Chord Progression Pack

[Gaynelle Alnutt]

Ina musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice era of Classical music to the 21st century. Chord progressions are the foundation of popular music styles (e.g., pop music, rock music), traditional music, as well as genres such as blues and jazz. In these genres, chord progressions are the defining feature on which melody and rhythm are built.

The complexity of a chord progression varies from genre to genre and over different historical periods. Some pop and rock songs from the 1980s to the 2010s have fairly simple chord progressions. Funk emphasizes the groove and rhythm as the key element, so entire funk songs may be based on one chord. Some jazz-funk songs are based on a two-, three-, or four-chord vamp. Some punk and hardcore punk songs use only a few chords. On the other hand, bebop jazz songs may have 32-bar song forms with one or two chord changes every bar.

A chord may be built upon any note of a musical scale. Therefore, a seven-note diatonic scale allows seven basic diatonic triads, each degree of the scale becoming the root of its own chord.[1] A chord built upon the note E is an E chord of some type (major, minor, diminished, etc.) Chords in a progression may also have more than three notes, such as in the case of a seventh chord (V7 is particularly common, as it resolves to I) or an extended chord. The harmonic function of any particular chord depends on the context of the particular chord progression in which it is found.[2]

The diatonic harmonization of any major scale results in three major triads, which are based on the first, fourth, and fifth scale degrees. The triads are referred to as the tonic chord (in Roman numeral analysis, symbolized by "I"), the subdominant chord (IV), and the dominant chord, (V), respectively.[3] These three triads include, and therefore can harmonize, every note of that scale. Many simple traditional music, folk music and rock and roll songs use only these three chord types (e.g. The Troggs' "Wild Thing", which uses I, IV and V chords).

The same major scale also has three minor chords, the supertonic chord (ii), mediant chord (iii), and submediant chord (vi), respectively. These chords stand in the same relationship to one another (in the relative minor key) as do the three major chords, so that they may be viewed as the first (i), fourth (iv) and fifth (v) degrees of the relative minor key. For example, the relative minor of C major is A minor, and in the key of A minor, the i, iv and v chords are A minor, D minor and E minor. In practice, in a minor key, the third of the dominant chord is often raised by one semitone to form a major chord (or a dominant seventh chord if the seventh is added).

Although there are many possible progressions, in practice, progressions are often limited to a few bars' lengths and certain progressions are favored above others. There is also a certain amount of fashion in which a chord progression is defined (e.g., the 12-bar blues progression) and may even help in defining an entire genre.[citation needed]

In western classical notation, chords are numbered with Roman numerals. Other types of chord notation have been devised, from figured bass to the chord chart. These usually allow or even require a certain amount of improvisation.

Diatonic scales such as the major and minor scales lend themselves particularly well to the construction of common chords because they contain many perfect fifths. Such scales predominate in those regions where harmony is an essential part of music, as, for example, in the common practice period of western classical music. In considering Arab and Indian music, where diatonic scales are used, there are also available a number of non-diatonic scales, the music has no chord changes, remaining always upon the key-chord, an attribute which has also been observed in hard rock, hip hop,[5] funk, disco,[6] jazz, etc.

Three-chord progressions are more common since a melody may then dwell on any note of the scale. They are often presented as successions of four chords (as shown below), in order to produce a binary harmonic rhythm, but then two of the four chords are the same.

Three-chord progressions provide the harmonic foundation of much African and American popular music, and they occur sectionally in many pieces of classical music (such as the opening bars of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony[9]).

Steedman (1984) proposed that a set of recursive rewrite rules generate all well-formed transformations of jazz, both basic blues chord changes and slightly modified sequences (such as the "rhythm changes"). Important transformations include:

This progression had been in use from the earliest days of classical music and then generated popular hits such as Rodgers and Hart's "Blue Moon" (1934)[11] and Hoagy Carmichael's "Heart and Soul" (1938).[12]

As well as the cyclical underpinning of chords, the ear tends to respond well to a linear thread; chords following the scale upwards or downwards. These are often referred to as step progressions[16] because they follow the steps of the scale, making the scale itself a bassline. In the 17th century, descending bass lines found favour for "divisions on the ground", so that Pachelbel's canon contains very similar harmonizations of the descending major scale.

... during 1960s some pop groups started to experiment with modal chord progressions as an alternative way of harmonizing blues melodies. ... This created a new system of harmony that has influenced subsequent popular music.

This came about partly from the similarity of the blues scale to modal scales and partly from the characteristics of the guitar and the use of parallel major chords on the pentatonic minor scale. With barre chords on guitar, the same chord shape can be moved up and down the neck without changing the fingering. This phenomenon is also linked to the rise in use of power chords in various sub-genres of rock music.

I've found a really cool chord progression that I've been playing on guitar that goes Bm-D-G-G. I'm trying to create a chorus to go with that chord progression, and I've settled that I'm playing in the key of G. It's possible that I am just nave seeing as my theory education is kind of haphazard, but I've never really seen a iii-V-I chord progression, and I can't figure out a chord progression that would fill the chorus. Is it possible that I am searching in the wrong key?

But, there is a potential ambiguity. One way to "check" things is pick another diatonic minor chord for the starting chord, step through the changes and see if the root changes and chord qualities are diatonic. For example, label Bm as vi, then continue the progression root vi up a minor third to a major chord I root descend a perfect fifth to a major chord IV. It technically could be vi I IV.

You may not like the sound of that kind of harmony. (When I play it, it sounds like some kind of folk rock.) Even if you don't want to do that kind of thing, it does "fill in" the basic theory by demonstrating how to define the tonic.

You could simplify a few of those ideas for making a chorus or bridge. Some kind of change from tonic G to tonic D is one way to structure a verse/chorus. And some kind of move to the mediants vi or iii with a continuation to V is a common pattern for a bridge.

A chord progression is not necessarily in any key. They key is in your head and it's defined by where you imagine the tonic to be and if the tonic is a minor or major chord. The chord progression you gave could be used in different keys, at least G and D, why not even A. You can affect the feeling of a key not only with chords but melodies. I made two different example melodies fitted over the chords, first in the key of G, then in D.

As you can see, the main melody outlines the tonic triad of the key. In the first example the melody uses the notes G, B, D heavily, especially B, over the Bm - D - G - G chords. In the second example there's a similar melody, but this time on notes D, F#, A, the notes of the D major triad. This helps in placing the whole song in a key.

The interpretation of iii-V-I in G Major is a fair one. The iii chord can serve as a stand-in for the tonic chord. It's not a progression one studies at conservatory, but certainly doesn't violate any rules -- and sounds good, rules or no.

The progression has some nice potential, too, in that you could easily shift to B minor without changing the progression. Just hold the B minor chord longer, and make the D-G chords relatively short. That transforms the progression into something that sounds like i-V/VI-VI in B minor. (V/VI means the V chord relative to the VI chord of B minor. One could call it the III chord, but V/VI is more description of its function.)

It's all diatonic in G major. All in the ballpark. What's the bass line do? Playing roots, B, D, G, it outlines the tonic triad of G major. Or the bass could go B, A, G - a scale is always strong, particularly one leading to the tonic. Don't feel you have to force it all into a 'cycle of 5ths' pattern (though there's the obvious V - I in there).

The reason A seems better is that the E at the end of four bars (I guess) is the dominant, taking the song back to its first chord. If the key was D, it's in the middle, with no V before it, and seems like the middle of a journey rather than arriving safely back home.

Sounds like the key-centre is A major. The bVII chord is very commonly used. You can just accept this as a fact, or you can justify it through 'borrowing'.Best, I think, to get your head round the idea that the diatonic (in-scale) notes of a key are a framework, not a restriction. Chromatic chords ARE 'allowed'. Someone is teaching beginners otherwise, and they should stop!

From what you say, it sounds to me that your song is in A major. The G natural just adds a bit of flavour and variety which can be attractive. Using accidentals can make it sound interesting as long as you don't wander too far from your tonal base and end up modulating somewhere you didn't intend.

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