![]() ![]() We use form to give songs a sense of order, familiarity and structure. Just writing out those seemingly random chord progressions got my song-writing juices flowing. It’s amazing how easy it is for ideas to come to life with chords. These are only a few examples, but you should be able to hear how easy it is to compose chord progressions using a bit of chord theory. It’s amazing how easily they all fit together: You can even use the same chord more than once. To get started, just pick chords at random. In reality, this could be 8-bar, or 16-bar chord progressions. Here are the chords:Ī great thing to do is come up with 4-bar chord progressions using the chords in the key that you are using (in this case C major). ![]() What do you do next? The best way to get a feel for how well each of these chords work together is to play chord progressions using the chords in a given key. Ok, so you know in theory how to find seven chords that will work well together in any given key. You can do this with any key – simply know the notes of the major scale, apply the chord types to each note and you have a list of chords in that key. Listen to a recording of each chord in the key of A being played on the guitar, one at a time (A – Bm – C#m etc.) You will hear that there is a certain flow from one chord to the other. A good exercise is to play through the chords in a key one at a time. Pretty simple right? What we are doing is using the chord-type formula with the major scale to figure out the chords in any given key. Therefor, the chords in the key of A are: Also, we use upper case for major chords and lower case for minor chords (including diminished). ![]() The ‘o’ is the label used for diminished chords. Roman numerals are the standard way of referring to chords that belong in a key. The 1st chord in the key of G is G Major, the 2nd chord is A minor, the 3rd chord B minor and so on. G Major – A minor – B – minor – C Major – D major – E minor – F# diminished Therefor, the chords in the key of G are: The notes in the key of G are as follows: The above chart should make the formula and its application to a key quite simple. That explanation makes it seem more complicated than it is. Each chord type is assigned to the seven notes of the major scale, in order. There are seven chord types in the above list. So what do we do with it? There are seven notes in the major scale. Say it to yourself over and over until you know it inside out. Major – minor – minor – Major – Major – minor – diminished We can then use these chords to compose songs, because we know that they work together. If we know the notes of a certain key, we can determine which chords fit in that key as well. Therefor, the key of C major is made of the same notes. For example, the C major scale contains the following notes: In the lesson on major scales, we learnt that by knowing the notes of the major scale, you are able to determine the notes in a given key. Chords often provide the backbone, from which vocals, melodies, solos and the rest are based upon.Īlso, by focusing on chords, you can learn a bit more about chords and how they fit together. But most of the music that we hear is based on what’s called functional harmony. It is possible to write songs a whole variety of ways. It should be pointed out that this is only one approach to song writing. In this lesson, we are going to focus on writing songs using chords as the driving tool. You can spend your whole life improving your song writing ability, but you can also write a million songs with only two chords. Composition is a very open ended, expansive topic, so naturally we’re going to try to sum up everything in one lesson :)Īctually, we are only going to scratch the surface. Let's look at, and listen to, some examples of 1 4 5 in action, starting in the key of D major.In this lesson, we are going to look at song writing. These three chords are the foundation of blues and many popular songs. I IV V (1 4 5) represents three chords (the 1st, 4th and 5th) taken from this seven chord scale. Throughout the chord progressions section, you can learn about the diatonic chord scale. Let's start by looking at what is probably the most commonly used three chord guitar sequence. So while your finished song may use more than three chords, breaking it down this way offers you a more manageable way to explore the theory behind what makes a chord progression flow and "work". This lessons will give you some ideas for writing your own three chord guitar progressions, making use of some of the chords we've learned in the main guitar chords section (although I will provide the necessary diagrams throughout the lesson).Īs well as the simplicity of writing songs based on just a few chords, it also encourages you to break down concepts of resolution and harmony through chord changes. Many loved songs out there only use three chords. ![]()
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