The switcher
Six tools, one click away.
Jump between Composition, Scales, Modes, Sheet Music, Music Theory and Lessons without ever losing your place.
NEW Harmony Explorer
— chord suggestions by function
Chordio Compose, explore and understand music.
The interactive composition and theory studio for Mac, iPad and Vision Pro. Build progressions, decode scales and modes, and hear every chord you play in real time.
Chordio for Mac — chord names, grand staff and keyboard, always in sync.
Trusted by composers
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producers
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music teachers
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and curious learners
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Play it with the built-in sounds or any MIDI keyboard
Take a look inside
Six workspaces. One window.
Everything Chordio does lives behind a single switcher — your staff, your keyboard and your sound follow you from workspace to workspace.
Composition
Sketch a progression in seconds.
Drop chords onto the canvas, shape the voicings, then play the whole thing back with rhythm and a sequencer.
Chord Transformer
Turn a triad into a colour chord.
Add 3rds, 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths from one wheel, and hear the difference the moment you make it.
Scales
40+ scales, lit up under your fingers.
Pick a root and a scale type and watch the notes appear on the staff and the keys — with a metronome to practise against.
Modes
Rotate the circle of fifths.
See how every key relates, which chords belong to each degree, and what changes when you move from Ionian to Locrian.
Sheet Music
Practise real pieces, at your pace.
Slow the tempo, loop the tricky bars, isolate one hand, or transpose the whole score into a friendlier key.
Music Theory
Theory you can hear, not just read.
Interactive lessons walk through scales, chords and modes with the staff and keyboard responding as you go.
Quizzes
Test yourself, keep the score.
Note-identification drills with live scoring turn sight-reading practice into something you'll actually come back to.
Lessons
Play along, hands apart.
Visual play-along lessons with independent pitch, tempo and volume for each hand — learn the left before you add the right.
MIDI & real-time
Play a chord. See its name instantly.
Connect any USB or MIDI keyboard to your Mac and Chordio recognises what you play, naming chords on the grand staff as your fingers move.
- Real-time chord recognition on the grand staff
- Practise scales or solo over a progression
- No gear needed — built-in sounds get you started
- Split-screen views for classrooms, projectors and multi-monitor setups
Composition
Turn ideas into progressions in seconds.
Start with built-in sounds, drop in chords, and shape them until the song in your head is on the staff.
- Create & edit custom chords, voicings and inversions
- Transform chords instantly — add 3rds, 7ths, 9ths and beyond
- Save progressions into playlists and reload song ideas
- Practise over rhythm backing tracks
- Export printable PDF chord sheets and MIDI
New in Chordio
Harmony Explorer finds the chords that fit.
Add chords to your canvas and Chordio detects the scales that match, then suggests where to go next — diatonic chords, borrowed chords, secondary dominants and tritone subs, each colour-coded by how it relates to your key. It's a harmony tutor built into your composition.
Built for real work
It fits the way you already make music
Chordio isn't a walled garden. Ideas move in and out of it as easily as they arrive.
Straight into your DAW.
Drag a progression out of Chordio and drop it onto a track in Logic Pro, Ableton Live or FL Studio. The MIDI lands exactly where you left it.
Made for the classroom.
Resize the staff and keyboard independently, split the view across a projector, and switch between light and dark to suit the room.
Print-ready PDFs
Export chord sheets and scores as PDFs for the music stand, the band, or the class handout.
Playlists of song ideas
Save every progression into playlists so a half-finished idea is always one click from where you left it.
Rhythm backing tracks
Loop your changes over a groove and practise soloing, comping or simply hearing how the chords sit in time.
Import MIDI and re-harmonise
Bring chords back in from your DAW, let Chordio name them and detect the scale, then explore where else the progression could go.
One purchase, every device
Chordio is a universal app. Unlock it once and it's yours on Mac, iPad and Apple Vision Pro.
Interactive Sheet Music
Practise real pieces, your way.
Learn across classical, jazz and R&B with sheet music you can bend to your pace and skill level.
- Adjust tempo and loop the tricky bars
- Hands separately — isolate left or right hand
- Any key — transpose a score on the fly
- Jazz solo mode to jam over the changes
- Print scores as PDFs for offline practice
Learn
From first lesson to finished MIDI.
Chordio teaches the theory behind the music, then gets your ideas into the tools you already use.
- Interactive lessons on scales, chords and modes
- Quizzes including note identification with live scoring
- Drag & drop MIDI into Logic Pro, Ableton, FL Studio and more
- Import MIDI back into Chordio to re-harmonise
6
Focused workspaces
40+
Scales to explore
4
Apple platforms
Free
To download
Everywhere you write
Start on the Mac. Finish on the sofa.
The same six workspaces, tuned to each device you own.
Mac
The full studio: resizable split views, MIDI drag-and-drop into your DAW, and every workspace on one screen.
You're here
iPad
Touch the staff, drag chords with a finger, and prop it on the music stand next to a real piano.
Chordio for iPad
iPhone
Chordio+ is a separate app built just for iPhone — catch an idea wherever it lands.
Chordio+ for iPhone
Who it's for
One companion tool, every kind of musician
🎹
Producers & songwriters
Find the next chord fast, build progressions, and drag the MIDI straight into your DAW.
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Students & self-learners
Lessons, quizzes and visual scales turn abstract theory into something you can see and hear.
🧑🏫
Teachers & classrooms
Split-screen views and real-time chord naming make Chordio a natural fit for lessons and projectors.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What is Chordio?
Chordio is an interactive music composition and theory app for macOS, iPadOS and Apple Vision Pro. It lets you build chord progressions, explore scales and modes, practise interactive sheet music, and learn music theory — with real-time chord detection from any MIDI keyboard.
How much does Chordio cost?
Chordio is free to download and comes with built-in sounds so you can start immediately. A one-time full unlock is $14.99, and optional chord and sheet-music packs are available as in-app purchases.
Do I need a MIDI keyboard?
No. Chordio includes ready-to-play sounds and an on-screen keyboard, so no external gear is required. Connect a USB or MIDI keyboard and Chordio detects the chords you play, showing them on the grand staff in real time.
Can I export to my DAW?
Yes. Export progressions as MIDI and drag them into Logic Pro, Ableton Live, FL Studio or any other DAW. You can also import MIDI chords back into Chordio to explore and re-harmonise them.
Is Chordio good for beginners?
Absolutely. Chordio suits every level — beginners follow interactive lessons and quizzes, while producers and educators reach for the Composition, Modes and Harmony Explorer workspaces. See the full FAQ for more.
Start writing music today.
Download Chordio free on the App Store and open your first workspace in seconds.