In most songs of the pop music genres, chord progressions can be used to identify the song’s key. This happens whether the songwriter who created the progression is aware of it or not. They may like E C#m B as a progression to build a chorus on, not knowing (or caring!) that those 3 chords belong to […]
There are typically two times when a song’s key becomes something that a songwriter considers: During the initial songwriting process. You create your first melodic ideas based on an often-random choice of key and chords. During the performance or recording stage. You might possibly change the key to one that puts the melody in your optimum […]
How’s your musical ear? Here’s how you know that it needs some work: You can read music, but you find it difficult or impossible to play by ear. You hear a great melody, but you can’t find the notes on your instrument. You sit at the piano to play a song for a sing-along (like […]
We all get something different out of music. For some, music is beautiful sound that gets played quietly on the home stereo, never turned up: musical wallpaper. For others, music defines who they are and takes a central role. It gets turned up loud and listened to. And more than just listening to music because […]
There are very few songs on the Rolling Stones List of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time that made it to the list because of their stunning chord progressions. Chord progressions, when they work well, should almost disappear into the background of your song. Occasionally it’s nice to throw a chord in there that grabs attention, but […]
Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy” was the number-one single on the Billboard charts for 2014, and by any measurement you choose it was the most commercially successful song of that year, with 13.9 units sold. If there was ever a song that could be called an “accidental hit”, “Happy” fit the bill perfectly. It innocently inserted itself […]
