{"id":540,"date":"2026-06-17T21:04:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/?p=540"},"modified":"2026-06-19T23:45:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T23:45:52","slug":"build-a-song-help-troubleshooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/build-a-song-help-troubleshooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Chord Progression Lab \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chord Progression Lab \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<!-- Chord Progression Lab \u2014 Help & Troubleshooting -->\n<!-- Paste this into a Custom HTML block in WordPress -->\n\n<style>\n.bas-guide { max-width: 800px; margin: 0 auto; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.7; color: inherit; }\n.bas-guide h2 { font-size: 1.4em; margin: 2em 0 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom: 1px solid #e0e0e0; }\n.bas-guide h3 { font-size: 1.1em; margin: 1.6em 0 0.4em; }\n.bas-guide p { margin: 0 0 1em; }\n.bas-guide ul, .bas-guide ol { margin: 0 0 1em 1.5em; padding: 0; }\n.bas-guide li { margin-bottom: 0.4em; }\n.bas-guide code { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; background: #f4f4f4; padding: 2px 5px; border-radius: 3px; }\n.bas-guide pre { background: #f4f4f4; border-left: 3px solid #ccc; padding: 1em; overflow-x: auto; border-radius: 3px; margin: 0 0 1em; }\n.bas-guide pre code { background: none; padding: 0; }\n.bas-guide table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0 0 1.5em; font-size: 0.95em; }\n.bas-guide th { background: #f4f4f4; text-align: left; padding: 8px 12px; border: 1px solid #ddd; font-weight: 600; }\n.bas-guide td { padding: 8px 12px; border: 1px solid #ddd; vertical-align: top; }\n.bas-guide blockquote { border-left: 3px solid #ccc; margin: 1em 0; padding: 0.6em 1.2em; background: #fafafa; color: #555; border-radius: 0 3px 3px 0; }\n.bas-guide blockquote p:last-child { margin: 0; }\n.bas-guide a { color: inherit; }\n.bas-guide strong { font-weight: 600; }\n<\/style>\n\n<div class=\"bas-guide\">\n\n<p>Welcome! <strong>Chord Progression Lab<\/strong> is a music-theory sketchpad. Pick a key, pick a style, and the app instantly builds a playable chord progression that you can listen to, watch on a piano keyboard, and share as a standard MIDI file.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Getting Started<\/h2>\n\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>Pick a Key<\/strong> \u2014 the tonal center your song is built around (C, D, F\u266f, etc.).<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Pick a Theory Approach<\/strong> \u2014 the chord-progression template (Pop, Jazz, Flamenco, Gamelan, and many more).<\/li>\n  <li><em>(Optional)<\/em> Add <strong>Dissonance<\/strong> for extra tension, and drag the <strong>Tempo<\/strong> slider to set the speed.<\/li>\n  <li>Tap <strong>Play<\/strong> to hear it, or <strong>Share<\/strong> to export a MIDI file.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p>Every time you change a setting, the song is regenerated automatically and the MIDI export is refreshed \u2014 what you hear is always what you share.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What Each Control Does<\/h2>\n\n<h3>Key<\/h3>\n<p>The note the song revolves around. The same progression sounds higher or lower in different keys, but keeps the same emotional shape. If you&#8217;re singing along, pick the key that fits your voice.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Theory Approach<\/h3>\n<p>A library of chord-progression templates spanning many traditions:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Western popular<\/strong> \u2014 Pop (I\u2011V\u2011vi\u2011IV), Doo-Wop, Pachelbel, Jazz (ii\u2011V\u2011I), 12\u2011Bar Blues, Circle of Fifths, Andalusian, Epic Minor<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Rock &amp; Punk<\/strong> \u2014 power-chord driven I\u2011\u266dVII\u2011IV and I\u2011IV\u2011V patterns<\/li>\n  <li><strong>World \u2014 Asia<\/strong> \u2014 Indian Raga (Bhairav), Arabic Maqam (Hijaz), East Asian Pentatonic (G\u014dng), Japanese (Hiraj\u014dshi), Gamelan (Slendro)<\/li>\n  <li><strong>World \u2014 Europe<\/strong> \u2014 Klezmer (Freygish), Flamenco (Phrygian), Celtic (Mixolydian), Slavic Minor, Balkan (7\/8)<\/li>\n  <li><strong>World \u2014 Americas \/ Africa \/ Pacific<\/strong> \u2014 West African Highlife, Bossa Nova, Reggae, Hawaiian Slack Key<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Experimental<\/strong> \u2014 Avant-Garde (atonal quartal chords and clusters)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Each style also picks a recommended tempo when you select it.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Dissonance<\/h3>\n<p>Adds extra tension notes on top of every chord.<\/p>\n\n<table>\n  <thead>\n    <tr>\n      <th>Setting<\/th>\n      <th>What it adds<\/th>\n      <th>Sounds like<\/th>\n    <\/tr>\n  <\/thead>\n  <tbody>\n    <tr>\n      <td><strong>Off<\/strong><\/td>\n      <td>Nothing \u2014 clean triads and 7ths<\/td>\n      <td>Smooth, traditional<\/td>\n    <\/tr>\n    <tr>\n      <td><strong>Spicy (+9)<\/strong><\/td>\n      <td>A bright 9th<\/td>\n      <td>Jazzy, modern<\/td>\n    <\/tr>\n    <tr>\n      <td><strong>Dissonant (\u266d9)<\/strong><\/td>\n      <td>A biting half-step<\/td>\n      <td>Tense, noir<\/td>\n    <\/tr>\n    <tr>\n      <td><strong>Crush (\u266d9 + \u266f11)<\/strong><\/td>\n      <td>Maximum tension<\/td>\n      <td>Experimental, dramatic<\/td>\n    <\/tr>\n  <\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<h3>Tempo<\/h3>\n<p>Playback speed in beats per minute (BPM), from 40 (very slow) to 200 (very fast). Switching styles resets the tempo to a value that fits that style \u2014 drag the slider afterward if you want to override it.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Sequence<\/h3>\n<p>The chord chart, shown left-to-right. Roman numerals describe each chord&#8217;s role in the key:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Uppercase<\/strong> = major chord (I, IV, V)<\/li>\n  <li><strong>lowercase<\/strong> = minor chord (i, ii, vi)<\/li>\n  <li><strong>\u00b0<\/strong> = diminished<\/li>\n  <li><strong>+<\/strong> = augmented<\/li>\n  <li><strong>\u266d<\/strong> = degree lowered by a half step (\u266dVII, \u266dIII)<\/li>\n  <li><strong>sus2 \/ sus4<\/strong> = suspended chords<\/li>\n  <li><strong>5<\/strong> = power chord (root + 5th + octave)<\/li>\n  <li><strong>maj7 \/ m7 \/ 7<\/strong> = seventh chords<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>The currently playing chord lights up and scales slightly as the song moves through the progression.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Keyboard<\/h3>\n<p>Every note in the chord that&#8217;s currently sounding is highlighted on the piano, so you can see the voicing and finger it on a real instrument.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Play \/ Stop<\/h3>\n<p>Toggles playback through the on-device synthesizer. No external audio file or internet connection is needed.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Share<\/h3>\n<p>Exports the current sequence as a standard <code>.mid<\/code> file using iOS&#8217;s share sheet. You can AirDrop it, send it via Messages or Mail, save it to Files, or open it directly in GarageBand, Logic, Ableton, FL Studio, or any DAW that reads MIDI.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n\n<h3>I tap Play but I don&#8217;t hear anything<\/h3>\n<p>Try each of these in order:<\/p>\n\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>Check the silent switch<\/strong> on the side of your iPhone or iPad \u2014 if it&#8217;s flipped to silent (orange showing), the synthesizer is muted.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Turn the volume up<\/strong> with the hardware buttons.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Unplug headphones<\/strong> (or re-plug them) if audio routing seems stuck. Try toggling Bluetooth headphones off and back on.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Stop other audio<\/strong> \u2014 if another app is holding the audio session (a phone call, FaceTime, certain music apps), the synth may not be heard. Close that app and try again.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Force-quit and reopen Chord Progression Lab<\/strong>: swipe up from the bottom (or double-press Home), then swipe the Chord Progression Lab card up.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Restart your device<\/strong> if the issue persists.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h3>The Play button is greyed out<\/h3>\n<p>This means the sequence is empty. Pick any <strong>Key<\/strong> and <strong>Theory Approach<\/strong> \u2014 a sequence will appear and Play will become tappable.<\/p>\n\n<h3>The audio is crackly, glitchy, or cuts out<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Make sure no other audio-intensive apps are running in the background.<\/li>\n  <li>Lower the tempo \u2014 at very high BPMs with dense chords (Avant-Garde Crush, for example), the synth has more notes to manage.<\/li>\n  <li>Restart the app.<\/li>\n  <li>If you&#8217;re on very old hardware, the on-device synthesizer may struggle with the most dissonant settings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Playback sounds out of time \/ drags<\/h3>\n<p>The synthesizer runs on-device and shares CPU with everything else on your system. If you&#8217;re recording the screen, on a phone call, or running heavy background apps at the same time, the timing can slip. The exported <strong>MIDI file is always perfectly in time<\/strong> \u2014 use it in a DAW for a clean recording.<\/p>\n\n<h3>&#8220;Share&#8221; doesn&#8217;t appear \/ I can&#8217;t export<\/h3>\n<p>The Share button shows up after the first sequence has been generated, which happens automatically when you open the app. If you don&#8217;t see it:<\/p>\n\n<ol>\n  <li>Make a change to the Key or Style \u2014 this forces a regeneration.<\/li>\n  <li>Force-quit and reopen the app.<\/li>\n  <li>Make sure you have free space in your device&#8217;s storage (the MIDI file is tiny, but iOS needs scratch space for the share sheet).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h3>The MIDI file won&#8217;t open \/ sounds wrong in my DAW<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Chord Progression Lab writes <strong>standard MIDI Format 0<\/strong> files at 480 ticks per quarter note \u2014 this is universally supported.<\/li>\n  <li>The file contains the <strong>chord notes only<\/strong>, no instrument assignment. Your DAW will play it on whatever instrument is loaded on the destination track \u2014 assign a piano, pad, organ, or whatever you like.<\/li>\n  <li>If the tempo in your DAW differs from what you set in the app, the MIDI file does include a tempo event; check that your DAW is reading it rather than using its project tempo.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Why does the same chord progression keep coming back when I change keys?<\/h3>\n<p>That&#8217;s by design. The <strong>Theory Approach<\/strong> decides the progression; the <strong>Key<\/strong> transposes it. To get a different progression, change the Theory Approach (or Dissonance, which adds different colour notes).<\/p>\n\n<h3>The chord names show \u266f but my sheet music uses \u266d<\/h3>\n<p>The app uses sharps for all enharmonic spellings (C\u266f rather than D\u266d, F\u266f rather than G\u266d). Musically they&#8217;re the same notes \u2014 pick whichever spelling you&#8217;re used to seeing.<\/p>\n\n<h3>The roman numerals look strange \u2014 what does &#8220;\u266dVII5&#8221; or &#8220;\u2738\u266f4&#8221; mean?<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>\u266dVII5<\/strong> = a power chord built on the flatted 7th degree (used in Rock).<\/li>\n  <li><strong>\u2738 (asterisk star)<\/strong> = a cluster chord \u2014 tightly stacked semitones, used in Avant-Garde.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>\u00d7 4 \/ Q<\/strong> = a quartal chord (stacked perfect 4ths), also used in Gamelan and Avant-Garde.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Sa, Re\u266d, Ni\u266d, Dha\u266d<\/strong> = Indian solf\u00e8ge syllables used in Raga Bhairav.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>G\u014dng, Sh\u0101ng, Ji\u01ceo, Zh\u01d0, Y\u01d4<\/strong> = Chinese pentatonic degree names.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Does Chord Progression Lab record audio or my voice?<\/h3>\n<p>No. The app does not access the microphone and never records audio. It generates audio on-device using a built-in synthesizer; nothing is sent to any server.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Does the app work offline?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes \u2014 everything runs entirely on your device. No internet connection is needed for any feature, including export.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Does the app work on iPhone <em>and<\/em> iPad?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, on both. On iPad the layout has more room to breathe; on iPhone you may need to scroll to see all four cards (Selection, Sequence, Keyboard, Controls).<\/p>\n\n<h2>Tips &amp; Tricks<\/h2>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Find a vibe fast:<\/strong> cycle through the Theory Approach list with the same Key \u2014 it&#8217;s a quick tour of world music styles.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Compare moods in the same style:<\/strong> keep the style fixed, change the Key. Listen to how <em>Epic Minor in A<\/em> feels different from <em>Epic Minor in F<\/em>.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Layer in your DAW:<\/strong> export the MIDI, drop it onto a piano track, then duplicate the track and assign a pad or strings for an instant arrangement.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Study what you like:<\/strong> the Roman numerals on each chord chip teach you the function of every chord. Over time you&#8217;ll start hearing &#8220;ii\u2011V\u2011I&#8221; or &#8220;I\u2011V\u2011vi\u2011IV&#8221; in songs on the radio.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Push it weird:<\/strong> try Avant-Garde with Crush dissonance at 55 BPM \u2014 film-score tension on demand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2>Still Stuck?<\/h2>\n\n<p>Email <strong>info@mickeydesigns.com<\/strong> with:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Your device model (e.g., iPhone 15 Pro, iPad Air M4)<\/li>\n  <li>Your iOS \/ iPadOS version (Settings \u2192 General \u2192 About)<\/li>\n  <li>What you tried and what happened<\/li>\n  <li>A screenshot or screen recording if you can<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Thanks for using Chord Progression Lab!<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chord Progression Lab \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Welcome! Chord Progression Lab is a music-theory sketchpad. Pick a key, pick a style, and the app instantly builds a playable chord progression that you can listen to, watch on a piano keyboard, and share as a standard MIDI file. Getting Started Pick a Key \u2014 the tonal &#8230; <a title=\"Chord Progression Lab \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/build-a-song-help-troubleshooting\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Chord Progression Lab \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-help"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":605,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540\/revisions\/605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}