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Random Key Generator

Current key

C Ionian (major)

Notes in the key

  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • A
  • B

Same notes as C major (8B) and A minor (8A)

Chord path

  • IC
  • VG
  • viAm
  • IVF

Choose, or lock to keep on the next roll

Recent keys

Roll a key and it will be listed here.

A random key generator that prints the notes it rolls

A key is a root, a mode and the seven notes between them. The generator draws all three, shows the notes as they land, and offers a short chord path that stays inside the mode you were given.

Twelve roots and nine modes

Every roll starts from one of the twelve roots and one of nine modes: the seven diatonic modes from Ionian to Locrian, plus the harmonic and melodic minors.

A chord path that belongs to the key

Each mode carries three progressions in Roman numerals with every chord named in the key, so vi reads Am in C Ionian and the chords shown belong to the key you were given.

Lock whatever you want to keep

A lock holds the root, the mode or the chord path in place, so the next roll only moves the parts you left free.

How it works

Roll a key in three moves

1

Roll a key, or pick one

Press next key and the generator draws a root, a mode and one of that mode's chord paths, or set any of the three yourself from its menu.

2

Read and hear the notes

The seven notes are listed under the key, one letter each, and the scale and the chord path can be played back before you take them to an instrument or a piano roll.

3

Lock or copy

Lock the root you like, or copy the key, its notes and its chord path as text you can paste anywhere.

Keys, modes and chords, without an account

12 roots

The twelve roots a roll can land on, each key spelled with every letter once, so Ab Ionian reads Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F and G.

9 modes

Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian, plus harmonic and melodic minor, each with its own pattern of semitones.

3 progressions

Every mode carries three chord paths in Roman numerals, and one of them is drawn on each roll.

0 credits

No generation job is submitted, so a roll costs nothing and needs no account.

Who rolls a key with this generator

Songwriters stuck on a root

Roll until a root and a mode sound like the mood you are after, then write against the notes it prints.

Producers starting a beat

Keep a root you already like, roll the mode, and take a chord path as the first idea in a new project.

Teachers setting an exercise

Draw a key for a student to write in, or lock the mode and vary the root through a whole lesson.

Random Key Generator FAQ









Take the key into a session

Use the key you rolled as the starting point for a track, or check the key of something you already recorded.