# Is it possible to detect a chord using FMOD\_DSP\_TYPE\_FFT?
**URL:** https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-it-possible-to-detect-a-chord-using-fmod-dsp-type-fft/17699
**Category:** FMOD Engine
**Tags:** cpp
**Created:** [September 22, 2021, 12:29pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-it-possible-to-detect-a-chord-using-fmod-dsp-type-fft/17699 "2021-09-22T12:29:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jiyongman](https://qa.fmod.com/u/jiyongman)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2021, 12:29pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-it-possible-to-detect-a-chord-using-fmod-dsp-type-fft/17699/1 "2021-09-22T12:29:24Z")
I never tried the DSP, but reading the manual, it seems like it can only detect a dominant frequency.
I want to detect all the piano notes played by a user including melodies and chords.
Is it possible?
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### Author:  [@richard\_simms](https://qa.fmod.com/u/richard_simms)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2021, 4:51am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-it-possible-to-detect-a-chord-using-fmod-dsp-type-fft/17699/2 "2021-09-23T04:51:34Z")
It isn’t possible to detect pitches to identify individual notes or chords with native FMOD. `FMOD_DSP_TYPE_FFT` is used to get frequency data from the outputted sound, such as bass, mids, and treble, but not pitch. A custom DSP would need to be created in order for something like this to happen.
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### Author:  [@jiyongman](https://qa.fmod.com/u/jiyongman)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2021, 8:46am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-it-possible-to-detect-a-chord-using-fmod-dsp-type-fft/17699/3 "2021-09-23T08:46:48Z")
The other day, I saw the pitch detection example source code included within the FMOD API, so was curious if there’s a way to detect multiple notes at the same time too.
But yeah, thanks for the quick reply.
I think I need to find an API for this job to deal with the PCM data obtained by Sound::readData().
Not FMOD question anymore, but do you happen to know any pitch detection API or algorithm?
I have a music game idea but this is the hardest part of the project ☹
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### Author:  [@richard\_simms](https://qa.fmod.com/u/richard_simms)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2021, 1:11am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-it-possible-to-detect-a-chord-using-fmod-dsp-type-fft/17699/4 "2021-09-27T01:11:35Z")
Unfortunately I’m not familiar enough with pitch detection to offer any suggestions. From a quick web search I can see a few are available but it isn’t a trivial issue to solve.
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### Author:  [@jiyongman](https://qa.fmod.com/u/jiyongman)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2021, 3:31am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/is-it-possible-to-detect-a-chord-using-fmod-dsp-type-fft/17699/5 "2021-09-27T03:31:37Z")
Yeah, I googled after this too and found it’s a very hard and complicated topic.
Many existing algorithms and new algorithms mean there’s no perfect and easy way to solve this ☹