Popular Song since 1960 Name _____________

Functional harmony made simple.

Songs are made out of sections such as verses, choruses and bridges. These
sections are usually structured by chord progressions.

Three useful rules for chaining together triadic chords to produce a harmonic
progression:

Rule 1: Dominants (chord V) usually lead to tonics (chord I)

Rule 2: Any triads with two notes in common can easily be substituted
for each other, but not if they only share one note. For
example, C major can be substituted by A minor or E minor, but
not G major or F major.
Rule 3: You do not always have to follow rules 1 and 2.

Step 1 Write down the names and notes of the triads in G major.

Root Name Notes

G
A
B
C
D
E
F#

(If you are not sure whether a chord is major or minor, use the 4,3 / 3,4 rule)

Step 2 Using the blank grid below, choose chords from the above menu
to complete a chord sequence for a ballad-style song. Each 4/4
bar should contain one chord, but some might have two.

G / / /

G____________

Hints:
 Line 2 works well as a repeat (or approximate repeat) of line 1.
 Bar 15 would meet style expectations if it contained a D major or C major chord.
 If you want to introduce two chords per bar, the most effective places are towards the
ends of four-bar phrases.

Step 3
Play your sequence on a keyboard or guitar.
(Extension – compose a melody to go with your chord sequence.