Acoustica
Cherry Audio

The Chord System

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THE CHORD SYSTEM

Mixcraft 11 introduces a comprehensive chord creation, playback, and editing system built into every virtual instrument track. Whether you want to sketch a progression before you can play it, perform chords live from a single key, or see guitar fingerings for the chords in your song, the chord system has you covered.

The chord system spans several tightly integrated pieces:

  • [The Chord Lane](/mixcraft-11-manual/chord-lane-and-chord-blobs) — a dedicated lane above the piano roll where chord "blobs" represent chord events. Move them, resize them, transpose them, and Mixcraft keeps the harmony organized.

  • [The Chord Browser Panel](/mixcraft-11-manual/chord-browser-panel) — browse, audition, and place chords by root, quality, and inversion, with palettes ranging from basic triads to jazz and gospel voicings.

  • [Chord Play](/mixcraft-11-manual/chord-play) — a live performance engine that plays full chords from single MIDI keys, using a library of 116 curated styles across 32 genre categories: arpeggios, strums, pads, and rhythmic patterns.

  • [Guitar Tab Diagrams](/mixcraft-11-manual/guitar-tab-diagrams) — display chords as guitar tablature diagrams with proper fingerings, for a dozen instruments and tunings.

  • [Detect Chords from Notes](/mixcraft-11-manual/detect-chords-from-notes) — automatically analyze existing MIDI and label its chords.

  • [Custom Chord Palettes and Styles](/mixcraft-11-manual/custom-chord-palettes-and-styles) (Pro Studio) — build your own chord palettes and playback styles, embedded in your project so they travel with it.

CHORDS FOLLOW YOUR PROJECT KEY

Chord blobs are harmony-aware. When a clip's key or scale changes, chord blobs automatically transpose to match. If you'd rather a chord keep its exact quality through a key change, right-click it and enable Keep Chord Type. You can also lock any chord blob to a specific scale with the Set Scale submenu (Chromatic through Blues).

CHORDS EVERYWHERE

Chord blobs aren't limited to the piano roll. They appear and can be edited in the notation view (as overlays with chord symbols above the staff), in the step editor, and their chord symbols can be displayed alongside your lyrics in the karaoke view.