Giving Chord Progressions a Sense of Direction

Being imaginative with chord progressions is a good thing. But imaginative progressions need a harmonic goal. __________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 10 e-book bundle, and build your audience base! Get today’s deal: A FREE copy of “Creative Chord Progressions” when you purchase the bundle. __________________ Imaginative chord progressions are wonderful to experiment with, because chords that […]

5 Pleasantly Ambiguous Chord Progressions For a Song Verse

Chord progressions that are tonally ambiguous have that useful quality of making people wait around to hear the follow-up stronger progression. __________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle. Write smarter – Tap into your creative mind. __________________ Verse chord progressions differ from chorus ones in one big way: while a chorus progression usually needs to […]

Songwriting Challenge: Renovating Music, Axis of Awesome Style

Try taking the chord progression of your favourite song, and writing an entirely new song with it. __________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle. Become the best songwriter you can be! __________________ Most of you are probably familiar with “4 Chords“, the rather hilarious tune recorded by Axis of Awesome. That song highlighted the fact […]

Using Deceptive Cadences to Boost a Song’s Energy

Extending chord progressions by using deceptive cadences will entice listeners to keep listening. __________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle. Write smarter – Tap into your creative mind. __________________ One of the important ways that songwriters build energy is by creating an expectation, and then avoiding it. Here’s what I mean. Most songs are a musical […]

Strengthening a Chord Progression: Check the Roots

Musical complexity happens better if you focus on melodic phrasing, time signatures and rhythms, and leave chord progressions more or less intact. __________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle. Write smarter – Tap into your creative mind. __________________ You might be tempted to think that creating a good chord progression is a hit-or-miss activity, where […]

Between Chords, Melody and Lyrics, Something Should Be Predictable

As a songwriter, you should see predictability as a great way to balance innovative elements in your music. __________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle. Write smarter – Tap into your creative mind. __________________ You wouldn’t think of “predictability” as being a good characteristic to incorporate into music. After all, when something is predictable, it […]