on a guitar fretboard (see the last button type if that is your desire), but it sure makes tapping out melodies and harmonies easy.

5. Chromatic Scales

Pressing a chromatic scale button shows you a 5-fret section of the guitar's fretboard, but instead of standard inlays, the frets are marked to show you what notes are in the selected scale. While similar to Scale buttons, all the chromatic notes, not just those in the scale, are playable in Chromatic Scale mode. If you just want a tranditional fretboard, the next section is for you, but chromatic scale markings can give you some extra guidance when trying to hit the right notes.

Consider the "D-c3 Minor" button shown. Decoding the button's label, you can see it is for a "D Minor" "c"hromatic scale starting on the 3rd fret. On the low E string that is a G, the 4th of the D Minor scale.

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Looking at the inlays, all the largest rectangles show where the roots of the scale are, the D's. In this case, they are at the 3rd fret of the A string, the 5th fret of the G string, and the 1st fret of the B string. (Note: These last two are the same note, just on different strings.) The next largest inlays mark the 5ths (A's), the next size marks the 3rds (F's) and the smallest mark the other notes in the scale. Any fret that does not have an inlay on it is not in the scale.

6. Fretboard

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Just looking for a fretboard view starting at a particular fret? This button type is for you. The button shows what the starting fret is (programmable from 0 to 18). Press the button and the strings are shown above 5 fret spaces, with standard inlays. Simple, and to many quite familiar. And to go from one set of frets to another you can just slide your "fret" finger between two programmed fret buttons. You can travel from one end of the fretboard to the other in one button push! And as with the Scale and Chromatic Scale modes, hammer-on's, pull-off's, and slides are all possible.