A chord progression generator can help songwriters, producers, and musicians quickly experiment with combinations of chords for songs, beats, melodies, and instrumental sections. It's especially useful when you're stuck playing the same familiar progressions and want to discover a different harmonic direction.

Don't assume that a progression has to stay entirely within one key. Borrowed chords, secondary dominants, inversions, and unexpected chord changes can give a progression a completely different emotional character. Even changing one chord in an otherwise familiar progression can make it feel new.

Pay attention to the order of the chords, not just the individual chords themselves. The same four chords can produce very different feelings when rearranged. You can also experiment with changing the bass note while keeping most of the chord intact. This creates inversions and can make transitions between chords sound smoother.

Another useful songwriting technique is to create your melody after choosing the progression, but don't be afraid to change the chords afterward. Sometimes a melody will reveal a more interesting harmonic possibility than the original progression.

You can also try playing the generated progression at different tempos and with different instruments. A progression that sounds dramatic on piano might feel completely different when played with guitar, synths, or strings.

Tip: Don't automatically reject a progression because one chord sounds unusual. Loop the entire progression several times and listen to how that unexpected chord functions in context. Sometimes the chord that initially sounds “wrong” becomes the most memorable part of the progression.

Related Pages:

Types Of Non-Chord Tones (Also Called Non-Harmonic Tones)

What Is An Arpeggio? A Full Breakdown Of Its Possibilities