Keybed Harmony

The purpose of KeybedHarmony is to provide a picture highlighting the necessary keys for a particular chord or scale. The user-interface makes it quick and easy for users to create bespoke 'keybed' diagrams and is responsive to variety of screen sizes. The layout is optimised for printing out on paper, removing unnecessary user interface and allowing for sizing so that visualisations can be easily shared outside the digital domain.

The example above shows the notes of the chord CMajor7 highlighted in yellow. The C Major Scale is also labelled across the top of each key. Clicking the 'Show Controls' button opens up the interface controls for highlighting a scale or chord, or customising the voicing and inversion. Explore and experiment with the controls to discover more.

Available options and controls

• Highlight all the notes of a scale or chord from a particular root note.
• If no chord is selected then the chosen scale highlights the scale.

• If a chord is chosen then a specific voicing and inversion can be selected.
• If a chord is displayed then users can label the keybed with a scale alongside highlighted keys which helps identify potential melodic opportunites. Select a root note from 'label scale with chord select box' and then select from the scale options.
• Remember to turn the labelling feature off if only wanting to view scales.

Extra Features

• Select a white-key to begin the keybed diagram.
• Link Keybed Start Note to Root.
• Link Keybed Start Note to Lowest Note In Inversion.
• Select an octave.

Settings, sizing and print.

Clicking the settings icon on the top right of the page opens the keybed preferences.

• Users can select the height and width of the keybed which makes it easy to arrange keybeds for printing and to display efficiently on various screen sizes.
• Users can select between light and dark mode.

Creating Diagrams To Visualise Chord Progressions

In the following example a popular chord progression has been created, each keybed diagram identifies the notes of a different chord. Each chord inversion has been selected to minimise the physical finger movement between each chord. Keeping things simple for the left-hand chords.

The final keybed diagram also shows the C Major scale labelled along the top of the keys, displaying a reference for the melodic opportunites of the major scale. Now there is enough information in the diagrams to play a melody from the major scale in the right hand.

Progression Tools

Above the first keyed is a button labelled 'Show Progression Tools' clicking this reveals the user interface for global progression settings.

• Add Empty Keybed
• Delete Progression
• Octave up / down
• Show keybed stave
• Show proogression stave

• Subscribers exclusive
• Display more than five keybed diagrams
• Transpose up / down by one semi-tone
• Cycle the inversion of the chords in the progression

The reverse button provides a quick and interesting alternative option for further practice variations and development. Reversing the progression can often have surprising results.

Stacking keybeds together provides a foundation for visualising harmony in closer detail, whether it is discovering types of chord-voicing, common chord-progressions or even harmoonising scales. Keep reading to find out more.

Exploring Harmony

Stacking Keybed Diagrams together enables more advanced harmonic concepts to be illustrated, from chord voicing and inversions to harmonising a specific chord progression with voiceleading. Keybed diagrams provide a platform to visualise an wide array of harmonic concepts.

Chord Voicing And Inversions

Display a chord from a specfic voicing and its neighbouring inversions to help experiment moving between the different inversions of a chord. Try it out here to find out more about creating chord inversion keybed diagrams.

Subscriber Exclusive Features!

Registered users get access to extra features to simplify the process of creating keybed diagrams, such as transposition, cycle progressions through inversion types, chord progression stave and an unlimited number of keybeds!Sign up today, it is free

• Subscribers exclusive
• Display more than five keybed diagrams
• Transpose up / down by a semi-tone
• Cycle the inversion of the chords in the progression

Generate Scale Harmonisations

Select any seven-note diatonic scale and then choose from an huge list of harmonisations using specifc chords of the scale. Each harmonisation follows a strict voiceleading as well as one of the voices of each chord outlining the sequential scale notes. Find out more about creating scale harmonisations.

Generate Diatonic Cycles

Select any seven-note diatonic scale and then choose from a variety of cycles that move through the chords of the scale following a specific pathway/pattern.

While diatonic cycles are quite tricky concepts there are some examples that many early-intermediate pianists would be familiar with. Discover more about generating diatonic cycles with KeybedHarmony.