Harmonybeam

Harmonybeam: A Chord Progression Device for Ableton Live

Harmonybeam is a Max for Live MIDI device for creating, editing and arranging chord progressions directly inside Ableton Live. Its rapid workflow makes working with chords in Live more intuitive and fun, because all changes to a progression are instantly synced to a MIDI clip either in the Session View or the Arrangement View.

Progressions can be entered as chord symbols, generated from several genre-based models, or assembled one chord at a time using context-aware suggestions. Chords appear as editable blocks whose order, duration, voicing and rhythm can be changed without manually rebuilding the underlying MIDI notes.

Additionally, Harmonybeam offers a set of different voicing style and an automatic voice-leading system that revoices chords in relation to one another, to ensure smooth transitions from one chord to the next.

Users can also create custom rhythm presets with a pattern editor and build strums and arpeggios with chord gestures to allow for humanized performances.

Features

• Text-based chord entry and block-based progression editing

• Real-time synchronization with Ableton Live MIDI clips

• Genre-based progression generation and contextual chord suggestions

• Automatic voice leading with optional bass inversions

• Multiple voicing styles that can be applied across a progression

• Three-lane rhythm-pattern editor with user presets

• Per-chord strums, arpeggios and randomized gestures

• Configurable MIDI triggering, keyswitches and CC mappings

• Separate bass clip synchronization on another track