As you probably know, it’s quite possible (and reasonably common) to use the same — or almost the same — chord progression for a chorus that you use for a verse. If you do decide to use the same progression for both sections, it should be the kind of progression that would normally work well for […]
Songwriting formulas are usually spoken of in a negative way. That’s because inherent in the term “formula” is the notion that if you do certain things, you’ll get a predictable result. And if you’re like most songwriters, “predictable” is not what you’re after. There are many kinds of formulas that are used in songwriting. Some […]
If you like starting your songwriting process with chords, you’re usually OK to take pretty much any chord progression you hear in anyone else’s song. That’s because chord progressions, on their own, are not protected by copyright. But having said that, there’s a caution here that you should consider when you do, in fact, use someone else’s […]
The tonic chord, which represents the key of your song (or song section), acts as a kind of tonal anchor: it sounds like “home”, and when you move away from it, your ears automatically listen for its return. You hear that easily in this basic progression: C Am Dm G7 C If you look deeper […]
If you like any of the melody-first songwriting processes, you know that eventually you need to add chords to that melody. If chord progressions are the part of writing that’s a little out of your comfort zone, here are some tips and ideas that can help : Get a sense of the strong beat-weak beat […]
Yesterday’s blog was all about using chord inversions — so-called “slash chords” — in your songs. It got me thinking about other aspects of chord use in songs. Here is a quick list of five things every songwriter should know about this very important topic: 1. Chords work very much the same way regardless of […]
