Chord Progression Generator

First up is story brief section where you set your harmonic parameters. Select from the twelve available keys, then decide if you want to work in a major or minor mode for that chosen tonal centre. Next, you’ll decide your phrase length (from four to eight events) and your harmonic rhythm. The cadence destination dropdown lets you choose if the phrase will end with an authentic, deceptive, half cadence or a plagal cadence. You can then select a style, such as cinematic, jazz, or pop, to guide how chord qualities is used. Lastly, choose a tension contour; this could be a climb, an arc, etc. This determines general direction of the chord progression’s emotion.

The main compose button (above) starts the process once the brief has been established. A phrase will then be generated and displayed on the phrase lane beneath. Each event here correspond to the next chord in the phrase. Clicking on an event in the lane will play it back as well as display its detail in the inspector pane. Here we see how the chord was spelled out, including its Roman numeral and the chord name itself.

How to Use the Chord Tool

Using the inversion buttons at the right of the inspector you can change the bass note of your chosen chord. In other words you can place the lowest note of your chord on the root, the third or fifth without altering it’s quality. In the inspector, there are contextual reharmonization buttons where you can refine one chord at a time. These use music theory to suggest valid replacements like secondary dominants or common-tone substitutes. Clicking one of these buttons apply the substitution to the current event.

To experiment somewhere else but keep your original chord locked in place, simply click the secure scene button for the event. The locked scene won’t change with your variations in the progression. This could of been handy if you wish to keep the cadence points or tonic and reshape the inner harmony.

On the right, the archive panel is where you will save full versions of what you’ve worked on. To do that, simply save current take by clicking Take A or Take B. Next, select whatever take you want and hear it play back via the audio engine. That way, you don’t have to lose your draft while comparing different harmonic options.

At the bottom of the inspector, you’ll see a narration box offering text commentary regarding how the chosen chord work. It informs you whether or not something is creating tension or releasing.

For speed of workflow, you can also control all aspects of the widget with your keyboard, navigating and playing it in its entirety without needing to pick up a mouse. The controls are tabbed to take you into the phrase section. Use the left and right arrows to step forward/backward between scenes. Tap Space/Enter to play the chord that’s currently highlighted. Tap L to turn on/off lock for the currently highlighted scene. The number keys 1-8 go straight to that numbered event in the lane. Tap V to vary all unlocked scenes in the phrase. Tap C to create a new progression based off the summary. Tap J to play everything in order.

Playback is controlled by the transport controls below. Conduct starts/stop the journey animation. Tempo slider sets the rate of progress in BPM. Volume slider sets the overall output level. Voice-leading toggle alternates between block roots and smooth voice leading. Block roots favor the root position, providing a sense of grounding. Smooth voice leading aims to reduce distance between chord tones, resulting in a connected flow. The how to play panel can be expanded to provide a handy reference to keyboard shortcuts.

You experiment with different styles to see how they affects the chord extensions. Indie borrowing brings the modality; jazz and soul bring seventh chords into the mix. To modify the tension contour, you push the buttons that control it. The arc contour peaks in the middle then releases at the end. The climb contour slowly increases the tension. Next, to keep the structure intact, you latch down the cadence points and vary the phrase. Finally, for exploration of different harmonic ideas, you record multiple takes side-by-side.

It fills a space where we can hear our ideas play out as we go. It is a kind of connection between the theoretical and practical world of chords. Without a DAW and sheet music, we can rapidly develop an idea around harmony. From there you can edit, generate and listen back to what you’ve created. It is a songwriting sketch pad, if you like. Spend some time listening through the various inversions and cadence. There are probably ways of playing chords you’ll find that suits your musical voice. Pressing the compose button begins with a choice of key.