K InstrumentsMIDI Chord Detector
Play a chord and see its name. MIDI Chord Detector listens to the MIDI going into your DAW and names the chord as you play, from simple triads to altered 13ths, with the inversion, voicing and notation beside it.
60+ chord patterns
Triads, 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths, altered dominants, add chords and quartal voicings, matched by interval pattern with weighted scoring.
Inversions and voicings
Slash-chord names for inversions (Auto, Always or Never) and voicing detection: close, open, drop-2, drop-3 and rootless.
See what you play
An 88-key keyboard, a grand-staff notation panel and an active notes monitor. Show or hide each one.
Real-time safe
No memory allocation on the audio thread, no added latency, and confidence scoring that keeps the chord name from flickering.
Sustain-aware
Follows the sustain pedal (CC64), so held notes count the way you'd expect.
MIDI pass-through
Your MIDI goes straight on to the next instrument. It loads as a VST3 Instrument, so it also works in Cubase AI and Elements.
Install
- Download the VST3, or the standalone app, from the latest release.
- Put
MIDI Chord Detector.vst3inC:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\(Windows) or~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/(macOS), then rescan plugins. - Load it as a VST3 Instrument and route its MIDI output to an instrument that makes sound.
- Play two or more notes. The chord name appears as you play.
Requirements
| Format | VST3 Instrument, plus a standalone app |
|---|---|
| Windows | Windows 10 or 11 |
| macOS | macOS 11 or newer (build from source) |
| Tested in | Cubase AI 13 (Windows), Ableton Live (macOS) |
| Should work in | FL Studio, Reaper, Studio One, Logic Pro (via bridging) |
| Licence | MIT, built with JUCE |
Chords it knows
Every chord type the detector can name, from basic triads to altered dominants.
- Major
- Minor
- dim
- aug
- sus2
- sus4
- 5
- maj7
- 7
- m7
- m(maj7)
- dim7
- m7♭5
- aug7
- +maj7
- 7sus4
- 6
- m6
- 6/9
- m6/9
- maj9
- 9
- m9
- maj11
- 11
- m11
- maj13
- 13
- m13
- 7♭5
- 7♯5
- 7♭9
- 7♯9
- 7♯11
- 7alt
- 9♯11
- 13♭9
- add9
- m(add9)
- add11
- add♯11
- Quartal
Changelog
- 3.1.0May 25, 2026
Full piano keyboard, grand-staff notation panel and active notes monitor, each one optional. Sustain pedal (CC64) fix.
- 3.0.0Jan 29, 2026
A new pattern-based detection engine replaces the old algorithm: more accurate names for complex chords and clearer harmonic reading.
- 2.0.0Jan 26, 2026
Better accuracy, smoother chord changes, multi-factor confidence scoring and less flickering.
- 1.0.0Jan 25, 2026
First public release as a VST3 Instrument.