The Ideas Menu

Generate a melody idea in active staff, including chord symbols
Generate a melody idea in active staff to fit existing chord symbols
Adapt the active staff's melody to better fit existing chord symbols
Generate a new melody in active staff using the existing rhythm
View options for melody ideas...

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Suggest chords to go with this music
Generate a chord progression
View options for generated chord progressions...

A unique feature in Songworks is its ability to invent tune ideas. These can stimulate your imagination, giving you a starting point for a composition. Being a computer, 90% of its ideas will be kind of dull. But then you'll come across one that has something surprisingly interesting in it. Much depends on your choice of scale and meter, and luck, and it also helps to choose a playpattern for harmony that is the kind of thing you're looking for. See the View Options windows for possible choices relating to the nature of the melody and its harmony.

The Ars Nova web site has a collection of particularly nice Songworks ideas, presented with sound.

Invents an idea of the length set in the melody idea options, and according to the scale and other choices there. The melody uses the clef, key, and meter signature currently in the staff.

Same as above, but using the existing chord symbols

Same as above, but using the existing chord symbols

This changes nothing except the pitches of the melody.

Allows you to choose the scale, length, and various other things about generated melodies.

There are lots of ways to harmonize a melody, but Songworks will come up with something it thinks will work. You can change its choices by dragging chords with the arrow tool or changing their identities with the chord type and chord root buttons.

Invents just a chord progression without a melody. The length of the progression (in beats) is still the length from the Melody Options window above.

Lets you choose the types of chords that might be included.

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