Chord Progression Generator Beta
Play chords, see them named, and build progressions learned from real songs — free, in your browser.
Play Musicpham's keyboard
Play a key
Chord—
Sound loads when you first play.
Chord Progression
Click From, play a chord to set the start — then do the same for To.
Use touch, your mouse, or the computer keys shown. Set From and To chords to hear how real songs travel between them.
How it works
- Pick a genre. Pop, rock, country, jazz, metal, punk, soul, or reggae. Each genre has its own chord habits, learned from real songs.
- Set From and To. Play a chord on the keyboard to set your starting chord, then another one as the target. No AI involved: the generator finds the routes between them that songs in that genre actually take.
- Listen and explore. Hear the progression on the piano, switch variants, and play it in any of 12 major and 9 minor keys.
Common chord progressions
A quick chart of progressions worth knowing. The Roman numerals name each chord by its scale degree, so every progression works in any key: I–V–vi–IV means C, G, Am, F in C major and G, D, Em, C in G major. The circle of fifths shows which chords live in each key.
| Progression | In C major | Where you know it from |
|---|---|---|
| I–V–vi–IV | C – G – Am – F | A widely used four-chord loop with clear major-to-minor contrast. |
| I–IV–V | C – F – G | The backbone of rock and roll, folk, and the 12-bar blues. |
| ii–V–I | Dm – G – C | The classic jazz turnaround. Smooth, resolved, endlessly reusable. |
| I–vi–IV–V | C – Am – F – G | The 1950s doo-wop progression, still everywhere in ballads. |
| vi–IV–I–V | Am – F – C – G | The four chords starting on the minor. Moodier, very common in pop. |
The blues stretches the same idea into a form: the 12-bar blues cycles through I, IV, and V over twelve bars. Set any of these chords as From and To above and hear how real songs move between them.
Questions
What is a chord progression?
A chord progression is a sequence of chords played one after another. It gives a song its sense of movement and mood. Progressions are usually written with Roman numerals like I, IV, and V, which name each chord by its position in the key.
What is the most common chord progression?
There is no single reliable universal answer because the result changes by genre and dataset. This generator analyzes adjacent chord moves rather than complete progression counts. I–V–vi–IV is nevertheless a widely used major-key pattern and a useful one to learn first. In C major, it is C, G, Am, F.
Where do the progressions come from?
From real songs, not AI. The generator uses chord statistics from the Chordonomicon dataset, which covers hundreds of thousands of songs across pop, rock, country, jazz, metal, punk, soul, and reggae. It suggests the routes between chords that songs in your chosen genre actually take.
How do I make my own chord progression?
Pick a genre, click From, and play a chord on the keyboard to set your starting point. Then set a To chord the same way. The generator fills in the steps between them the way real songs do. Try a few variants, and change the key until it fits your voice or instrument.
Can I use these progressions in my own songs?
Yes. Chord progressions are common building blocks of music, and the same few progressions appear in thousands of songs. Melodies and lyrics are protected by copyright, but chord progressions in general are not.
Does it work on phones and tablets?
Yes. The keyboard responds to touch, and the whole tool runs in the browser. There is nothing to install.