Having previously sorted out your low-end with the Bassline Generator, Reason Studios has now introduced a harmonic helper in the shape of Chord Sequencer. Promising to be “the fastest way to new chords”, this new MIDI Player device could point you in the direction of “things your fingers may not naturally gravitate towards”.
Load up Chord Sequencer and you can immediately start exploring the built-in Chord Sets. Themed according to style (jazz, pop, EDM, classical, etc), each Set contains 16 curated chords. You get more than 50 of them, and they contain more than 900 chords.
So far so straightforward - the clever bit is that, when you play a chord, the other ones in the set light up in different shades of green to indicate which are the most natural fit to come next. So, you can either play it safe or take a chance on something a little more adventurous.
If you feel guilty that this essentially means that Chord Sequencer is writing your song for you, rest assured that you can edit the chords and add new ones, so you retain a strong degree of creative control.
There’s a learning element here, too; each chord is labelled according to standard music theory conventions, so you’ll discover what all those augmented and diminished chords you’ve been hearing about actually sound like.
As befits the software’s name, there’s also a built-in sequencer that enables you to put your progressions together.
Chord Sequencer works with any instrument in the Reason rack, or if you’re using Reason as a plugin in another DAW, any instrument you have in there. Reason+ subscribers can start using it immediately, and it’s also available to buy on its own for the introductory price of $49/£48/€54 (full price, as of 13 July, will be $69/£64/€74).
Find out more on the Reason Studios website.
