Transcribing Chord Names

Composer can analyze a song to determine what chords are used, and then display the chord names, such as C7 and Dm, above the staff. Composer also lets you add, remove, or change chord names.

Here is an example of the chord names automatically analyzed by Composer for the country tune "Dixie":

MIDI files do not generally include chord name information. Sometimes the author of a MIDI file will enter chord names where lyrics are normally displayed. In this case, Composer will display the chord names as though they are lyrics.

In most cases, however, MIDI files do not include chord names at all. You are still in luck, though. Composer can analyze the harmonies in the song and automatically display chord names. This is a difficult task, and Composer cannot promise 100 percent accuracy. But Composer transcribes chord names remarkably well, considering the complexity of the task. In addition, since Composer lets you edit chord names, you can easily correct any mistakes Composer might make in its analysis.

To request Composer to analyze the song for chord names and display them:

1.      Decide which tracks you want to be analyzed for harmonies. If you are not sure, you can just use all of the tracks. However, if you notice that a few of the tracks contain the notes that define "vertical" harmonies of the song, and other tracks are more melodic or "horizontal", then you should instruct Composer to analyze chord names only using those tracks that contain the vertical harmonies of the song. If the MIDI file happens to include a chord track, typically with the track name "Chords", then use just that track. Note that Composer always ignores channel 10 drum tracks, since the pitches in a MIDI drum track have nothing to do with the real harmonies of the song.

2.      Choose the Transcribe Chord Names command in the Track menu or Chord Names menu.

-- OR --

Type "qtc" for Quick Transcribe Chords.

Composer will display a Chord Name Transcription dialog box;

The bottom half of this window shows what kinds of chords Composer will detect. Depending on the style of music, you may want to either include or exclude a certain type of chord. For example, a C7(#9) chord (C chord with a 7th and raised 9th) is unlikely to be used in a classical piece, so you would want to turn off the check mark for that type of chord if you are working with a classical piece.

Notice that some types of chords have a white background and others a gray background. Chord types with a gray background are very unlikely to be ones that you would want to detect in any style of music. For these types of chords, there is almost always a simpler chord type that better describes the harmony. Nevertheless, you can choose these type of chords in addition to the normal ones with white backgrounds.

Different music styles tend to use different chords. To make it easy for you to choose the right kinds of chords for the music style of your song, Composer defines various chord styles, such as Rock&Roll, Classical, and Jazz. You can also define your styles, or change Composer's definition of a given chord style, as explained later in this topic.

3.      In the "Select tracks" section of the dialog box, select the tracks that you identified in step #1, and unselect all other tracks.

4.      Composer analyzes and displays chord names on a per-beat basis, such as every quarter note, half note, or dotted quarter note. Composer uses the meter (time signature) of the song to determine what beat value is used. You can override Composer's default choice for the beat value, by increasing or decreasing the value in this portion of the window using the arrow buttons:

5.      To choose one of Composer's predefined chord styles, or one that you have previously defined, select it from the Chord Style dropdown list box:

     Composer will then update the checkmarks for the various chord types in the bottom half of the window.

6.      To specify whether a certain type of chord (such as Cm7) is to be detected or not, add or remove a checkmark by its name.

7.      By default, Composer will analyze the entire score for chord names, and will replace any chord names previously analyzed or those manually entered or edited by you. If you want to analyze the score only for a range of measures, then specify them at the top of the Chord Name Transcription window.

8.      Sometimes Composer is not able to analyze one or more local areas of the song for chord names. In such cases, it displays whatever text you specify as "Text shown for undetermined chord names." Some good choices for this are the default "[ ___ ]" text and "???". Wherever Composer reports that it cannot determine the chord name, you can later manually enter chord names according to your own analysis of the harmonies.

9.      Click the OK button when you are ready for Composer to analyze the score for chord names. Note that this is a fairly time-consuming task for Composer.

To change the type of chords associated with a "chord style", or to define your own custom chord style:

1.      To add a new style, in the "Detect types of chords" section of the dialog box, hit the Add button. Composer will display a simple Add Chord Style dialog box. Enter a name for the new chord style.

2.      Add or remove checkmarks next to the types of chords that you want Composer to include or not include in its analysis of chord types for this style.

3.      After editing the types of chords for this chord style, hit the Save button.

If you are not pleased with the results of Composer's chord analysis, there are a couple of things you can try:

     Composer might display chord names that seem overly complex. For example, it might display Csus4 and Fsus4 everywhere that you expected just C and F to be displayed. In this case, use the Transcribe Chord Names command again. This time, uncheck the chord type Csus4.

     Composer might display chord names that seem unrelated to the harmonies you hear. This can happen when Composer places too much weight on a track that tends to have relatively few notes landing on the chord harmonies and relatively more "passing" notes between chords. In this case, use the Transcribe Chord Names command again, and do not include in the tracks that have a large percentage of notes outside of the chord harmonies.

     If there are only a few specific chord names you would like to change, add, or remove, then follow the instructions for Editing Chord Names.

For an example of how it sometimes takes more than one attempt to get the best chord names, see the Tutorial: Transcribing and Editing Chord Names.

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