Chord progression generator
Choose a key, pick a progression or type your own in roman numerals, and press Play. When it sounds right, download it as a MIDI file with the chords on one track and the bass on another. It all happens in this page.
Make a progression
- You: Choose a key and a scale, pick a progression from the menu, and press Play.
- The page: Names each chord in that key, lists its notes, and loops the progression with a bass note under it.
- Check: In C major, I V vi IV reads C, G, Am, F.
The numerals stay the same in every key, and only the chord names change.
Type your own
- The numeral. I to VII, counted up the scale you chose. Capitals are major chords and small letters are minor.
- Sevenths. Add 7 for a seventh chord, as in V7 or ii7, and maj7 for a major seventh, as in Imaj7.
- Other shapes. Add dim for a diminished chord and aug for an augmented one.
- Borrowed chords. Put b in front to lower the root by a semitone, as in bVII, and # to raise it.
Separate the numerals with spaces. Capitals for major and small letters for minor is the whole notation. The chord identifier goes the other way, from notes to a chord's name.
Common chord progressions
| Name | Numerals | Example key | Chords |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pop | I V vi IV | C major | C G Am F |
| Sensitive | vi IV I V | C major | Am F C G |
| Fifties | I vi IV V | C major | C Am F G |
| Three chords | I IV V IV | C major | C F G F |
| Jazz turnaround | ii7 V7 Imaj7 | C major | Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 |
| Canon | I V vi iii IV I IV V | C major | C G Am Em F C F G |
| Twelve-bar blues | I7 IV7 I7 V7 IV7 I7 V7 | C major | C7 F7 C7 G7 F7 C7 G7 |
| Rock | I bVII IV I | C major | C Bb F C |
| Minor pop | i VI III VII | A minor | Am F C G |
| Minor | i iv v i | A minor | Am Dm Em Am |
| Andalusian | i VII VI V | A minor | Am G F E |
| Minor with a major five | i iv V7 i | A minor | Am Dm E7 Am |
Most songs are built from a handful of these, in one key or another.
Choose a style and a tempo
- Held chords. Each chord rings for its full length. The plainest starting point, and the easiest to edit later.
- A chord on each beat. The chord is struck again on every beat, like a piano keeping time.
- Arpeggio. The chord's notes are played one after another in eighth notes.
Beats for each chord sets how long each one lasts, and the tempo sets how fast the beats go. The same four chords can be a ballad or a dance track, depending on the style and the tempo. The tap tempo tool finds the tempo of a song you have in mind.
Use the MIDI file
Download .mid saves a file with two tracks, Chords and Bass, at the tempo you set. Drag it into GarageBand, Logic Pro or any other music app, and each track becomes a region you can give any instrument and edit note by note. How to play a MIDI file on a Mac has the steps. The file is a starting point that you finish in your own music app. To hear or inspect the file first, open it in the MIDI file viewer and player, and to move it to another key later, use the MIDI transposer.
Play chords from a game controller
InputConfig, the free Mac app I make, sends MIDI notes from a game controller, and one button can carry several notes at once. Put the four chords of a progression on the four face buttons, and a song can be accompanied from a controller. Four buttons and four chords are enough for a great many songs. Gamepad to MIDI on a Mac has the setup.
Questions
How do I make a chord progression as a MIDI file?
Choose a key and a progression here, press Play to hear it, then press Download .mid. The file has the chords on one track and the bass on another, ready to drag into a music app.
What do the roman numerals mean?
Each numeral is a chord built on that step of the scale. Capitals are major chords and small letters are minor, so in C major, I is C, IV is F, V is G and vi is A minor.
What is the most common chord progression?
I V vi IV is the best known in pop music. In C major that is C, G, A minor and F.
Can I type my own progression?
Yes. Type numerals separated by spaces, such as I vi ii V. Add 7 for a seventh chord, maj7 for a major seventh, dim for a diminished chord, and b in front to lower the root, as in bVII.
Is the MIDI file free to use?
Yes. The file is made on your own computer from the choices you set, and the progressions here are ones that countless songs share.
Why do I see a minor five chord in a minor key?
The natural minor scale gives a minor chord on the fifth step. Many songs raise it to major for a stronger pull home: type V or V7 to do that.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.
Updated