Lionel’s Free MIDI Sketchpad
Describe a vibe or dial it in. Chords, bass and topline, ready for your DAW. Jump start your creative juices!
The zip holds separate chords, bass and topline files plus one with all tracks. Unzip and drag the .mid files into your DAW.
Free MIDI chord progression, bassline and melody generator
Lionel’s Free MIDI Sketchpad is a browser-based idea machine for composers, beatmakers and film and game producers. Choose a style, a mood, a time signature and a length, or just type what you want, and it writes a chord progression, a bassline and a topline you can audition instantly and export as MIDI for Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Cubase, Reaper or any DAW.
What makes the progressions sound human
Instead of repeating one chord per bar, the generator adds chord lead-ins such as ii–V approaches, tritone substitutions and turnarounds at the end of phrases. Voicings shift inside a bar, chords can push in early like a real pianist, and basslines walk in jazz, fill into the next chord in pop and roll in trance and synthwave.
Styles and genres
- Eastern European
- Klezmer / Freygish
- Epic Cinematic
- Heroic / Hopeful
- Dark Thriller / Horror
- Noir / Jazz
- Spaghetti Western
- Sci-Fi / Wonder
- Celtic / Folk Fantasy
- Spanish / Flamenco
- Neo-classical Piano
- Middle Eastern / Arabic
- Japanese / Zen
- Chinese / East Asian
- Indian / Raga
- Afrobeat / West African
- Bossa / Brazilian
- Reggae / Caribbean
- Nordic Folk
- Gypsy Jazz / Manouche
- Uplifting Trance
- Goa / Psytrance
- Baroque
- Classical Era
- Romantic Era
- Impressionist
- Minimalist
- Medieval / Modal
- Pop Ballad
- Lo-fi / Chill
- Synthwave
- Gospel / Soul
- Tango Argentino
How it works and where the music comes from
This is not an AI music model. It has no training data, no samples, and no database of songs, recordings or MIDI files. It is rule-based software: a set of chord patterns and scales from general music theory (such as i–VI–III–VII, the Phrygian dominant scale or a ii–V–I), plus rules for rhythm, voice leading and basslines. Every result is assembled fresh from random choices within those rules.
Nothing is copied from any artist, composer or recording. Style names such as Baroque, Spaghetti Western or Afrobeat are only labels for which scales and progressions to use. The rules were written from general music-theory knowledge.
Treat every result as a sketch: something to rework, reharmonize and make your own. Simple progressions and short melodies are shared by thousands of songs, so a result may occasionally resemble something that exists. Listen with care before you release anything. Nothing you generate is sent anywhere or stored by this page.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free?
Yes. No account, no sign-up, and nothing is uploaded. Everything runs in your browser.
Do I need to choose a key?
No. The key is random unless you pick one, and the result shows the key and scale so you can transpose in your DAW.
How do I get the MIDI into my DAW?
Click a clip to save a .mid file, or drag it onto a MIDI track in Chrome or Edge. You get separate files for chords, bass, topline and counter-melody, plus one file with every track.
Which time signatures and lengths are supported?
2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/8, 7/8, 9/8 and 12/8, with 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 or 32 bars, plus 12-bar blues, canon and 32-bar AABA forms.
Is it trained on existing music or copying musicians?
No. There is no AI model, training data or song database in it. It uses general music-theory patterns and rules to build new material each time, and it never looks up or copies a specific recording or composition.
Can I describe it in plain words?
Yes. Type something like “lively Eastern European 8 bar progression for accordion” and the settings fill in for you.
Made by DNA Productions.