Melody to Chords
Got a hook in your head? Draw it, drop in a MIDI file, or hum it, and get chord progressions that fit underneath, the way trance producers would voice them. Then take it to the Studio.
Your melody
Click to place a note, drag sideways to hold it, click a note to remove it. Rows are the notes of the key.Chords that fit
The highlighted option plays with the melodySounds to load your MIDI into
Supersaw Essentials: 25 free trance presets for Vital, the free synth. Leads, plucks, pads and gated stabs, voiced for every tool on this site.
How it picks the chords
First it works out the key from the notes you've used. Then, for each bar (or every two bars), it scores every chord in that key by how well it fits the notes on top: notes on the beat count more than passing notes, longer notes count more than short ones, and a note that's the chord's root, third or fifth counts in its favour. It also rewards the chord moves trance leans on, like i–VI and VI–VII, and avoids sitting on one chord too long. The top few progressions are shown, best fit first.
Trance melodies often hold a note while the chord changes under it, which is what gives breakdowns their lift. If an option makes a held note sound tense, that's often the point. Try them all against your melody before you decide.
Humming a melody
Press Hum it, allow the microphone, and hum or whistle along after a one-bar count-in. Headphones help, so the click doesn't get picked up. Spotify's open-source Basic Pitch model turns your voice into notes, right here in the browser; nothing is recorded or sent anywhere. You can also import an audio file of a sung or played melody, or a MIDI file.
Questions
Why can I only place notes from the key?
It keeps every note in tune with the chords. Most trance hooks stay inside the key; if yours doesn't, change the key and the grid follows.
Can it handle a melody with lots of fast notes?
The grid works in 8th notes, which suits most trance leads. Faster runs still give good chords, because the notes on the beat matter most.
Can I use the chords in my music?
Yes. Chord progressions aren't owned by anyone, and the MIDI you export is yours.