• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Random Chord progression generator?

D

d8g3jdh

Aug 9, 2005
3,267
12
38
#1
I was hoping to find a program that creates random chords, say over a 12 bar blues, that i can just practice playing over. Does such a thing exist, or am i doomed to write them out by hand (not what i want to do, isnt exactly random). I hope im describing this right...
 
#3
Its tough to describe, but something where there are no notes, only chords written above the staff on the left side of the bar. For example Bb for 4 bars, D for 2, G for 2 and then Bb for 4 more. Only i wont know what they are until they appear, and the number of bars and the chords themelves will be different every time. Not something that creates back tracks, although that is an interesting suggestion

Hope im describing this right...
 
#7
brianrost said:
If you think you can use random chords over a 12 bar blues, you need to explore how chords are constructed some more!!!
Click to expand...

Yes, but i know you cant use random chords over a 12 bar blues. It was just an example

As a side note, whats a good resource for learning about how chords are constructed?
 
#8
Grug said:
Yes, but i know you cant use random chords over a 12 bar blues. It was just an example

As a side note, whats a good resource for learning about how chords are constructed?
Click to expand...

If you want to know about chords and chord progressions, that's harmony theory. Also, when constructing a chord progression, you have to take into account consonant and disconsonant intervals. Some chords change well to together, some don't. It's all about how certain frequencies behave and work together.

So any good book on the theory of harmony could be what you're looking for.
 
#9
My teacher uses a very sophisticated random chord progression generator: it's called a die.

Pick a key. (Say "G major"). Then roll the die; if it comes up 2, for example, that's your first chord (the II chord), in this case A minor). Then roll again, and so on.

By the way, this is a licensed system. Fortunately, I'm a distributor and take Pay Pal.
 
#10
Why do you want random chords? If you're looking for a sequence to improvise over, the randomness will work against the goal of learning about music. If you're looking for chord sequences that are musical but are unfamiliar to you, try the Vanilla Book. If you're looking for something that's more rocky, how about doing a search for "rock song chords" or similar - the Invalid Link Removed I got from Google seems to fit the bill of what I think you're after.

Wulf
 
#11
RiddimKing said:
My teacher uses a very sophisticated random chord progression generator: it's called a die.

Pick a key. (Say "G major"). Then roll the die; if it comes up 2, for example, that's your first chord (the II chord), in this case A minor). Then roll again, and so on.

By the way, this is a licensed system. Fortunately, I'm a distributor and take Pay Pal.
Click to expand...

As always, the simplist answer seems the best. I'm stealing your system and using it and theres nothing you can do about it. If only i had a seven sided die...

Random was not the right word in this post. I was just looking for something that creates a series of chords to play over, and while the structure of the chords wouldnt be random the chords themselves would be different every time.

I guess i said random because i was planning on using this as a method of getting to know the fretboard better. ill check out those links wulf, thanks

Edit: And now i feel like i know nothing about chords. Anyone got a good resource on harmony that is maybe free on the internet?
 
#12
The first thing to know about chords is THEY ARE NOT RANDOM. Chords are chosen based on the MELODY, even with very simple melodies.

The goal is to have the current melody note be a chord tone. Certainly simple melodies (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday, etc.) work that way. The whole concept of "reharmonizing" that's used in jazz is to take an existing melody but set it to different chords than the original composition used. While you can play Happy Birthday with just 3 chords, you can play it changing chords on each melody note if you like.
 
#18
JDT said:
Actually, just grab a program that can create random numbers (Excel if you have it). Who needs dies when you have computers:)
Click to expand...

Exactly. :)

Here is an example of a simple "Random" chord generator in excel.

However I agree with whoever above said that random chords might not help you as much as you think. Instead, just grab Levine's book, or any of the Abersold books, or a Real book, and use those progressions.

First row of 15 is just random notes. The next row is notes with a chord quality attached. I just made Maj, m, Maj7, m7, and 7 qualities. You can add more pretty easily.
 

Attachments

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back