Sketch chord progressions in any key. Click diatonic chords into the progression bar, hit play, and hear them back instantly. Toggle between chord symbols, Roman numerals and Nashville numbers — same progression, three notations.
Key & mode
Progression
Diatonic chords in C major
Preset progressions
What is a chord progression?
A chord progression is a sequence of chords played in order — the harmonic backbone of a piece of music. This free online progression generator lets you build, hear and notate progressions in any key, switching between chord symbols, Roman numerals, and Nashville numbers as you go.
How to use
Six steps from blank slate to copied-out chart. Same flow whether you're writing a song or showing a student how I–V–vi–IV works.
Select any of the 12 keys (C through B) and toggle between Major and Minor. The diatonic chord palette below updates immediately — these are the seven chords that naturally belong to your chosen key.
Each click in the palette appends a chord to the next empty slot in the progression bar. Build a four-, eight-, or twelve-chord sequence. Click the X on any slot to remove it; the rest shift left.
Choose I–V–vi–IV, ii–V–I, 12-bar blues, vi–IV–I–V or another classic from the preset library — they fill the progression in one click. Tweak from there.
Drag the BPM slider or use the +/− buttons. Press Play (or the spacebar). The progression loops, one chord per bar in 4/4, with a soft triangle-wave pad voicing.
Switch between chord symbols (C, Am, G), Roman numerals (I, vi, V) and Nashville numbers (1, 6m, 5) to match how you write charts. Same progression, three notations.
Hit Copy to put the current progression on your clipboard in your chosen notation — paste straight into a chord chart, lesson note, or songbook draft.
FAQ
What tutors and learners ask us about chord progressions, music theory, and how to use the builder.
Notes from the workshop
Swap the key and the same Roman numerals stay put — only the chord symbols change. That visual stability is the whole point of Roman and Nashville notation: a I–V–vi–IV in C is the same shape as in G or A♭, and the builder shows that in real time.
The diatonic palette is generated from the major / natural-minor scale formulas — no shortcuts and no presets baked in. Pick any of the 12 keys in either mode and you get the seven chords that belong there, with the correct qualities (major, minor, diminished).
Playback uses simple triangle-wave synthesis through the Web Audio API. Not a sampled instrument — a clean reference pad to hear how the chord movement sounds. Build it here, play it on your guitar.
Pro tip
"Teach a student a single progression in Roman numerals before you teach them five in specific keys. Transposition becomes automatic."
— From the journal
Pair it with
Chord chart generator →
A progression is the spine of every song; pulling one apart in a lesson is one of the highest-leverage teaching moments. These pieces and tools pair with it.
Where progression-building sits in the five-block lesson structure (the theory/listening block) and how to make the analysis stick.
The companion analysis tool — drop in the notes from a chord and find every progression context it fits.
Print clean diagrams for each chord in the progression you built — perfect for student handouts.