Path map
Build a chord progression on the map and hear how each chord moves to the next. Click a chord to add it, drag to reorder, swap or remove.
Ionian major C Ionian, major. Bright and settled. Every chord has somewhere to land.
Your progression
4 chords · loops back to the start· 4
- Fifth
- Step
- Third
- back to C
- Click or drop a chord from the map
Chord map
Every chord that works in C Ionian. The closer to the middle, the safer it sounds.
How to read the map
Rings — where a chord comes from
In key — the 7 chords built from the C Ionian scale. Always safe.
Borrowed — the same slot taken from C minor. A darker, bittersweet turn (F → Fm).
Lead-ins — a 7th chord that pulls hard into the chord it points at (E7 → Am). Theory name: secondary dominant.
Words on cards — what a chord does
Home feels settled (I, iii, vi). Away moves off (ii, IV). Tension wants to resolve (V, vii°, lead-ins).
Arrows — how the root moves
Fifth — the strongest pull. Sounds like arriving.
Step — next-door roots. A clear change of colour.
Third — shares two notes. Smooth, barely moves.
Tritone — as far apart as it gets. Tense, wants to resolve.