Chord Progression Generator

What is Chord Progression Generator ?

ChordCanvas is a free online chord progression maker. Build a progression beat by beat, hear it with piano, guitar, electric piano or pad sounds, add a drum loop, then download it as a PDF chord chart, a text file or an audio file. It works on desktop, tablet and mobile and needs no sign-up.

Step 1: Set the time signature

Under Time signature, choose how many beats each line has (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 12) and the note value for each beat (2, 4, 8 or 16). Need something else? Pick Type custom in either dropdown and enter your own number. Every line gets that many beat boxes, so 4/4 gives four boxes per line and 3/4 gives three.

Step 2: Choose a sound, play style and beat

Sound lets you pick Grand Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Piano or Warm Pad. Play style controls how notes are played: Auto picks the best style for the sound, Block plays all notes together, Strum rolls them like a guitar, and Arpeggio plays them one after another. Beat sound adds a drum loop in the background. There are 70 loops, grouped by style (pop, rock, ballads, funk, dance, hip-hop, Latin, jazz, world and more), plus a metronome click. Choosing a beat sound gives you a short preview. Changing it while the music is playing updates the playback straight away.

Step 3: Add chords to the beat boxes

Tap any beat box to open the chord editor. Choose a root note and a chord type from the dropdowns, add a bass note for slash chords such as C/E, or click keys on the piano to build your own chord. Use the arrows to move to the next or previous box without closing the editor, press Hear to listen, and press Done when you finish. Each box takes the colour of its chord, so you can spot patterns at a glance.

Split a beat into several chords

Press Split on a box to fit two, three or four chords inside one beat, for example A | B+C | C | Dmaj. Press the join button on the box to remove the last split.

Copy chords with drag and drop

Drag a chord from one box and drop it on another to copy it, so you never have to pick the same chord twice. Hold Shift while dropping to move it instead of copying. On a phone or tablet, press and hold a chord for a moment, then drag.

Work with lines

Press Add line to start a new row of beat boxes. Each line also has buttons to play from that line, duplicate it, clear its chords or delete it. Clear all removes everything and starts fresh.

Try a preset progression

Press Preset progressions to see popular chord progressions that match your beats per line. Pick a key, choose Add as new lines or Replace board, then tap a progression to load it. Examples include I-V-vi-IV pop, 50s doo-wop, Pachelbel Canon, jazz ii-V-I, Andalusian cadence and the 12-bar blues. Use them as they are or edit any chord afterwards.

Play, loop and change the tempo

Use the large play button to start and pause, the arrow buttons to jump between lines, and stop to rewind. Switch on Loop to repeat the progression smoothly, with the last chord ringing into the first. The playing chord is highlighted with a moving playhead, and you can keep scrolling the page while it plays. Use the BPM slider or the plus and minus buttons to change the speed, and the Volume slider to set the level from 0 to 200 percent. Both can be changed during playback.

Transpose to any key

Use the Transpose buttons to move the whole progression up or down by up to 12 semitones and hear it in a new key. Press Apply to make the new chords permanent in the boxes.

Download your progression

Press Download, type a file name, then choose a format. PDF gives you a printable chord chart. Text gives you a simple file you can paste anywhere. WAV is lossless audio, and MP3 is a compact audio file you can share. Audio files use your current sound, play style, beat sound, tempo and transpose settings. Your file name is used for every format, and PDF and text files carry the IndiPiano.com credit.

Tips

Switch between light and dark mode with the moon button, and use the full screen button for more room. Try the same progression with different sounds and beat loops to hear how the mood changes. Slower tempos and the Warm Pad suit ballads, while the Acoustic Guitar with a strum works well for folk and pop.