Sequences of chords, and the relationship of one chord to the next
1
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5answers
165 views
Learning how to be a good rhythm guitarist before becoming a lead guitarist, where to start?
I have recently been trying to hone in my improvisational skills. I'm stuck in the first position of the Am pentatonic box and can't move away from it. Whenever I try to move out of it, I randomize ...
2
votes
2answers
114 views
how does the bluegrass major chord built off of the flat 7 “work”?
It's in almost every bluegrass song, but I've never seen an exposition of the theory behind the major chord (minor may also be used, but I don't think I've seen it) built off of the flat 7th of the ...
0
votes
0answers
28 views
What is the key of this song? “All in the serve - Michael W Smith” [closed]
I would like to know what is the key (scale) of the song "All in the serve" by Michael W Smith
Video -
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10
votes
1answer
192 views
What are some good/interesting ways to exit a circle of fifths section?
Circle of 5ths is in tons of chord progressions, sounds nice and 'easy', etc. But if you keep going on it the song can sound unreasonably predictable.
What are some good ways to use a little bit of ...
5
votes
1answer
166 views
“Andalusian cadences”: How are they commonly heard?
The "Andalusian cadence" I-bVII-bVI-V is commonly heard as a repeated figure in Flamenco music as well as many pop songs, e.g. "Hit the Road, Jack":
...
1
vote
1answer
106 views
What is a root movement by fourth in chord progression
I'm reading music theory for computer musician and in chapter 18 they talk about chord progression and root movement by fourth, second and third.
So it makes sense for the second and third, but for ...
6
votes
2answers
138 views
What does it mean when progression is resolved?
I saw this text inside a very basic piano workbook in which I'm not sure what the author means by using "resolve".
Progression #1: C-F-G-F-C
NOTE: This 4 bar progression resolves back to C ...
0
votes
3answers
117 views
What left hand technique is being used to create this percussive chord transition sound?
There is a strange chord transition that I cannot figure out how to play near the beginning of this acoustic guitar song:
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5
votes
2answers
186 views
Why play out of scale notes as part of a chord?
So, I'm learning 'Stray Cat Strut' right now and came across something I'm not sure I understood. I have to say, I've only just begun to learn theory, so maybe that's why.
Anyway, as far as I can ...
3
votes
3answers
212 views
Musical Harmony: When to use more than three chords
I understand that I, IV, and V chords in both major and minor keys are common chords that make up a good progression. I understand that those 3 chords cover all the notes diatonic to the key that we ...
9
votes
3answers
386 views
Why do these progressions sound good?
I have always wondered why these progressions sound so exiting. I don't really know how the I-IV-things work, so I'll just write the chords. An explanation of what's really going on would be much ...
2
votes
2answers
333 views
Playing the “fail” sound effect on a guitar?
I have looked around for the notes or chords to play the typical three note (wah wah wah) fail sound effect. I believe it's typically played on a trombone which gives it that great slide effect. In ...
3
votes
3answers
275 views
What's the theory behind switching modes during a passage?
Look, at the following two chord progressions (or better yet, play them):
(1) Dm C Bb Am Gm F Em Am
(2) Dm C Bb Am Gm F E A
Now, for the first six measures in both (1) and (2), we're just ...
3
votes
2answers
376 views
Harmony analysis program
Is there any computer program that automatically analyzes harmony given the score?
By harmony, I of course mean, 'I', 'III, 'IV' etc.. and their connection.
7
votes
3answers
444 views
Why does this key change work?
In the song 'Respect' by Aretha Franklin which is a fairly simple progression in Bb major the saxophone solo part of the song seems to make a key change to the key of Em. I don't understand why this ...
2
votes
0answers
158 views
Breakdown of Ray Charles' “swinganova” style?
In the liner notes to Ray Charles' collected country and western recordings, there is a section on how the popularity of bossa nova beats led him to come up with the more soul-accented version in his ...
5
votes
3answers
212 views
Composing a song in Cm with major chord substitutes
I am composing a song in Cm with a very basic chord progression of I-IV-I. So, normally, in Cm, that would be Cm7-Fm7-Cm7, but I am actually playing Cm7-F7-Cm7.
First of all, why does this work? This ...
8
votes
2answers
3k views
How to turn any (pop) song into a jazz song?
Quite often there are pop songs wich get covered in a jazz style. These covers are seen from youtube to tv.
Now I tried doing something like this, with for example Bad Day by Daniel Powter. It's ...
12
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I generate nice-sounding random chord progressions?
I'm trying to write a computer program to generate simple random chord progressions. Is there a way of ranking chords based on how nice they will sound after the previous ones?
Any advice would be ...
5
votes
2answers
463 views
What is this chord (spelled 2nd, 4th, 5th) and how is it used?
For the piano/composers:
I compose music for the piano in my spare time, and one particular chord that has caught my attention (as one that I like a lot) is the D-F-G chord in C Major.
I have seen ...
3
votes
1answer
148 views
What is this chord progression? (youtube inside)
We are trying to cover this classic 1996 Eminem track "313" but for the life of me I cannot figure out this chord progression.
I'm hoping someone can help!
...
4
votes
1answer
246 views
What's so special about III ?
Take a C major scale, and pick each other note, starting from each note
C-D-EF-G-A-BC-D-EF
I: C E G = C
ii: D F A = Dm
iii: E G B ...
0
votes
2answers
394 views
bass chord progressions in “Killing me softly”
This is kind of a follow up question to this question
I have trancribes the bass line:
The chords are:
G7(no 3) - G - C - F- Dm - G - Am - A(single note)
Which in roman numeral (if the scale is A ...
16
votes
2answers
1k views
What are some common jazz chord progressions?
What are some common progressions for Jazz improvisation?
I have been playing with ii-V-I and variations -- what are some others? Is the answer here just to really dig through standards until I've ...
7
votes
1answer
587 views
What is this called? Why is it allowed?
"Golden Train" by Justin Nozuka (YouTube link below) is in the key of Ab major. However he uses a Cb major chord throughout the song, which is not in the key of Ab major. It sounds good and works ...
7
votes
2answers
169 views
In chord progressions, how can I refer to a chord that's out of the scale?
I'm training a music that is most on the G Major scale.. But then there's a B chord. As B is not on the G Major scale, how can I refer to it when I'm writing the chord progression?
EDIT
My guess is ...
13
votes
1answer
459 views
Are there any machine-readable databases of chord progressions available?
I'm interested in doing some linguistics-inspired computational musicology on chord progressions and am wondering if there are any freely available databases of chord progressions.
Obviously, I could ...
40
votes
8answers
1k views
How do professional accompanying musicians (seem to) figure out songs instantly?
Sometimes, when I'm watching any TV show which has a live hired band for accompanying and they have a musician guest, the host will ask for them to sing something on spot (that wasn't really planned), ...
6
votes
1answer
212 views
When was the deceptive cadence introduced?
Bach used the Deceptive Cadence as early as his Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582, which dates to the early 18th century. Are there earlier uses? A definitive answer may be impossible, but I ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
Ic-V-I perfect cadence progression SATB part writing rules
I am studying Music at AS-level - we have to harmonise a soprano line (in any style we wish I believe) with the alto, tenor and bass parts.
One possible perfect cadence I have been taught is the ...
11
votes
6answers
380 views
My ear is not very well trained - what can I look for as easy hints when trying to identify a ii-V-I progression in blues music?
I'm looking to learn how to better analyze music I am listening to, and I'm having problems identifying ii-V-I progressions, especially when they're the basis for improvisation. What are some hints or ...
3
votes
1answer
368 views
Does the three chord trick always end a chord progression on the third chord?
It seems almost a redundant question, but the meat of it is this:
If one is using the three chord trick, is it stylistically required by rules of theory and phrasing to end the progression on the ...
25
votes
4answers
3k views
What are some chord substitutions for a I-IV-V blues progression?
I was watching a video of SRV and one of the things that really stood out was the fact that he seemed to have a different iteration of the I-IV-V turnaround - and made it look/sound effortless. Any ...
