ChordMelo

What ChordMelo does

You type a chord progression — or pick one from a list — and ChordMelo writes three melodies that fit it. You can listen to them in the page, transpose them, view them as a score or guitar tab, and save any of them as a MIDI file.

It is built for the moment when you have a progression but no melody, and you want a starting point rather than a finished song. The three ideas are meant to be edited in your own DAW.

Rule-based, not a trained model

ChordMelo does not use a trained machine-learning model. Notes are chosen by rules written from music theory: chord tones on strong beats, scale degrees that fit the key, phrase shapes, leap limits and cadences.

That has two practical consequences. Nothing you type is sent to a model or used as training data — the generation happens on your own device. And the same input with the same seed always produces the same result, so a melody you liked can be reproduced from its URL.

What you do with the MIDI

A MIDI file holds notes and timing, not sound. Drag the downloaded file into Logic Pro, Ableton Live, FL Studio, Cubase, GarageBand, Studio One or any other DAW, point it at an instrument, and it plays with that instrument's sound.

This is why the output is useful even though it is free: you keep the note data and choose the sound yourself. The melody, drum and bass files line up on the same grid, so they can be stacked in one project.

From a progression to a MIDI file

1. 1Choose a progressionType chords like C | G | Am | F, or start from one of the presets. ChordMelo reads the key from what you entered.
2. 2Pick what to writeVocal melody, guitar lead or piano lead. Set the section (verse, chorus, solo) and a mood if you want to steer it.
3. 3Listen and compareThree ideas are generated at once. Play them in the page, see them as a piano roll, score or guitar tab, and change the key if needed.
4. 4Save the MIDIDownload the one you like and open it in your DAW. The reproduce URL lets you come back to the same result later.

The three generators are separate tools that share one grid. ChordMelo writes the melody, DrumMelo writes the drum pattern, BassMelo writes the bassline. Each one works on its own, and results can be handed from one to the next so the parts stay in the same key and tempo.

Three progressions to start from

• C | G | Am | FThe four chordsI–V–vi–IV. Used in pop across every decade. Resolves cleanly, so melodies sit on it easily — a safe place to start.
• Am | F | C | GStarting on the minorvi–IV–I–V. The same four chords rotated to begin on the minor. Darker at the opening, bright by the end.
• FM7 | G7 | Em7 | Am7The J-pop stapleIV–V–iii–vi. Common in Japanese pop. The seventh chords leave more room for the melody to move between chord tones.

See more progressions with example melodies →

Questions

Is it really free?

Yes. Generating, listening, transposing and saving MIDI are all free, with no account and no usage limit. Some pages carry ads, and some articles contain affiliate links, which is how the site is paid for.

Do I need to know music theory?

No. You can start from a preset progression and never type a chord symbol. If you want to understand what you are hearing, there is a theory series on the site.

Can I use the melodies in my own songs?

Yes, including commercially, with no attribution required. Because generated material can coincidentally resemble existing music, check your work before you release it.

Is this AI?

Not in the sense of a trained model. ChordMelo applies music-theory rules and a deterministic scoring pass. Nothing is generated by a neural network, and nothing you enter is used for training.

Which DAWs does it work with?

Any software that reads standard MIDI files — Logic Pro, Ableton Live, FL Studio, Cubase, Studio One, GarageBand, Reaper and others.