Creating Good Song Melodies From a Chord Progression

A great chord progression means nothing if the melody is unremarkable. _______________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle: Songwriting instruction that’s powerful and effective! _________________ If you like to start the songwriting process by strumming chords, you’ll probably notice that creating melodies that go with those chords is not always easy. One of the most common […]

How Chord Progressions Change as a Song Progresses

It’s not usually enough to simply create different progressions for your verse and chorus; these are the vital differences between the two. __________ These days in pop songwriting, it’s not all that unusual for a verse and chorus to use the same chord progression. “One More Night” (Maroon 5) is a good example. But for […]

For Song Chord Choices, Try Minor in the Verse, Major in the Chorus

Moving from minor to major gives a very natural energy boost to your music. ____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and build your audience base! _____________ Practically all songs you’ll hear today are in a key, which means that the chord progression points to one particular chord as giving a sense of “home”. Once you know […]

Helping a Complex Chord Progression Make Sense

Looking for ideas to help a weird progression make better sense? Try these. ____________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle – Powerful and Effective songwriting instruction! ____________________ Of all the elements that go together to make a song, the chord progression is the one that you shouldn’t particularly worry if it’s somewhat predictable. […]

Creating Verse and Chorus Chord Partnerships

Songwriters need to find ways to make verse and chorus progressions sound like partners within the same song. ______________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle – It’s time to get serious about building your audience base! ______________ There’s no reason that a verse and chorus cannot use the same chord progression, and many […]

Chord Progressions, Melodies, and the Problem of Parallel Motion

When chord roots and melodies move in the same direction all the time, a vital sense of “independence” is lost. ________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and start building a large audience base for your music ________________ For many songs, chord progressions are simple enough that the concept of a bass “line” […]