MIDI Chord Progression Generator
Type a chord progression, choose voicing and timing, then download a real Standard MIDI File you can open in a DAW, notation app or browser synth.
About this tool
Chord progressions are easy to type and annoying to turn into a file. This tool converts symbols such as C G Am F, Cmaj7 | Dm7 G7 | Cmaj7, C/E, Gsus4 and Bbmaj7 into a real Standard MIDI File you can download and drop into a DAW, notation app or sequencer.
The default makes one four-beat block chord per symbol at 120 BPM. Add :beats to a chord when a single slot should last a different length, for example C/E:2 F:2 G:4. Use R or rest for silence. The parser supports common triads, sevenths, sixths, ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, sus chords, diminished and augmented chords, sharps/flats and slash-bass chords.
Voicing controls shape the harmony before the file is written. Close keeps notes compact; Drop 2, Drop 3 and Spread open the chord out. Inversions can be fixed, or Smooth nearest voice-leading can choose the inversion closest to the previous chord. Double the bass note adds a lower octave for piano-pad sketches, and Transpose moves the whole output up or down.
Timing controls decide how the notes are laid out: block chords, arpeggio up/down/up-down, or a light strum. The arpeggio step controls how quickly notes are repeated inside the chord slot, and note length controls the gate. Tempo, beats per bar, velocity and General MIDI instrument are written into the MIDI file so most players open it with the same feel you preview here.
The output box shows a short summary, the voiced notes for each slot and a Download .mid button. The file is generated locally in WebAssembly; nothing is uploaded.
Limits and edge cases:
- This is a chord-symbol generator, not an audio renderer. It creates MIDI note events; the sound depends on the synth or DAW that opens the file.
- Chord spelling is practical rather than exhaustive. Use common symbols such as
m,7,maj7,m7,dim,aug,sus2,sus4,6,9,11and13. - Maximum input is 64 KiB and 512 chord slots, with a 20,000-note output cap.
- The file is format-0 Standard MIDI with one track, one General MIDI program and quarter-note-based timing.
- Smooth voice-leading is heuristic: it minimizes note movement between neighboring chords, but it is not a full arranging engine.
FAQ
Can I use bars or line breaks in the progression?
Yes. Spaces, commas, bars and line breaks all separate chord slots, so C G Am F, C | G | Am | F and one chord per line are equivalent. A :beats suffix such as C:2 overrides the default length for that one slot.
Does it make audio?
No. The download is a .mid file containing tempo, program-change and note events. Open it in a DAW, notation app, browser synth or media player to hear it, then choose any sound you want there.
What does Smooth inversion do?
It tries each inversion of the current chord and picks the one nearest to the previous voiced chord. That keeps repeated progressions from jumping around as much as fixed root-position voicings, while still staying deterministic and fast enough for WebAssembly.
How are slash chords handled?
A slash chord such as C/E uses the chord before the slash for the upper notes and places the slash note in the bass when possible. If you also enable bass doubling, that bass is doubled an octave lower.
Why does my chord symbol fail?
The parser accepts common pop, jazz and theory shorthand, but not every editorial notation system. Try a simpler spelling (Bbmaj7 instead of a fully annotated symbol), remove parenthesized alterations, or split complex voicings into the closest supported chord quality.
Developer & Automation Access
Run it from the terminal
Same engine as this page, headless — via the gizza CLI:
gizza tool midi-chord-progression-generator "C G Am F
Cmaj7 | Dm7 G7 | Cmaj7"New to the CLI? Get gizza →
Open it by URL
Pre-fill and auto-run this tool with query parameters — the names match the API/CLI:
https://gizza.ai/tools/midi-chord-progression-generator/?progression=C%20G%20Am%20F%0ACmaj7%20%7C%20Dm7%20G7%20%7C%20Cmaj7&tempo=120&beats_per_chord=4&beats_per_bar=4&octave=4&voicing=close&inversion=root&pattern=block&arp_note=eighth¬e_length=95&add_bass=true&transpose=0&velocity=96&instrument=acoustic-grand-pianoMachine-readable descriptor: tool.json — title + parameters JSON Schema for agents.