sonetta studio

Build a progression by ear.

Try chords on the words of your verse and hear each one.

Download for Mac

Free, with unlimited songs and no account to create.

Chords in your key

Writing in G? The seven chords of the key are listed, with the two from outside it that songs in G borrow most. Pro

The chord wheel

Some chords you can hear but can’t name. The chord wheel sets the major and minor chords in rings round a circle for you to try by ear. The chords of your key are lit. Pro

Hear it first

Guitar players hear their chords strummed as real shapes, and piano players hear them struck on a piano. Before a chord goes in, you can hear it in its place, after the chord before it.

Loop and sing

You have the verse’s chords and no tune yet. Sonetta Studio plays them round at the verse’s tempo while you sing over them, and keeps going while you record. Pro

Nashville numbers

Many session players read chords as Nashville numbers. Each number is the chord’s place in the key. A song in G can show its G, D, Em and C as 1 5 6m 4. Pro

Questions about chord progressions

Does it suggest chords?

Yes. On Free and Pro, Sonetta Studio suggests variations of the chord you have, such as Em7 or Esus4 for an Em. On Pro it lists the key’s chords as well, and Review, the notes the app keeps on a draft in the panel beside it, names each section’s harmony.

Can I take the chords into a music program?

Yes, on Pro. Sonetta Studio saves a MIDI file with the chords, the words and a marker for each section. The tempo, time signature and key go with them, and so does a melody whose notes you’ve detected. Beta GarageBand, Logic and Ableton open it.

Can I use a capo?

Yes. With a capo set, the guitar sound strums each chord as the shape you play from that fret. Capo charts and printing are on the lyrics and chords page. More about lyrics and chords →

Is it free?

Yes, with unlimited songs. Hearing any chord, its variations, the whole wheel and naming a chord from its notes are free. Pro adds the key’s chords, chords as numbers, the loop to sing over and MIDI export. Bars of chords for an intro or solo are free, and Pro lets a chord last part of a bar.

Download Sonetta Studio.

Download for Mac

Free, with unlimited songs. Pro is $49, once.