by
Gary Ewer - music
clinician/ teacher/
composer/ arranger
Free e-book: "How
to Harmonize a Melody" is being offered free with any purchase of a
songwriting e-book by Gary Ewer. Read about that offer here..
Stuck for chord progressions? Let the
sample chord changes on this page get you started. The chord
progressions below are like the ones you'll find from the
53-page e-book "Essential Chord Progressions." Read about
that book here.
Do you feel that songwriting is more of a struggle
than a JOY? Gary Ewer's four songwriting e-books will
get you
writing the songs you've always wanted to write: •"The Essential Secrets of
Songwriting" shows you how the pros write their songs; Read more... •"Essential Chord
Progressions" gives you pages and pages of chord changes you can
use; Read more... •"How to Harmonize a
Melody" shows you how to add chords to your tunes; Read more... •"The Essential Secrets of
Songwriting - LESSONS" gives you lessons and activities that
make you a better songwriter. Read more...
IT'S ABOUT MORE THAN
JUST HARMONIES
You
are reading this page because you need some good
harmonies for your songs. And the good news is that this page is going to give you some sample
progressions, for free. Keep reading, because you'll discover
not only what makes chord progressions work -
you'll be
given some sample progressions that you can use as is, or to modify to
suit your own needs.
But if you're on your way to becoming a great songwriter, you want more
than just some good chord progressions. You also want to know...
how to create a great melody;
how verse
melodies should differ from chorus
melodies;
how lyrics
need to be crafted to grab the listener's attention;
how to write a good intro, outro, bridge, etc;
how to ensure that your songs are
properly copy-protected, and
ready to send out to publishers, producers, and the waiting public!
If this describes you, then you need to
learn all about the secrets of good songwriting. You need discover "The
Essential Secrets of Songwriting" today, and get going writing great songs. (Get the
first sixteen pages
of
"The Essential Secrets of Songwriting" NOW!)
CLEARING UP THE
MYSTERY ABOUT CHORDS
There
is more confusion over the issue of chord changes in a song than
almost every other aspect. And more songwriters get stuck at the
harmony-stage of writing than any other stage.
Let this webpage help
clear up the mystery!
A good chord progression is like the land you choose to build your
house on: it's got to be more or less smooth, or placing the house will
be tricky. And while you want your landscaping to be beautiful to
behold, landscaping is all about the
house. Good landscaping makes a house look gorgeous!
If you try to sell your house with a backyard that's ugly,
overgrown, or disorganized, you'll have real problems selling it. It's
exactly the same with songs: if you try to sell your song with a chord
progression that's ugly or disorganized, the sale will come grinding to
a halt!
Chord progressions are the landscaping of your song. It's got to be
good, it's got to be beautiful, but if it doesn't serve the melody and
lyric, it's not doing its job!
THE TWO MOST COMMON
PROBLEMS
CHORD COMPLEXITY
CHORD CONFUSION
There's much that can go wrong with chords,
but what's the most common
problem? It's got to be chord
progressions that are far too complex. Progressions that try to
be the center of attention will often simply get in the way of a good
song.
The second most common problem? Chord progressions that are disorganized.
I want to use this webpage to:
get you started in understanding how
chords work;
give you some great progressions that
you can find useful
in your songs;
show you where to find more
progressions.
You need to know how to make sure that your chord changes enhance your song, not needlessly
complicate it.
HOW
CHORDS WORK
In
our songs, we tend to think of all the various chord progressions as
just simply... progressions. We write one, then... on we go to writing
the next. This can result in music that is weak and riddled with
failures. It is one of the biggest
reasons why songs fail!
STRONG VS FRAGILE
Not all
chord
progressions are the same, just as not all walls are the same. Some
progressions are very strong,
like the load bearing walls in my analogy. And we need them in crucial
structural moments in our song. Other
progressions are like non-load bearing walls. They are beautiful, they
are necessary, but... they were never intended to be the ones holding
the music together. In that sense, they are fragile. Now - THINK BACK to every piece of music
you tried to write, songs you
tried to make work. Did any of those failed songs have chords that
sounded like... something just wasn't working? I have no doubt at all
that those weak songs have fragile
progressions where strong ones were needed, and too many strong
ones where fragile progressions were needed.
MORE ON STRONG VS FRAGILE
This
may be the first time you are encountering these terms strong
and fragile
with regard to chord progressions, and if it is, you haven't seen The
Essential Secrets of Songwriting. You need that book
to fully understand how to put songs together professionally.
A strong progression is one that features chords whose roots are a
fourth or fifth apart. Take the following example, in the key of A
major:
The second, third, and final chord have roots a perfect fourth away
from each other. B is four notes up from F#. E is four notes up from B.
And A is four notes up from E. Because of this, EXAMPLE #1 IS A STRONG
PROGRESSION.
This
is a good example of what we call a fragile progression. The
Chord roots are all a second or third away from each other. Does this
make it a bad progression? Certainly not! And in fact, I rather like it.
But you have to be careful where you place this
progression. We call this a fragile progression because
it does not strongly emphasize the key you are in. It could be
something from D major, or possibly from A major or F# minor. That kind
of ambiguity makes music exciting. BUT
you need to know when you should be using this progression.
VERSES
AND CHORUSES
So
fragile doesn't mean bad. But you have to know when to use fragile
progressions. Here's a good rule of thumb to always consider:
FRAGILE PROGRESSIONS work best in verses.
STRONG PROGRESSIONS work best in choruses.
Not
only that, you will discover that the tonic note (i.e., the key note of
the piece) will want to appear more often in a chorus than in a verse
melody.
It's all part of structuring
your music. If you aren't structuring your music in this way, your
songs will feel like they lack energy and direction. And there's so
much more! If the
overall structure of your songs is what is worrying you, you need this
book:
Get it now, and find out how to write great
songs!
SAMPLE
CHORD PROGRESSIONS
But
now... On to some chord
progressions that work! I created an e-book that gives you dozens and
dozens of progressions,
all ready to use. Chord progressions are not subject to copyright
protection, so go ahead and use them!
I know you want to get going right away, and so here are some chord
progressions you can use right now, chords that will help get you going
right away!
1) A F#m
Bm E7 F#m (click
here to play)
This one ends on F#m, which we call a deceptive
cadence
2) A E7sus/B
A/C# Dadd9 (click
here to play)
This progression features three useful aspects of chord progressions:
1) Pedal tone. In this case, it's the note E that keeps sounding
through each chord of the progression. 2) Inversions. An inversion
occurs when a note other than the letter name of the chord appears in
the bass. 3) Added tones. In this progression, the Dadd9 simply means
that you should play an ordinary D major chord, and add the note E to
the chord.
3) A D E
A
F | Bb Eb F Bb(click
here to play)
This is a progression that will help you modulate (change key) up a
semitone. The progression is in A major, but that F chord at the end of
the first bar helps move you into the key of Bb major.
4) A G/A
D/A A (click
here to play)
This is another example of a progression that uses a pedal tone.
5) A F#m
Dm A (click
here to play)
And this final progression features what is called a "borrowed" chord,
or "modal mixture." The Dm chord normally does not occur in the key of
A major: it normally comes from A minor. But for this progression, we
"borrow" it from the minor mode to add a bit of colour. in the
music world. It's a great way of subtly getting
your audience's attention.
WANT MORE?
Have these chords whetted your appetite for more progressions?
What's in a book? Lots! And in this e-book specifically...
tons of chord
progressions! Sometimes, what you
really need to get going in writing songs are some chord changes that
will inspire you.
"Essential Chord Progressions" is full of progressions. 53 pages, to be
exact. Progressions that will stimulate your imagination and allow you
to get going writing the songs you've been wanting to write for ages.
Don't get stuck at the
chord-progression stage of writing songs. Keep reading
below, and you'll probably find that "Essential Chord Progressions" is
what you've been looking for. And at only
$9.95 US$, how can you go wrong?!
"Essential Chord Progressions" gives you loads of progressions! With
guitar fretboard diagrams. In several different keys, with easy
instructions on how to transpose them to even more keys.
From simple ones to more complex ones... progressions that use
pedal tones, secondary dominants, suspensions. In major and minor keys.
If what you really want is to get going writing your songs, and you
don't want to sweat it out over chords - you need this e-book.
One of the best ways to learn how to make your chord progressions work
is to examine chord progressions that work. And that's what this e-book
gives you. Fifty-three pages of chord progressions!
INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK:
Progressions that help
you change key;
Chord changes suitable for pop,
rock, country, folk, jazz and more.
12-bar blues and other standard
progressions.
More!
Click here to enter the secure purchase page to buy this e-book for
$9.95. You can be downloading and playing through the chord
progressions just moments from now!
DON'T FORGET...
And don't forget... if you really want to know how to get
your songs working, and how to start writing the songs that you've
always wanted to write, you've got to get "The Essential Secrets of
Songwriting" today, and start writing great songs.
what makes chord progressions work -
you'll be
given some sample progressions that you can use as is, or to modify to
suit your own needs.
by
Gary Ewer