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Do you want your songs to take off in surprising directions, avoid cliches and bypass the tried-and-true? I created this page to help songwriters expand beyond I-IV-V chord progressions and vanilla major and minor chords. Welcome to Milo Ippolito's unschooled approach to music theory and composition. Don't worry. I won't lead you to atonal hell. For me, the point of writing music is to create ear-pleasing compositions that sound like nothing you've heard before. If you share this passion, please read on.
Contents at a Glance
1. A word on music theory 2. Opening chord changes 3. Closing cadences 4. Standard chord progressions 5. Original chord progressions 6. Minor seventh chord progressions More
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Below I've suggested opening changes taking you to each step of the chromatic scale. The chord changes are written in Roman numerals (followed by a random example). These happen to be my personal favorites. Borrow them or be inspired to come up with your own. Also, notice that many of these do not adhere to any key. They just sound good. im7 - I6 (Em7 - E6) i - bII (Em - F) I - iim#5* (D - C/E*) I - bIII (A - C) IM7 - III6 (FM7 - A6) I - IV7 (C - F7) i - bv dim (Bm - F dim) I - V sus (D - A sus) I - bVI aug (E - C+) I - VIm7b5 (C - Am7b5) i m7 - bvii m7 (Am7 - Gm7) I - VII7 (C - B7)
Closing cadences
There's more than one way to get back home
There are plenty of ways to bring home a chord progression without the V7 cliche. Here are a dozen alternative turnaround chords - one for each step of the chromatic scale. The chord changes are written in Roman numerals (followed by a random example). To my ears, all of these cadences do a good job of creating harmonic resolution. I doubt you'll find many alternatives that work quite as well. And sometimes V7 is still the best solution. (Note: Many of these turnaround chords will also resolve to the relative or root minor.) I sus - I (D sus - D) bII7 - I (F7 - E) iim7 - I (Dm7 - C) bIII7 - i (G7 - Em) III7sus - I (E7sus - C) ivm6 - I (Dm6 - A) bV dim - I (F# dim - C) V7sus - I (E7sus - A); V7#5 - I (E7#5 - A) bVI dim - I (Ab dim - C) VI sus - I (A sus - C) bVII7 - I (C7 - D) VII aug - I (E+ - F)
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| D | A sus | E | B sus | | B | G+ | E | A7 | | D | Bm7b5 | D | Em7 | D | Bm7b5 - E7 | E7 - Gm6 | D | ||: Em7 | Dm7 :|| (Dm6) ||: CM7 | Dm7 :|| (Fm6 - D7) | | C | B7 | Em | B+ | C | B7 | Em - Eb+ | Em |
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Here are the chord names, followed by an example from the key of C or thereabouts. (Some chords don't belong to any key.) Major (C-E-G) Minor (A-C-E) Suspended (C - F- G) Augmented (Ab - C - E) Seventh (G - B - D - F) Minor Seventh (A - C - E - G) Major Seventh (F - A - C - E) Sixth (C - E - G - A) Minor Sixth (D - F - A - B) Minor Seven Flat Five (B - D - F - A) Diminished (Ab - B - D - F) Seventh Suspended (G - C - D - F)
Chord inversions
The moveable bass note
An easy way to give simple chords a fresh sound is to move the bass note. Instead of always having the bass play the root, try putting the bass on the third or fifth or seventh interval of the chord. To my ears, some chords sound better inverted. The sus2 is a smoother sounding inversion of the sus4. The minor sixth is a sublime inversion of the spooky minor seven flat five. There's a fancy way that classical composers write inversions. The easier way is to put a back slash after the chord followed by the bass note you want used.
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Here are the three most useful inversions: Minor (first inversion) Am/C Major (second inversion) C/G Seventh (third inversion) G7/F
Non-traditional sonorities
Are these even chords?
I've been experimenting with chords that are unnamable in the traditional musical language: chords that don't fit into the categories of major, minor, suspended, etc. They're more like harmonic clusters, I guess. My classical music friends call them "sonorities." But to me, any group of notes played at the same time is a chord. Here they are: One two six (C - D - A) One five six (C - G - A) One two three (C - D - E) One flat five sharp five (C - Gb - G#) One five major seven (F - C - E)
Ninth chords
number nine, number nine ...
I'm not a huge fan of ninth chords. I'm just not. For me, a seventh chord is good enough. If you absolutely need the "ninth" in the harmony, a suspended 2nd or add 9 does the trick, without any tritone dissonance. These are the only ninth chords that really do it for me: Seven Sharp Nine (E - G# - B - D - G) Minor Seven Flat Nine (E - G - B - D - F) Six-Nine (C - E - G - A - D)
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Here's my best advice for wrestling with the damn six string: Play everything in C or Am. Remove one of the E-strings. Google alternative tunings. Leave out the fifth or the root and let the bass player handle those notes. Play only the triads and let the keyboardist color in the chord. Learn to play the accordion. Play bass live and let the guitar chords be someone else's problem.
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People like songs that relate to their own lives. They don't care that you lost your girlfriend. If there is something universal in what you say, they will respond positively. Be descriptive but a bit vague. A hazy ambiguity lets listeners fill in the blanks with their own experiences. Be colorful. Use visual language. "You don't understand how I feel" is not good songwriting. "A lizard climbed the garden wall." Now, that's much better.
Verses should flow naturally. Favor what poets call "near rhymes" over true rhymes. Near rhymes usually are words
that have like vowel sounds and similar consonant sounds. Rome and stone are near rhymes. Don't be overly literal. In the words of David Byrne: Stop making sense.
Most of your chord progressions will start on and resolve to a stable, consonant major or minor chord. And in most cases they should. The problem is that the first harmonic idea your listeners hear is plain vanilla. How does that prepare them for the awesomeness that is to follow? The same goes for the ending. You have your big ta-da grand finale, and what does the listener get for hanging in there? A plain vanilla major or minor chord. Fortunately, there's a way to fix this dilemma without mucking up a solid chord progression. Leave the chord changes alone. Just add an intro and/or outro using more colorful, moody chords. For example, you can open with a suspended chord - before launching into the progression - to set a desolate mood, or
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a major seventh chord for a dreamy feel. The six-nine chord makes a beautiful fade out. It is the full major pentatonic scale sounded at once. Lovely. I stumbled accidentally onto a darker ending not so long ago. Play a minor chord with an added fourth. It's a chord that says it's over - for now - but it ain't over for good.
Recommended reading
Enlightening and Easy to Read
Ravenspiral Guide is the most useful and entertaining music theory book I've found. Do yourself a favor and download a free copy. Simon Bennett (Kurrel the Raven) will open your ears with his vivid descriptions - such as calling the minor major seventh "the chord that ate hope" and the major sixth "a jolly and slightly smug sort of chord that has a secret drug habit."
The Essential Secrets of Songwriting is an outstanding blog by Gary Ewer for anyone who wants to learn how to write a song. In plain English, Gary will use music theory to help explain what makes good songs work. He tells you to learn the rules and challenges you to break the rules. As Gary says in a recent post "Music theory does not close the mind; it opens it."
Money Chords is the web's definitive cannon of standard workhorse chord progressions. Webmaster Rich Scott compiled this encyclopedia of useful chord progressions. You won't break new ground here, but you may discover some oldies but goodies you have not used before. Each entry explains why the progression works and gives interesting bits of its history. Ravenspiral Guide Amazing music theory guide The Essential Secrets of Songwriting Outstanding music theory and composition blog Money Chords Definitive dictionary of standard progressions
Also on Squidoo
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How to write a great song Do you want to try your hand at writing a song, or putting your poetry to music? Here are some explanations of
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