The Chord Rules Editor is a brand-new feature of RapidComposer, as of version 2.7. It allows you to set up a set of rules, regarding chord probability for the new Chord Suggestions feature, which suggest chords based on the rules you create. They can adhere strictly to music theory and songwriting probability, or they can completely break traditional music theory rules, if you’d like! Sounds complicated, but it’s actually very easy to use!

First, let’s click the Chord Rules Editor tab, and then the “New Rules” button.

Next, name your New Rule… for this example, let’s call this “Fave Chords”, then hit Enter. Now click the plus sign that is underneath the “Ends with” text. This plus sign adds a chord to the “from” column (leftmost column). Clicking this will bring up two red “?” buttons, one in the “from” column, and one in the “to” row. Double-click the button on the left, and put a capital i (I) in the “Enter Chord Name” box, and hit Enter. Why Chord I? It’s always good to start with Chord I. Most chord progressions start with Chord I.

Now, here’s where your probability comes into play. You’ll need to put a handful of chords after Chord I, because Chord I truly can go anywhere. Double-click the other “?” button, and put IV in the box, then hit Enter. Move the slider all the way to the right….. hit the plus sign, and repeat… and repeat.. and repeat… using different chords, all to your liking. Let’s speed up this process:

As you add more and more chords to the horizontal row (this row is “To This Chord”), you’ll see that some chord boxes/buttons turn red. This could mean one of two things—

1. They’re out of key (basic major and minor harmony) or

2. They haven’t yet been added to the “From This Chord” column (leftmost column… see the screenshot on the next page)

They will stay red if they’re out of key, and they’ll stay red if they haven’t been added to the “From This Chord” column.

Once you get the hang of the Chord Rules Editor (it’s pretty easy to understand now that you know the basics), you should be able to make an extensive set of rules, with all of your favorite chords. It helps to know a bit of music/chord theory… for example… it’s common to go from Chord I to Chord IV, and back. And just as common to go from Chord I to Chord VIm, then to Chord IV. Or, if you’re in a minor key, you could use the tried-and-true pop progression of VIm - IV - I - V (the “six four one five”). It takes a little bit of planning and thought, but you could create a very useful set of rules that fits your style, and your favorite chord progressions. And if you get stuck, the Chord Suggestion feature will adhere to your rules, as long as you specify that you want to use your set, in the Composition Settings / Structure Inspector.

NOTE: You may need to close RC and re-open it, to see your new Chord Rule Set appear in the list.

Please see Video # (Chord Rules Editor) for more information). As always, EXPERIMENT!