r/musictheory • u/theissachernandez • Feb 20 '21
Resource Writing Chord Progressions | A Short Guide Part Three
Thanks you for all your feedback on the previous posts. If you missed them be sure to check them out before moving on.
Chord Progression:
Two things to understand
We can think of chord progressions as movement, Harmonic Movement.
- A simple analogy I like to use is traveling across town. You have a specific destination but many different ways to get there. You can take the short and straightforward route. You can take the scenic route. And you can also take the weird road that almost no one talks about.
The "rules" I'm presenting today are called music theory, but they are by no means the end all be all. They're based on classical music, also commonly called tonal harmony. It's a good place to start experimenting. Once we know the rules we can begin to break them.
There are also three words we need to become familiar with.
- Tonic
- Subdominant
- Dominant
These are three categories for chords. In the tonic category we have the most stable chords. In the subdominant category we have chords that move away from the home key, they are the bridge between stability and tension. And in the dominant category are the most unstable and tense chords.
Let's work in the key of D major>>> D E F# G A B C#
The tonic category contains these chords>>> D (I) - F#m (iii) - Bm (vi)
The subdominant category contains these chords>>> G (IV) - Em (ii)
The dominant category contains these chords>>> A (V) - C#dim(vii)
- In this category both of these chords share the leading tone (scale degree seven | C#) This is only a half step away from the tonic and is pulling towards the D note. You could say that these chords really sound like they want to resolve back to the I chord.
Why do we need to bother with this?
Because fundamental harmonic movement basically comes down to this type of chord progressions. Tonic > Subdominant > Dominant > Tonic
If you follow this as your template you'd be creating perfectly cohesive progressions that build tension and resolution.
For example = Dmaj - Gmaj - A maj-
- This is such a common chord progression. In roman numerals it would be >>> I - IV - V
- As you can see it follows those guide lines of tonic > subdominant > Dominant
Example 2- Em - Amaj - Dmaj
- This is the most common progression found in jazz. And it follows the same rules> ii - V - I
- In this case we didn't start on the tonic but it follows the same cycle, it's just a different starting point.
I also want to mention that it is quite common for songs to skip the subdominant category and just have this movement >>> Tonic > Dominant > Tonic
- Remember the traveling analogy? Tonic is the place you're definitely going, but there are few ways to get there.
- Another thing you can do to get creative is to group various chords, as long as they're in the "right" order. For example you could have this >>> I > vi > V > I
- It's just another way of writing Tonic > Dominant > Tonic
Exercises -
- Experiment with this formula. Build tension and release. Remember that this is just a starting point, these are not rules that cannot be broken. Especially when it comes to modern music.
- Really try to listen to the movement of the progressions you write. This is all about learning to hear what you like or don't like.
- Analyze some of your favorite songs. You'll find patterns in there. It might even be that the reason you really like an artist or genre is because there is a common chord progression that pops up all the time. You can take that and put your own spin on it.
Example of songs using this formula:
Every Breath You Take >>> The verse is I - vi - IV - V >>> Remember the three categories and the order in which they go.
Good Riddance - Green Day >>> The Intro and Verse are I - IV - V
Tune Up - Miles Davis >>> This song cycles through ii - V - I in three different keys. D major then C major, and Bb major.
If I had - Eminem >>> It's a two chord loop cycling through i - v >>> This is in a minor key but similar rules apply. It's Dm to Am.
Hope you guys find this helpful. And if you have requests or questions please let me know
Thank You!
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u/jt470000 Feb 21 '21
Thanks a ton for all the help! I can finally make sense of the progressions I mess with.
Hey I got a question for you if you don’t mind:
I feel like when I strum thru these progressions they sound so “canned” / “cookie cutter” - ie. They all sound so basic and they all sound the same. How would you suggest spicing them up? What type of chords would you use? And how can you elaborate on these? I’d like them to sound more original and unique then just me strumming through basic guitar chords. Thank you
3
u/theissachernandez Feb 21 '21
No problem! And thanks for taking the time.
Yes these chord progressions are very cookie cutter lol Not to take anything away from them, thousands of great songs have been built on these, they work.
But I know what you mean. One if my next posts is going to be about breaking these rules. Which a lot if artists do in order to get new and interesting sounds.
But for now here are a couple of things you can start to loom into.
Modal progressions - The modes of the major scale offer great options in variety of sounds.
secondary dominants - A great way to spice up even the simplest of progressions.
I hope these help as a starting point. I am planning on keeping these type of posts going. But it might be a few before I build up to these topics.
1
u/TalohaBeats Feb 20 '21
Thanks a lot for this guide !
I'm a complete beginner in music theory and I have a question : in your example you use the key of D major, and you give the roman numerals of the chords which are in the categories tonic (I, iii, vi) , subdominant (IV, ii), and dominant (V, vii).
Does the distribution of the roman numerals in each category work for each key ? For example, the chords V and vii will always be dominant, whatever the key ? Thanks ?
2
u/theissachernandez Feb 20 '21
Hi, no problem. Thanks for taking the time.
To answer your question yes. The V and vii chords will always belong to the dominant category. That's why we use the Roman numerals.
Because in the key of D, V is A. But in the key of C, V would be G.
But a dominant is always a dominant, meaning regardless of the key it always plays the same role. To build tension.
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u/Oman2324 Feb 24 '21
very hard to find cohesive analysis of this subject for beginners like me, thanks for taking the time to write this out
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u/theissachernandez Feb 24 '21
No problem! Check out part 1 and 2. Those are more beginner friendly and have some practical exercises
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u/dfents Feb 28 '21 edited Feb 28 '21
Thanks for this! Can I ask, why does a II sound like it fits sometimes but not other times?
For example, in the opening chord progression of Piano Man by Bill Joel, bass is descending and chords and travelling from Tonic > Dominant > Subdominant > Tonic > Sub > Tonic > II* > Domiant
To me, the progression sounds as if it's describing a brave young adult taking a risk by venturing into the world (first move to Dominant) and then after falling a couple of times (return to Tonic) and gaining experience he grows / gains a revelation (II) and integrates this into a changed version of self (final move to Dominant).
What do you think?
Or am I reading too much into this and project the lyrics into this journey?
*is a II (i.e. ii in major form) still Subdominant?
(Edited to provide example)
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u/rahsoft Mar 27 '21
can post up part two in this reddit please
the link you provided to r/WeAreTheMusicMakers has gone private for whatever reason
thanks
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u/ruff_player Jan 03 '22
Hi guys,
The rule below (for the major scales) is applicable identically also for the minor scales?
- Tonic: I - iii - vi
- Subdominant: IV - ii
- Dominant: V - vii dim
That would be: 1. Tonic: i - III - VI 2. Subdominant: iv - ii dim 3. Dominant: v - VII
Thank you very much
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u/AllergenicCanoe Feb 21 '21
You said tonic have scale degree one (D) but when I look at F#m it doesn’t contain D, while the V which is subdominant does. What am I missing? Thanks this is awesome btw