Chords and Scales

The chord lane sits directly below the timeline ruler. Use it to sketch the harmony of a song before or while writing MIDI.

Chord lane data is saved with the project and syncs in collaboration. Chords are separate from MIDI regions until you convert them to MIDI.

Find the Chord Lane

Look above the track lanes:

• The left dock shows a Chords header and the current key/scale.
• The center timeline shows chord blocks below the ruler.
• The + button in the Chords header adds a chord at the playhead.
• Clicking a chord opens chord editing in the right Notes inspector.

Set Key and Scale

Select a chord, open Piano Roll, or open Notes with no region selected. The chord/key panel shows:

Use the chord panel to set key/scale, add diatonic chords, and start from common progressions.

Control	Result
Root	Sets the project key root, such as C, F#, or A.
Scale	Sets the project scale mode.
Snap notes	When enabled, newly drawn MIDI notes snap to the scale.

Available scale modes:

• Major.
• Minor.
• Dorian.
• Mixolydian.
• Major pentatonic.
• Minor pentatonic.

The piano roll highlights scale tones and the tonic so the grid is easier to read.

Add Chords

Use one of these:

• Click the + button in the Chords header to add a chord at the playhead.
• Click empty space in the chord lane to add a chord at that beat.
• Right-click the chord lane and choose Add chord here.
• Open the command palette and run Add chord.
• Use the diatonic chord palette in the Notes inspector.
• Use the empty chord lane prompt or empty timeline prompt to add a common progression immediately.

The palette uses the current key and scale, showing roman numerals and chord names. For example, in A Minor, the first palette chord is i Am.

Edit a Chord

Click a chord block. The Notes inspector shows:

Field	Result
Root	Chord root note.
Type	Major, minor, diminished, augmented, sus2, or sus4.
Ext	None, 7, maj7, or 9.
Inv	Chord inversion.
Start	Chord start in beats.
Beats	Chord duration in beats.

You can also drag a chord block in the lane to move it in time, or drag the right edge handle to change its duration.

Preview Chords

Use one of these:

• Double-click a chord block.
• Select a chord and click Preview in the inspector.
• Right-click a chord and choose Preview chord.

Preview plays the chord through the current audio engine. It does not create MIDI notes.

Build Progressions

The chord panel includes common progression presets:

• Pop: I-V-vi-IV.
• Classic: I-vi-IV-V.
• Jazz turn: ii-V-I.
• Rock: I-IV-V.
• Minor pop: i-VI-III-VII.
• Blues: 12-bar.

Progressions are inserted at the playhead, or after the selected chord if a chord is selected.

The command palette also includes musical commands for adding pop, classic, ii-V-I, and blues progressions.

Build an Arrangement

Click Build arrangement when you want an immediate editable sketch from the chord lane. Choose an arrangement style first when you want a different deterministic result:

Style	Layers
Song	Harmony, rhythmic bass, and arpeggio.
Dance	Pulse chords, octave bass, and arp.
Ambient	Held pad, soft pulse, and bass.
Cinematic	Strings pad, ostinato, and low octaves.

If the chord lane is empty, Miao first inserts a pop progression at the playhead. It then creates three aligned MIDI parts:

Part	Result
Chords	Block chords, held pads, or short pulse chords depending on style.
Low end	Rhythmic root/fifth/octave bass or faster octave movement.
Motion	Repeating arpeggio or ostinato material depending on style.

Miao reuses an empty MIDI track when possible, creates the missing MIDI tracks, places the regions at the same chord start, opens the piano roll, and selects the generated material. Everything remains normal MIDI: move notes, change instruments, add Track Effects, regenerate from chords, or undo the whole arrangement build.

Turn Chords into MIDI

Chords become audible arrangement material when converted to MIDI regions.

Use one of these:

• Select a chord and click To MIDI, Arp, or Bass in the inspector.
• Right-click a chord and choose a chord-to-MIDI action.
• Use command palette actions: Create MIDI from chords, Create arpeggio from chords, or Create bass from chords.

Conversion requires a MIDI track. If no MIDI track exists, add one first.

Conversion modes:

Mode	Result
To MIDI	Creates block chord notes.
Arp	Creates repeating arpeggio notes from each chord.
Bass	Creates rhythmic bass notes from each chord.

If a chord is selected, Miao converts that chord. If no chord is selected, Miao converts the full chord lane.

Generated notes are normal MIDI notes. After generation, use the piano roll to move, trim, quantize, humanize, strum, transpose, or edit velocity.

Chord-generated MIDI regions keep their source metadata. In the MIDI clip inspector, Miao shows From chords with the generation mode and a Regenerate button. Use Regenerate after editing the chord lane when you want the MIDI notes to be rebuilt from the latest source chords. Manual edits inside the MIDI region are replaced by regeneration, so use undo if you regenerate accidentally.

Chord-generated MIDI keeps source metadata so you can regenerate it after changing the chord lane.

Fit Existing MIDI Notes to the Scale

Use Fit notes in the chord/key panel or run Fit notes to scale in the command palette.

If MIDI notes are selected, only those notes are moved. If no notes are selected, the active MIDI clip is fitted.

Open Piano Roll when you want chord-aware fitting. The MIDI ruler shows the chord lane over the selected region, and the Chords action moves selected notes, or the whole active clip, to the nearest tone in the chord under each note.

Context Menus

Right-click a chord block for:

• Preview chord.
• Create MIDI from chords.
• Create arpeggio from chords.
• Duplicate chord.
• Delete chord.

Right-click empty chord lane space for:

• Add chord here.
• Create MIDI from chords.
• Create arpeggio from chords.
• Create bass from chords.
• Build arrangement.
• Common progression presets.

Right-click a chord-generated MIDI region for Regenerate MIDI from chords.

Collaboration Behavior

Chord lane edits sync with collaborators as project document edits. If another user changes the chord lane or key/scale, your local chord lane updates and the audio graph resyncs so playback reflects the latest project state.

Current Limits

• Chord playback is preview-only until chords are converted into MIDI.
• Chord blocks use beat positions; the project still uses one fixed tempo and time signature for playback.
• Chord extensions are limited to none, 7, maj7, and 9.
• Snap-to-scale affects newly drawn MIDI notes and the explicit Fit notes action. It does not rewrite existing MIDI automatically.