Why Some Chord Progressions Sound Aimless

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 E-book Bundle, and become a top-level songwriter! __________________ Writers of music have known, quite literally for centuries, that some chord progressions will unambiguously point to one note as being the tonic note. Such progressions are the kind that we refer to as strong. Strong progressions leave little doubt regarding […]

Why Using Someone Else’s Chords Isn’t Plagiarism

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle, and make yourself a top-level songwriter! _______________ As a songwriter, you should know that chord progressions don’t need to be amazing in order to work well. Most of the world’s biggest hits are built on progressions that, by themselves, are rather mundane. Almost by definition, a […]

The Best Way to Use Chord Inversions

For every key there are seven chords that naturally occur. You find these chords by building triads (i.e., 3-note chords that consist of a root, 3rd and 5th) above each note of the scale. So if your song is in A major, the seven naturally-occurring chords are: A, Bm, C#m, D, E, F#m, and G#dim. […]

A Quick Key Change Extends a Chord Progression’s Life

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle. Over 390 pages of songwriting instruction, covering every aspect of how great songs are written! _____________ I really do believe that most songwriters worry too much about the possible banality of their chord progressions. It’s OK for a progression to be boring and predictable. In fact, in […]

5 Chord Progression Suggestions for a Song’s Bridge

A bridge, which usually comes after a second chorus, accomplishes three things: 1) it intensifies song energy by presenting new melodies that are typically higher, louder and busier; 2) it explores more complex harmonic progressions; and 3) it presents new lyrics that alternate quickly between situation/description and emotional response. In short, a bridge gives a song […]

5 Ways to Make a Verse Melody Beg for a Chorus

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and kick-start your songwriting career! _____________ The successful song is, quite simply, the one that entices the listener to keep listening. In other words, songs that work are ones that cause us to think that something great is about to happen: you don’t want to stop listening […]