Use Simplex + ChordCraft Lab together
A simple workflow: produce in your DAW with Simplex, decide on harmony and train your ear in ChordCraft Lab, then finish the song in Simplex.
The short version
Simplex DAW Assistant handles the production side: templates, arrangement, mixing, and mastering. ChordCraft Lab handles the theory side: chords, scales, progressions, and ear training. Together they cover the full path from first idea to finished song — without leaving your browser or your DAW.
Simplex
Free guided assistant for Cubase, FL Studio, and Ableton Live. Gets the session built and the mix moving.
ChordCraft Lab
Free music-theory workspace. Choose chords, learn scales, test progressions, and train your ear.
The five-step workflow
Start the session in Simplex
Open Simplex DAW Assistant beside Cubase, FL Studio, or Ableton Live. Pick a template, set the tempo and key, and build the first eight bars — drums, a bass line, and a rough chord idea. Don't worry about the theory yet; Simplex is for getting the idea out fast.
Tip: If you only have a melody or a loop, that's enough. Simplex will guide the rest of the arrangement from there.
Bring the idea into ChordCraft Lab
Open ChordCraft Lab in another browser tab. Use Discover Chords & Scales to see every diatonic triad and scale in your song's key. Play the rough chords from Simplex on the Lab keyboard and watch the roman numerals appear — you'll know immediately whether you're on I, vi, IV, or something more colorful.
Tip: Try the Genre Matcher: enter your progression and see which styles already use it, or start from a genre and borrow its moves.
Upgrade the harmony
Once you know the key and the basic progression, experiment. Swap a major triad for a maj7, add a borrowed chord, or try a secondary dominant. ChordCraft Lab highlights the notes as you press the keys, so you can hear and see each change before committing to it.
Tip: Pro users can open Chord Detective and treat the new chord like a puzzle — it's the fastest way to internalize why a substitution works.
Train your ear on the intervals you just wrote
Jump to the Ear Training Path or the daily puzzle. Focus on the intervals and chord qualities that show up in your song. When your ear recognizes the sound of a major seventh or a minor iv in context, you'll write it faster next time — and catch mistakes in the DAW before they become habits.
Tip: Pro Focus Mode weights puzzles toward your weak spots, so the ten minutes you spend in the Lab directly improve the music you make in Simplex.
Return to Simplex and finish the record
Take the new progression back into your DAW. Simplex picks up where you left off: arrangement, sound design, mixing, mastering, and stem export. Because the harmonic decisions are already made, you can stay in a production flow instead of stopping to look up theory.
Tip: Use the Studio Practice Routes or Practice Guides if you want deeper keyboard workouts that map directly to the moves in your song.
Where each tool shines
In Simplex
In ChordCraft Lab
Ready to try it?
Open both apps in separate tabs. Spend five minutes in Simplex getting a loop down, then five minutes in ChordCraft Lab choosing the chords. You'll feel the difference immediately — and you'll understand why Simplex is the front door to the Lab.
New to music theory? Read the music theory guide for songwriters before you start.