Chord Progression Generator
A chord generator for songwriters: pick a key and a style, get a common or random chord progression with guitar and ukulele shapes, hear it on piano, transpose it and download it as MIDI.
Keyboard: Space plays and stops, R makes a random progression, ↑ ↓ transpose by a semitone, 1 to 7 add the chord on that degree to your own progression.
How to use the chord progression generator
This chord progression generator shows the seven chords of any major or minor key with their Roman numerals, plays common progressions such as I - V - vi - IV or builds a random one in the style you pick, and moves the whole progression to any other key a semitone at a time. Choose a Key and Major or Minor. The row of cards shows the seven chords that belong to that key, each with its Roman numeral and its notes; tap one to hear it. Triads gives three-note chords and 7th chords adds the 7th to each. Pick a Style to see the progressions typical of pop, rock, jazz, blues, sad songs or lo-fi in Progression, or press Random for a new one of 4 or 8 chords in that style. To write your own, tap the key's chords in the order you want; Remove last takes one away.
Under the progression, Guitar or Ukulele shows an easy shape for every chord in it (the numbers under each box are the frets from the lowest string, x for a string you do not play); Piano only hides them. Play loops the progression on the piano, with the chord that is sounding lit on the cards, the shapes and the keyboard. Set the Tempo and how many Beats per chord, or switch Loop off to hear it once. −1 and +1 move everything a semitone, so the chord progression generator is also a key transposer. MIDI downloads the progression at your tempo as a MIDI file that opens in any DAW (GarageBand, FL Studio, Ableton Live, Logic, Reaper), and Copy link copies a link that opens this exact progression. On a computer: Space plays and stops, R makes a random progression, the up and down arrows transpose, and 1 to 7 add the chord on that degree.
The chords in a key
Each chord in a key is built on one note of its scale by stacking every other scale note on top: from C in C major that gives C, E and G. Because the scale has whole and half steps in fixed places, the chord types always come in the same order. In every major key it is major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished. The Roman numeral says which scale degree the chord is built on: capitals for major chords, small letters for minor, and ° for diminished.
| Degree | Triad | In C major | 7th chord |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | major | C | Cmaj7 |
| ii | minor | Dm | Dm7 |
| iii | minor | Em | Em7 |
| IV | major | F | Fmaj7 |
| V | major | G | G7 |
| vi | minor | Am | Am7 |
| vii° | diminished | Bdim | Bm7b5 |
A natural minor key uses the same seven chords as its relative major, starting from the 6th degree. A minor has the notes of C major, so its chords are the same set read from Am.
| Degree | Triad | In A minor | 7th chord |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | minor | Am | Am7 |
| ii° | diminished | Bdim | Bm7b5 |
| III | major | C | Cmaj7 |
| iv | minor | Dm | Dm7 |
| v | minor | Em | Em7 |
| VI | major | F | Fmaj7 |
| VII | major | G | G7 |
Many minor-key pieces raise the 7th note of the scale, which turns v into a major V chord (E in A minor). The generator uses the natural minor scale, so v stays minor. Neighboring keys and their key signatures are laid out on the circle of fifths.
Common chord progressions
Because they are written as numerals, these patterns work in every key.
- I - IV - V: the three major chords of a major key. With the vi chord added it becomes I - V - vi - IV, I - vi - IV - V or vi - IV - I - V: the same four chords in a different order, each with its own feel.
- ii - V - I: each root falls a 5th to the next, ending on the home chord. With 7th chords on, it is Dm7, G7, Cmaj7 in C.
- 12-bar blues: four bars of I, two of IV, two of I, then V, IV, I, I. Switch on 7th chords to hear it the blues way, with every chord a dominant 7th (I7, IV7, V7).
- i - VI - III - VII in minor: four chords that stay inside the natural minor scale.
Chord progressions by style
The Style menu groups the patterns below and steers the random chord generator. Each is written as numerals, so it works in every key; the chords shown are for C major or A minor.
| Style | Progressions | In C major or A minor |
|---|---|---|
| Pop | I - V - vi - IV, I - vi - IV - V, vi - IV - I - V, I - IV - vi - V, i - VI - III - VII | C G Am F, C Am F G, Am F C G, C F Am G, Am F C G |
| Rock | I - IV - V, I - V - IV, i - VI - VII, i - VII - VI - VII | C F G, C G F, Am F G, Am G F G |
| Jazz | ii - V - I, vi - ii - V - I, I - vi - ii - V, iii - vi - ii - V, ii - v - i, i - iv - VII - III - VI | Dm7 G7 Cmaj7, Am7 Dm7 G7 Cmaj7, Cmaj7 Am7 Dm7 G7, Em7 Am7 Dm7 G7, Bm7b5 Em7 Am7, Am7 Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 Fmaj7 |
| Blues | 12-bar blues, with or without the quick change to IV in bar 2 | C7 C7 C7 C7 F7 F7 C7 C7 G7 F7 C7 C7 |
| Sad | i - VI - III - VII, i - iv - v, i - VI - iv - v, i - iv - VII - III, vi - IV - I - V, vi - IV - V - iii | Am F C G, Am Dm Em, Am F Dm Em, Am Dm G C, Am F C G, Am F G Em |
| Lo-fi and neo-soul | IV - iii - ii - I, ii - V - I, vi - ii - V - I, i - iv | Fmaj7 Em7 Dm7 Cmaj7, Dm7 G7 Cmaj7, Am7 Dm7 G7 Cmaj7, Am7 Dm7 |
Jazz, lo-fi and blues switch the chords to 7th chords, and Sad switches to a minor key; you can change either back. vi - IV - I - V and i - VI - III - VII are the same four chords (Am, F, C, G), read from the major or the minor side: what makes a progression sound sad is mostly starting and resting on the minor chord.
How the random chord generator works
Random does not pick chords blindly. It starts on the home chord (I or i) and then follows the usual pulls between chords: IV and ii tend to move to V, V tends to return to I or step to vi, and the diminished chord is used rarely. It does not repeat a chord twice in a row, and it tries to end on a chord that leads back to the start, so the loop sounds finished each time round. With a style picked, it keeps to that style: pop and rock use only the I, IV, V and vi chords of a major key (in minor: i, III, VI and VII, plus iv for rock), jazz and lo-fi move mostly by falling 5ths and steps (vi to ii to V to I) with 7th chords, Sad starts on the minor chord, and Blues picks one of the 12-bar forms. Press it again until you hear something you like, then use the numerals to play it in another key or on another instrument. To see the notes of any chord on the keys, open it in the chord finder. To put a tune on top, the melody generator writes a random melody over the chords of the same key.
Transposing a progression
To transpose, keep the numerals and change the key. I - V - vi - IV is C, G, Am, F in C major and G, D, Em, C in G major. Press +1 or −1 and every chord moves together, spelled correctly for the new key (Eb major has Fm and Bb, not D#m and A#). On guitar, a capo does the same job without new shapes: the capo chart shows which shapes to play for each key.
Questions
What are the chords in the key of C major?
C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim. As 7th chords: Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7 and Bm7b5.
What does I - V - vi - IV mean?
It is a progression written as scale degrees: the chords built on the 1st, 5th, 6th and 4th notes of the key. In C major that is C, G, Am, F; in D major it is D, A, Bm, G.
Why is the chord on the 7th degree diminished?
Stacking scale notes on the 7th degree of a major key gives a minor 3rd and a diminished 5th (B, D, F in C major). That is a diminished triad, written vii°.
How do I transpose chords to another key?
Write each chord as a numeral in the old key, then read the same numerals in the new key. Here, choose the progression and press +1 or −1, or pick the new key; every chord changes with it.
Can I make my own progression?
Yes. Tap the chords of the key in the order you want; the progression switches to Your own. Press Play to loop it and Remove last to take a chord away.
Can I download the chord progression as MIDI?
Yes. Press MIDI and the progression is saved as a .mid file at your tempo and beats per chord, one chord per bar of 4 beats by default, played by a piano. Drag it into GarageBand, FL Studio, Ableton Live, Logic or any DAW and change the instrument there.
What chord progressions sound sad?
Progressions that start and rest on a minor chord: i - VI - III - VII (Am, F, C, G), i - iv - v (Am, Dm, Em) or vi - IV - I - V in a major key. Pick Sad in the Style menu to hear them, or press Random for more.
How do I play these chords on guitar or ukulele?
Choose Guitar or Ukulele under the progression. Each chord gets a chord box with the easiest shape: dots are where your fingers go, the number in a dot is the finger, an o is an open string and an x a string you do not play. Tap a box to hear the chord.