How a progression works
Most chord progressions tell a short story in three parts. They start at home (the tonic, I), move away through a predominant chord (IV or ii), build tension on the dominant (V), and then resolve. Everything else, from borrowed chords to secondary dominants, is a way of colouring or delaying that journey.
Click any chord to see its job in the key and the chords that could stand in its place, ranked for the style you chose. Expected moves follow the natural pull of the key, colourful ones borrow notes or add tension, surprising ones break the pattern on purpose.
Styles
- Classical: strong root movement, ii–V–I, cadential 6-4 chords.
- Musical theatre: secondary dominants, the bittersweet IV–iv–I, warm relative-minor turns.
- Film & ballet: borrowed ♭VI and ♭VII, the Neapolitan, modal cadences.
- EDM: looping modal moves like i–VI–III–VII, few leading-tone resolutions.
Questions
How are the progressions made?
Each chord is picked from the chords that usually follow the one before it in that key, weighted by the style you chose. Film and ballet favour borrowed chords like ♭VI and ♭VII, musical theatre the warm secondary dominants and the minor iv, EDM the looping modal moves, classical the ii–V–I. The last bars are written to reach the ending you picked, so the phrase lands instead of just stopping.
How do I get the chords into my DAW?
Press Download .mid and drag the file onto a track: you get the voiced chords with the bass, at your tempo, with the chord names as markers. Or press Connect MIDI, choose a virtual port (IAC Driver on Mac, loopMIDI on Windows) as the output, and the chords play live into any MIDI track while you listen.
What is voice leading, and why does it matter?
Voice leading is how each note of one chord moves to the next. The generator keeps the three upper voices as close as possible from chord to chord and lets the bass carry the roots, so the progression sounds like one smooth part, the way a pianist or arranger would play it, instead of block shapes jumping around the keyboard.
What do the endings mean?
A full close (authentic cadence) goes V–I and sounds finished. A half close stops on V, like a question. A plagal ending goes IV–I, the soft "amen". A deceptive ending goes V–vi: it promises home and then swerves. Open leaves the end free, which suits loops.
Can I keep a chord I like and regenerate the rest?
Yes. Click the chord, then Keep this chord. Kept chords are marked with an orange line and stay where they are when you press Generate; the chords around them are chosen to fit.