When you feel that your chord progression is lacking a bit of excitement, you’re temptation might be to toss it out and go looking for “the killer chord progression.” But that shouldn’t be your first choice, for a number of reasons. First of all, no chord progression is “killer” unless it’s partnering well with all […]
Do you like starting the songwriting process by coming up with a chord progression first? Every songwriter has done that — even writers that focus on lyrics as their strongest suit will occasionally resort to playing a chord progression, even if just to get in the composing mood. But here’s a problem you’ll often notice […]
A chord is 3 or more notes all sounding together. Those 3 notes form what we call a triad, and they are the bulk of the chords that get used in most songs written in any of the pop genres (rock, country, folk, etc.) As you know, there are lots of ways to modify triads. One of […]
Ever try playing a good chord progression backwards? It doesn’t always work, but it’s worth the time to experiment. When you do something in songwriting the same way each time, it’s called using a formula, and it’s not usually the kind of thing a songwriter should be aspiring to do. But there is one exception, […]
A minor key may add just the right mood to your lyric. Here’s how to create minor chord progression. ____________ Struggling to build an audience base? “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” shows you every aspect of what makes a great song great. Read more.. ____________ There are 2 common ways that songwriters get the feeling of minor across […]
To make a longer progression, consider repeating a short one, making substitutions each time through. Here’s how. In yesterday’s post, we looked at how each chord in a progression can be categorized, and we used that information to help us create chord substitutions. We can also use that information to extend chord progressions, making them longer. That’s what we’re […]
