This application is a powerful tool for musical inspiration, helping you generate and explore harmonically rich chord progressions. Chord Tripper uses a sophisticated algorithm to create unique, musically coherent progressions based on the common practices of various genres.
The goal of Chord Tripper is to break creative blocks and deepen your understanding of harmony by connecting the abstract theory of progressions with the physical layout of the guitar fretboard and piano keyboard. It's a practice tool, a songwriting assistant, and a harmony explorer all in one.
How to Use
Generate Progression: Click the Refresh (↻) button to generate a new chord progression. The app will generate a new sequence in a random musical key and style.
Toggle View: Use the Keys/Frets button to switch between the piano keyboard and guitar fretboard displays.
Locking Style & Key: To focus on a specific style or key, select it from the dropdown menu and click the Lock (Lock icon) icon next to it. The icon will turn red and lock your choice. Future progressions will then be generated using your locked parameter, while any unlocked parameter will remain random. To unlock, simply click the lock icon again.
Load/Save State: Use the folder (Folder icon) and disk (Disk icon) icons to load and save your session. Saving copies a special text string to your clipboard. To load, click the folder, paste the text string into the box that appears, and click "Load".
Progression Display: The generated progression is shown as a sequence of Roman numerals. Below the numerals, a name like "Blues Turnaround" may appear if the progression matches a known musical form.
Explore & Hear Chords: Click any of the Chord Buttons to see all of its notes highlighted on the current instrument. If audio is enabled, you will also hear the chord played on a soft piano.
Views Menu (☰): This menu in the header contains all display options:
Audio: Toggle chord playback sounds On or Off.
CAGED, Side, Frets, Tuning: (Fretboard View Only) These options allow you to customize the guitar display, including CAGED overlays, handedness, fret count, and alternate tunings.
Colours: Switch between a polychrome and monochrome color scheme for both views.
Musical Rules & Algorithmic Design
The core of the generator is a set of "personality profiles" for different musical genres (e.g., Pop, Rock, Jazz, Funk). Each profile is a collection of weighted musical rules that guides the algorithm's choices, creating progressions that feel stylistically authentic.
Key Components of Genre Profiles:
Chord Palette: This is the list of available chords for a genre. It goes beyond simple major and minor chords to include sophisticated harmony. For example, the 'Jazz' palette includes extended chords like `maj7` and `m7b5`, while the 'Rock' palette includes chords common in modal interchange, like `♭VII` and `♭VI`.
Starting Points: Each profile defines the most common starting chords for that genre using probabilities. For instance, 'Pop' progressions have a high probability of starting on the `I` or `vi` chord, reflecting common practice.
Transition Matrix: This is the engine of the generator. It's a complex web of probabilities that dictates the likelihood of moving from any given chord to another. For example:
In most styles, a `V` chord has a very high probability of resolving to a `I` chord (an authentic cadence).
The matrix also includes rules for deceptive cadences (e.g., `V` moving to `vi`), plagal cadences (`IV` to `I`), and common two-chord vamps found in genres like 'Funk' (`i-IV`).
Secondary dominants (like a `III7` chord leading to a `vi` chord) are also included in the palettes and transition rules for relevant genres.
By using this weighted, probabilistic model, the app can generate a virtually endless supply of progressions that are unique yet sound intentional and musically coherent.