Andrea
I recently came across this comment online, “you could know a lot of theory and still not have a good ear … plugins are a good way of learning to learn chords and theory.” There are a few you will come across online, including Chord Master, free chords, Cthulhu, Scaler, and Instachord, among others.
But which one should you put your money on?
DJK replies to this statement, “I own Cthulhu, Scaler and Istachord … Cthulhu is the best, probably because it fits into my workflow and the presets it has.”
To me, this is a good description of what the chord plugin should be. Something that fits your needs and gives you excellent service.
You should choose a chord generator plugin not only based on its features but also on how it fits in your workflow.
What is the best Chord generator plugin?
There are a lot of options online. Each product has its positive and negative sides.
Chord help users hone their music theory skills, both for beginners and seasoned drummers.
These tools can also improve your workflow while making keyboard training much easier.
In this case, it will be reviewing ten of the chord market has to offer. Many of them will show you how to use harmony and melody together.
Playing drums, or any other musical instrument can be easy. But learning and understanding music theory is something else.
The best chord generator exposes you to endless variations and melody combination. It lets you play or generate ideas that resequence, audition, and edit your nice DAW tools.
On this page you will find the Best DAW to choose from in [currentyear]!
And that is not all these plugins can do. You can always be sure to keep your harmonies and melodies in the correct key as your scale of your project.
Cthulhu is my favorite plugin. It is a paid MIDI generated plugin that acts as a chord and arp generator at the same time.
This chord generator requires routing to an instrument to work. Its interface is straight forward, with an arpeggiator on top of the chord generator.
Cthulhu comes with more than 150 presents, giving you a lot of room to play. The single note can generate a bunch of chords while taking into account the input’s velocity with the scales.
This means Cthulhu is a highly sophisticated chord generation and memorization tool. It also bears some of the editing features you can think of.
As if that is not enough, it also serves, at times, as an inspiration for incredible ideas from its vast presets.
It supports Windows and Mac OS.
Apart from Cthulhu, there are many other plugins you may want to look at.
10 Best Chord generator Plugins Reviewed
1. Scaler 2
This second release of the award-winning MIDI keyboard effect plugin comes with some of the most useful features. Put it all together; it can ease your woes concerning chords and scales.
The plugin is compatible with both Windows and Mac. And it lets the user discover their music’s key, and explore scales and chord sets. It comes with a large set of chord sets based on artist, genre, and mood.
Scaler 2 is a favourite product for a wide range of producers. Both beginners and novice music composers who are not adept at the technicality of music theory for scale music and chords will find it highly applicable.
2. InstaChord
I have used InstaChord many times, and I can confirm it’s one of the greatest, time-saving plugins for creating chord sets and progressions.
Its biggest advantage is the intuitive interface and a wide range of available presets, making it a wonderful starter pack. If you are not comfortable with music production, this is where you can find the right information.
It opens doors for amazing creativity. You can assign a key that will generate multiple chords within seconds.
This plugin helps the user customize their chord progression based on the wide range of action key features. The voicing options attuned to chords are a wonderful feature for you.
It is a hassle-free option for chord generation and progression compatible with many DAWs.
3. Captain Chords
Even though I have never used these Captain Chords before, I have seen what they can do. Besides, it is among the most popular plugin available today.
Like many other plugins, it offers excellent flexibility and effortless chord generation. But what makes it unique is the jamming mode function.
This feature lets one use their regular computer keyboard as a full-fledged instrument. It lets you write chords effectively using a bunch of features and your keyboard.
Creating the desired chord progression has never been easier. It features scale selection, adjustable knob, and chord length to make things extremely easy.
The software is compatible with Mac and Windows, both as AU and VST. Also, it allows a one-month money-back guarantee.
4. Tone Space
Many producers will connect with Tone Space when you mention a free of charge chord generating plugin. It is a wonderful tool that also doubles as a visualizer.
It was designed as an exceptional tool for understanding the scales and chord relations. It may not be the place for explicit education in music production for beginners, though. Its rigid grid-like structure and fit it to scale structure is specific to a certain level of knowledge.
Nevertheless, it features tons of inversions, scales, and chord types. This makes it potential for endless chord generation functions.
Another cool feature you may want to note is that it allows functionality and editing with a MIDI keyboard and a mouse.
Finest of all, it is a free plugin and easy for beginners. It is supported as VST, AU, and a standalone tool.
5. Chordz
When you think about free chord generation, I am sure nothing much comes in your mind concerning the features and functionality.
Well, I am sure you will think again after using Chordz.
This plugin appears on the list of the chord generation because of its functionality and performance. It is a popular product among many producers, beginners, and professionals alike.
Unfortunately, it is only compatible with the Windows operating system in 32-bit and 64-bit. This means Mac and Linux users will have to look somewhere else.
Despite that, Windows users will find the full range of in chords, followed by a single note from the instrument quite useful.
This is a free plugin. You should not, therefore, expect top-end features completely free.
It allows the randomization feature to generate unique wires. In addition, using Chordz does not require a lot of knowledge or energy.
6. Chord Composer
Chord Composer is another great plugin that comes from Intuitive Audio. It allows you to intuitively create, sequence, edit, and audition chord progression. It is a wonderful composition tool featuring a customizable progression builder, rhythm, visual chord charts, MIDI editing, and MIDI sequencing, among other features.
8. Chord Potion
Chord Potion, by Feel Your Sound, is a composition plugin you can use to create new harmonic phrases and melodies with moments. You use this to improve your songs and arrangements using a wide range of useful features.
9. Auto Theory 5
Mozaic Beats is a great company for audio plugins. Auto Theory is one of their best products that allows you to play chords and melodies in perfect key. It has a clever sequencer for chord generation, MIDI effects, and many other chord editing functions.
It is a standalone application that syncs with useful DAWs.
10. Liquid Notes
Liquid Notes from Re-Compose is a great tool that allows one to work with such notes, scales, and harmonic movement. These notes feature advanced harmony analysis and chord progressions algorithms for delivering beautiful chord progressions notes.
Conclusion
Many other useful chord progressions will assist you with your music notation. The ones I have reviewed above are among the top. Choose the right one based on your needs. My recommendation is Cthulhu.
