Create musical chord progressions with structure, movement and purpose.


Use our free chord progression generator to create 4, 8 or 16-bar chord progressions in any key and download the progression as MIDI

Choose a song section, style and mood, then let the generator build a musical progression with its own harmonic direction, phrase development and ending.

Styles including Pop, Jazz, Soul / Neo Soul, Lofi, House / EDM, Dark / Trap, Rock and Blues use different harmonic behaviour rather than the same progression rules with different genre labels. You can then shape the result with chord colour, movement, borrowed harmony, voicing, rhythm and bass movement.

Play the full progression, audition individual chords, lock the chords you want to keep and regenerate around them, then download the MIDI to use in your DAW. Each chord also shows its Roman numeral, chord tones, exact played voicing, and its role within the progression, helping you understand how and why the harmony works.

For a full explanation of every control and setting, read the Chord Progression Generator User Guide.

4 / 8 / 16 bars Loop / Verse / Chorus / Bridge 8 styles Smart voicing Human feel Lock + regenerate Chord roles explained MIDI export
Quick start: choose a Key, Chord Style and Section, then press Generate Chords. The defaults are designed to give a musical result. After generating, each chord shows its harmonic role and a Why? explanation so you can understand what the progression is doing.
1. Musical directionSet the key, length and kind of song section you want to create.
2. Shape the harmonySteer the mood and chord colour without needing music-theory knowledge.
Changes chord extensions and colour, not the basic harmonic direction.
Allows occasional colour from outside the selected scale, including secondary dominants.
3. Timing & tempoSet the harmonic timing and tempo. Open Rhythm & performance only when you want to shape how the chords are played.
Steady keeps one core chord per bar. Song Structure uses deliberate 4-bar timing shapes: it can hold a chord across 2 bars or split a phrase turn into two half-bar chord changes, while the section composer still controls the underlying 4/8/16-bar harmony.
Rhythm & performanceChoose a player and then its rhythm. Player-specific controls appear directly underneath in playing order.
Held chords are the neutral default: hear the harmony first, then choose a more specific player when you want movement.
Pads & Atmosphere uses sustained held chords.
Harmony controlsFine-tune the progression's structure and harmonic behaviour.
The overall journey: where the progression starts, develops tension and resolves.
Controls harmonic pace: more space vs more chord-to-chord movement.
Safe = familiar; Producer = structured and song-ready; Creative = more adventurous.
Performance & voicingFine-tune how the progression is played without changing the core workflow.
Shapes timing, chord roll, velocity and note releases in playback and MIDI.
Create & audition
Shape this result
Export / continue
Audio playback isn't available in this browser (Web Audio API couldn't start). You can still generate progressions, copy chords, and download MIDI.
C - Am - F - G - C - Am - F - C
I - vi - IV - V - I - vi - IV - I
Understand the progression: Roman numerals show each chord's scale degree. The role badge tells you whether a chord is acting as home, movement, tension or colour. Use Why? on any chord to see what it contributes at that point in the phrase.
Bar 1Home
C
I
Tonic / home chord
Chord tonesC - E - G
PlayedG3 - C4 - E4 + C2 bass
1 bar
Why this chord?This is the tonic — the harmonic home of the selected key. At the opening, that gives the Verse a clear centre. It also follows the progression’s planned harmonic outline for the selected style, section and harmonic story.
Bar 2Colour
Am
vi
Relative / emotional colour
Chord tonesA - C - E
PlayedA3 - C4 - E4 + A1 bass
1 bar
Why this chord?This gives a closely related minor/relative colour, adding emotion and contrast without making the progression feel disconnected from the key. It also follows the progression’s planned harmonic outline for the selected style, section and harmonic story. Its played voicing shares 2 notes with the previous chord, helping the transition feel connected.
Bar 3Movement
F
IV
Pre-dominant movement
Chord tonesF - A - C
PlayedA3 - C4 - F4 + F1 bass
1 bar
Why this chord?This acts as pre-dominant movement: it moves away from home and helps set up later tension or resolution. It also follows the progression’s planned harmonic outline for the selected style, section and harmonic story. Its played voicing shares 2 notes with the previous chord, helping the transition feel connected.
Bar 4Tension
G
V
Dominant area
Chord tonesG - B - D
PlayedG3 - B3 - D4 + G1 bass
1 bar
Why this chord?This sits in the dominant area, adding forward pull and making a later return toward the tonic feel stronger. It also follows the progression’s planned harmonic outline for the selected style, section and harmonic story.
Bar 5Home
C
I
Tonic / home chord
Chord tonesC - E - G
PlayedG3 - C4 - E4 + C2 bass
1 bar
Why this chord?This is the tonic — the harmonic home of the selected key. It also follows the progression’s planned harmonic outline for the selected style, section and harmonic story. Its played voicing shares 1 note with the previous chord, helping the transition feel connected.
Bar 6Colour
Am
vi
Relative / emotional colour
Chord tonesA - C - E
PlayedA3 - C4 - E4 + A1 bass
1 bar
Why this chord?This gives a closely related minor/relative colour, adding emotion and contrast without making the progression feel disconnected from the key. It also follows the progression’s planned harmonic outline for the selected style, section and harmonic story. Its played voicing shares 2 notes with the previous chord, helping the transition feel connected.
Bar 7Movement
F
IV
Pre-dominant movement
Chord tonesF - A - C
PlayedA3 - C4 - F4 + F1 bass
1 bar
Why this chord?This acts as pre-dominant movement: it moves away from home and helps set up later tension or resolution. It also follows the progression’s planned harmonic outline for the selected style, section and harmonic story. Its played voicing shares 2 notes with the previous chord, helping the transition feel connected.
Bar 8Home
C
I
Tonic / home chord
Chord tonesC - E - G
PlayedG3 - C4 - E4 + C1 bass
1 bar
Why this chord?This is the tonic — the harmonic home of the selected key. Placed at the end, it gives the section a clear sense of arrival. It also follows the progression’s planned harmonic outline for the selected style, section and harmonic story. Its played voicing shares 1 note with the previous chord, helping the transition feel connected.
C MajorKey and scale
Pop / Verse / AutoStyle and section
8 bars / Even — 1 chord per bar / Pads & Atmosphere / Held chords / Style default: Natural-tightLength, chord timing, performance and human feel
Why this progression worksVerse · Auto
Harmonic shapeStarts on C (home) and ends on C. That gives the phrase a clear resolution.
Tension & releaseThe main tension point is around chord 4. These dominant/leading colours create movement before release.
Colour & developmentAll generated harmonic functions stay inside the selected scale; colour comes from chord extensions, voicing and arrangement rather than outside-key harmony. Long-form shape: repeating 4-bar hook with evolving turnarounds. The later phrase develops as a repeating four-bar hook with a changed turnaround.
Generation details
Verse progressionChord timing: one core chord per bar. The harmonic timeline stays stable and rhythmic interest comes from the performance layer. Harmonic story: Auto. Compatibility guardrails keep style, story, chord colour, movement and borrowed chords working together. Producer feel favours polished, song-ready structure, strong motifs and dependable payoffs. Movement: Balanced. Performance: Pads & Atmosphere / Held chords. Bars 5-8 evolve from the opening idea as a repeating four-bar hook with a changed turnaround. Borrowed chords are off, so borrowed-function substitutions and secondary dominants are disabled. Natural Minor remains strictly natural minor. Suspensions off - chords play cleanly. Style-default human feel is set to Natural-tight for Pop. Timing, roll direction, velocity and note releases now follow a phrase-level player contour with only small random imperfection, and the same performance is carried into the MIDI. Chord tones show the full theoretical chord; Played shows the exact keyboard voicing and bass used for audio and MIDI.
Song Builder
VerseNot saved
ChorusNot saved
BridgeNot saved
Final ChorusNot saved
Build the Verse normally. When it feels right, save it; selecting Chorus will then make the Chorus generator listen to this Verse.
Save a Verse and Chorus to audition the song together.

Last Updated 07th September 2026 10:31 GMT

Use Your Chords to Build the Rest of the Track

Once you have a progression you like, copy the chord sequence and use it as the starting point for the rest of your track. You can paste the chords directly into the Melody Generator or Bassline Generator, or use the same progression as the harmonic reference for drums and arpeggios.


How the Chord Progression Generator Works

The generator builds harmonic phrases rather than choosing each chord in isolation. The selected key, scale, style, song section, mood and harmonic settings influence how the progression begins, develops and resolves.

Generating chords that belong to a key is relatively simple. The more difficult part is deciding when those chords should be used and what role they should play within the phrase.

  • Phrase-based generation: 8 and 16-bar progressions can repeat, develop and vary an established musical idea rather than simply looping the same four chords.
  • Style-specific harmony: Pop, House, Jazz, Soul, Lofi, Trap, Rock and Blues use different harmonic tendencies rather than the same progression rules with different genre labels.
  • Verse, Chorus and Bridge behaviour: the selected song section influences harmonic movement, repetition, contrast and resolution.
  • Voice leading: chord voicings are considered across the progression so neighbouring chords can connect more naturally.
  • Controlled variation: repetition is combined with changes in harmony, phrase endings and rhythm so longer progressions can develop without becoming random.
  • Lock and regenerate: keep the chords you like and generate new ideas around them.

The generator uses programmed music theory, compositional logic and controlled probability rather than a trained generative AI music model. This allows the musical decisions to remain understandable and makes it possible to explain why particular chords and harmonic movements have been used.


Understand How Chord Progressions Work

Each generated chord includes its chord name, Roman numeral, chord tones and the exact notes used in the played voicing. The generator also identifies the role the chord is playing within the progression, such as home, movement, tension, colour or resolution.

This makes it easier to see how a progression moves away from the tonic, develops tension and either resolves or deliberately remains open.

Borrowed chords and secondary dominants are also identified when they are used, making it easier to see where harmony from outside the main key has been introduced and what effect it has on the progression.

Roman numerals are useful because they describe the relationship between chords rather than a particular key. For example:

  • I - V - vi - IV = C - G - Am - F in C major
  • I - V - vi - IV = G - D - Em - C in G major
  • I - V - vi - IV = D - A - Bm - G in D major

The chord names change, but the harmonic relationship remains the same. Learning to recognise these relationships makes it easier to understand why familiar progression shapes can work in different keys.


Performance Rhythm: The Same Chords Can Feel Completely Different

A chord progression is not only the order of the chords. The timing of those chords can change the shape and energy of the entire phrase.

For example, a progression such as:

C - Am - F - G

can be played as four evenly spaced chords, or the timing can be changed so the final chords move more quickly and create a turnaround into the next phrase.

Chords can also be held for longer, repeated rhythmically, anticipated before the beat or shortened to create additional movement.

The generator therefore treats performance rhythm as part of the composition rather than simply playing every chord for the same length of time.

Rhythm, chord duration, note lengths and human timing are included in the exported MIDI, so the downloaded file contains the generated performance rather than only a sequence of static block chords.


Repetition, Variation and Longer Progressions

More variation does not automatically make a progression more musical. Repetition gives the listener something to recognise, while variation becomes more effective once an idea has already been established.

A simple example is:

C - Am - F - G
C - Am - F - Dm

Only one chord changes in the second phrase, but the change becomes more noticeable because the first phrase created an expectation.

This principle is particularly important in 8 and 16-bar generation. The later bars can refer back to earlier material while changing the ending, harmonic direction, rhythm or level of tension.

The aim is for longer progressions to develop rather than simply repeat or introduce unrelated material on every bar.


Verse, Chorus and Bridge Chord Progressions

Song sections are treated as compositional settings rather than simple labels.

A verse may benefit from leaving more harmonic space or delaying a strong resolution. A chorus may use clearer repetition, stronger harmonic landmarks or a more obvious sense of arrival. A bridge can introduce contrast before returning to familiar material.

These are not fixed rules, but the selected section influences how the generator evaluates the progression and how the phrase develops.

This is particularly useful when generating longer ideas, where the purpose of the section can be just as important as the individual chords being used.


Chord Voicing and Harmonic Colour

A chord can be played in many different ways. Changing the inversion, octave position or spacing of the notes can make the same progression sound noticeably different.

The Voicing control changes how the notes are arranged, while Chord Colour can introduce 7ths, 9ths and other extensions.

Smooth voice leading considers how notes move from one chord to the next, keeping shared notes in place where appropriate and reducing unnecessary jumps between neighbouring chords.

This becomes particularly useful with Jazz, Soul, Neo Soul and Lofi harmony, where extended chords can become muddy if every chord is played using the same dense root-position voicing.


Common Chord Progressions

Familiar progressions are useful starting points because they provide a harmonic structure that listeners already recognise. The generator can use these ideas as well as create more varied progressions using extensions, borrowed harmony and different phrase structures.

Progression Roman Numerals Often Used In
C - G - Am - F I - V - vi - IV Pop, House, EDM
Am - F - C - G vi - IV - I - V Pop, Lofi, Trap
Dm - G - C - Am ii - V - I - vi Jazz, Soul, Neo Soul
Am - G - F - E i - VII - VI - V Dark Pop, Trap, Cinematic – major V adds stronger resolution


Using MIDI Chord Progressions in Your DAW

Download the progression as MIDI and drag it onto an instrument track in your DAW. The exported file includes the generated chord voicings, bass movement, rhythm, note lengths and human timing.

From there, everything remains editable. Change the instrument, move notes between octaves, alter the rhythm or edit the voicing to fit your track.