🎼 Hookpad — The Smart Online Songwriting & Music Theory Tool
Hookpad is an intuitive online music sketchpad and composition tool from HookTheory that helps musicians, songwriters, and composers create solid chord progressions, melodies, and song ideas — all without needing deep classical music theory knowledge. With visual aids, smart suggestions, and powerful export features, Hookpad makes songwriting easier and more inspiring. (Hooktheory)
Designed to work in your browser without downloads or installations, Hookpad blends interactive theory, creative tools, and real-world music inspiration into one platform that’s accessible for beginners and advanced users alike. (Hooktheory)
🎹 What Is Hookpad?
Hookpad is a web-based musical sketchpad that helps you craft harmonies, melodies, and arrangements using built-in music theory and smart suggestions. It uses color-coded notes and chord palettes to guide your choices and shows you “what works” musically — even if you’re not trained in theory. (Hooktheory)
With Hookpad, you can:
- 🧩 Create chord progressions that work in any key
- 🎶 Build complementary melodies
- 📝 Write lead sheets, scores, and tabs
- 🎵 Export MIDI to any DAW (such as Logic Pro, Ableton Live, or FL Studio)
- 📁 Import audio files (WAV/MP3) to build around your ideas (Hooktheory)
🎼 Key Features of Hookpad
🎹 Smart Chord Progressions
Hookpad provides a smart chord palette that highlights harmonic choices that work well together, giving you a visual roadmap for building solid progressions. (Hooktheory)
🎵 Melody Creation Tools
Once you’ve chosen your chords, Hookpad helps you generate melodic lines that complement the harmony — with color coding and visual guidance to show stable vs. dissonant notes. (Hooktheory)
🎧 Export & Integration
You can drag and drop MIDI from Hookpad into your DAW to continue production workflows with your own instruments and sounds. (Produce Like A Pro)
🔄 Upload Audio Tracks
Hookpad lets you import your own audio and compose around it, making it flexible for remixing, song expansion, or inspiration. (Hooktheory)
🧠 AI-Assisted Songwriting — Aria
Hookpad includes Aria, an AI songwriting assistant that suggests chords and melodies based on your context, helping you overcome creative blocks and spark new ideas. (Hooktheory)
💡 Why Hookpad Is Worth Trying
🎼 Great for Beginners & Experts
Whether you’re learning songwriting or streamlining your workflow, Hookpad bridges the gap between music theory and practical composition. It’s powerful for newcomers and useful for seasoned pros looking to sketch ideas quickly. (Produce Like A Pro)
🧠 Learn While You Create
Hookpad’s built-in theory tools teach concepts like scale degrees, harmonic functions, and melodic tension as you compose — essentially doubling as an interactive music theory lesson. (Hooktheory)
🎛️ Fast Workflow & Creative Freedom
Working entirely in the browser and supporting MIDI export means Hookpad fits naturally into most modern creative setups without slowing you down. (Produce Like A Pro)
⚠️ A Few Considerations
While Hookpad is powerful, it’s not a full-featured DAW or virtual instrument suite on its own — its strength is idea generation and composition, after which you’ll want to transfer MIDI into your DAW for full production. (Produce Like A Pro)
Also, some of the more advanced features and Aria AI may require a subscription for full access. (Produce Like A Pro)
📌 Final Thoughts
Hookpad by HookTheory is a standout tool for anyone serious about songwriting, composition, or music learning. Its combination of built-in theory guidance, drag-and-drop MIDI export, and creative assistance makes it a versatile choice for composers at all levels. Whether you’re sketching chord progressions, building melodies, or breaking through creative block, Hookpad helps you turn ideas into finished music foundations. (Hooktheory)
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