ChordBuddy Guitar Learning Device for All Abilities
Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2016/05/25 - Updated: 2026/02/01
Publication Type: Product Release, Update
Category Topic: Assistive Technology - Related Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This product review examines the ChordBuddy, an adaptive guitar learning system that gained recognition on ABC's "Shark Tank" and has since helped thousands of players with varying abilities master guitar fundamentals. The device's authority stems from real-world success stories, including rehabilitation applications for hand injury recovery and occupational therapy use. By attaching a color-coded button system to any standard guitar, it allows players with arthritis, cognitive disabilities, positioning challenges, or limited mobility to perform music within minutes rather than months. The system proves particularly valuable for older adults experiencing age-related dexterity loss, children with physical differences such as fused elbows, and anyone requiring modified hand positioning, as the guitar can be played flat rather than in traditional orientation - Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
Have you always wanted to play the guitar? Have certain aspects of the guitar made it too difficult for you to play? ChordBuddy helps with playing chords AND strumming. You can play music on the guitar in minutes!
ChordBuddy was made famous on the ABC show "Shark Tank." Since the show, the growth and expansion of the ChordBuddy line has been tremendous. More importantly, we have seen phenomenal musical success by people of all abilities learn to play the guitar with this learning system. Travis Perry invented this tool to encourage his children to play the guitar, as well as to support his mother's playing later in her life. She had been an accomplished musician, but as time passed she lost the ability to play. With the ChordBuddy she was able to play again. We are excited to share this tool with you today.
Main Content
The ChordBuddy makes playing the guitar easier and more accessible to children and adults who have physical challenges, cognitive disabilities, arthritis, etc.
The ChordBuddy has functioned as a rehabilitation tool for people recovering from a hand injury or those who may need occupational hand therapy. Playing guitar with a hand injury or with arthritis was simply unheard of until ChordBuddy. Using this system makes it easy to learn guitar chords and begin playing your favorite songs despite the difficulties that may come with physical challenges.
The ChordBuddy is a molded piece of plastic that attaches to the fretboard of the guitar and rests above the strings. The four color-coded buttons represent different chords- similar to the popular "Guitar Hero" video game that children and adults typically play on PlayStation or Xbox. The four chords learned initially are C, D, G, & E minor.
The ChordBuddy will have you removing the buttons as you learn, and progress through the teaching books. Your knowledge, along with the strength and dexterity improvement in your hands, may actually have you making chords without ChordBuddy within weeks. It simplifies guitar playing for students without any prior guitar experience, while providing additional growth for experienced learners.
It really is possible to play the songs you love without difficulty associated from traditional guitar playing. By pressing the chord buttons you are exercising core muscles and joints in the hands. People suffering from arthritis who began to play with the ChordBuddy appeared to improve the dexterity and strength in their fingers and other muscles almost immediately.
Another great instrument modification that the ChordBuddy affords, is the ability to play the guitar flat.
"Now, with ChordBuddy, children and adults who suffer from positioning issues can look down directly at the guitar as they play. For an example of this modification please watch the video below. Another option for those who may need additional assistance is having someone play the left hand buttons, while the player focus on the right hand strumming. As an example, we were able to teach a child who was born with a fused elbow to play the guitar. Traditional guitar was not accessible to her, because her elbow could not extend to get her in the right position to play chords. With ChordBuddy she was performing for her music class, and accomplishing the same curricular objectives as her classmates. The only difference between her style of playing and those of her classmates was that her guitar was lying flat in her lap as she played. This ChordBuddy device is here to help support the love of music and teach guitar to everyone!"
The ChordBuddy fits on most full-size acoustic or electric steel string and nylon string guitars. It comes with a learning book and DVD that instruct you how to play.
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: The ChordBuddy represents a shift in how we approach musical accessibility, proving that adaptive technology doesn't have to compromise the authentic experience of playing an instrument. While purists might initially question any device that simplifies traditional technique, the stories of older musicians reclaiming their abilities and children with physical differences performing alongside their peers reveal something more important than methodology. Music therapy research has long documented the cognitive and physical benefits of guitar playing, from improved fine motor skills to enhanced neural connectivity, yet these benefits remained locked away from anyone who couldn't master standard chord formations. What makes this tool particularly noteworthy isn't just its clever engineering, but how it challenges our assumptions about who gets to participate in music-making, transforming what was once an exclusive pursuit into something genuinely inclusive without diminishing the joy or therapeutic value of the experience - Disabled World (DW).
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.