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I have following progression:

G-Em-Bm-C G-Em-Bm-C

G-Bm-F#m-A D-Bm-F#m-???

G-Em-Bm-C...

I am happy with the progression and it works well, but struggling with the last chord.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

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4
  • G feels natural
    – Sebastian Hoffmann
    Nov 25, 2020 at 23:59
  • 1
    @SebastianHoffmann No pun intended? :-)
    – Aaron
    Nov 25, 2020 at 23:59
  • No pun intended ^^ I would also replace F#m with F#7 in the 15th bar
    – Sebastian Hoffmann
    Nov 26, 2020 at 0:02
  • 1
    Your progression is okay, it’s not offensive to the ear, but it seems like you’ve set out on a journey with no destination in mind. You found some roads that are interesting to travel, but don’t know where they’re taking you. Perhaps a better approach would be to determine where your ear wants to go, then figure out how to get there. What chord feels best to you leading back into the G? And what might lead best to that chord? Try working back from there.
    – wabisabied
    Feb 4, 2021 at 22:11

3 Answers 3

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4

A great deal depends on how you're voicing the chords. Here are a few options.

  1. My personal favorite: F#7 (or just F#, if you're trying to stick to triads).1
X:0
T:Chord progression idea
K:none
M:none
L:1/1
"^G"[GBd] "^Bm/F#"[^FBd] "^F#m"[^FA^c] "^A"[EA^c] |
"^D"[^FAd] "^Bm/F#"[^FBd] "^F#m"[^FA^c] "^F#7"[^F^A^ce] | "^G"[GBd]
  1. The obvious choice: A

You start with G-Bm-F#m-A. Then effectively substitute D for G, but then continue the same way. So a listener is prepped to hear an A chord, especially since the first part of the song also has two repetitions of its own chord sequence.

  1. The dark horse candidate: E

If you voice G-Bm-F#m-A such that the top pitches are D-D-C#-C#, then you can begin the next group the same way (D-Bm-F#m with top pitches again D-D-C#), but this time let the top pitch progress down to B.

Also provides a nice contrast to the Em earlier in the song.

X:0
T:Another chord progression idea
K:none
M:none
L:1/1
"^G"[GBd] "^Bm/F#"[^FBd] "^F#m"[^FA^c] "^A"[EA^c] |
"^D"[^FAd] "^Bm/F#"[^FBd] "^F#m"[^FA^c] "^E"[E^GB] | "^G"[GBd]

1 A beautiful example of this F#7 G progression can be heard in John Lennon's "Imagine". In the transition from "You may say I'm a dreamer" into "but I'm not the only one" the chords E7 F are used. You can hear them below at 2:15 (link is set to 2:10).

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3
  • Thanks! Really appreciate, doesn’t feel like any of these options nicely transit back to G..
    – Igor
    Nov 26, 2020 at 1:14
  • I like the sound of your first choice, the F#7. Not expected but gets there in an interesting and pleasing way.
    – wabisabied
    Feb 4, 2021 at 23:02
  • 1
    @wabisabied Your comment jogged my memory. That F#7 -> G progression (E7 -> F) shows up in John Lennon's "Imagine". I've added that to the post.
    – Aaron
    Feb 4, 2021 at 23:33
1

Since it looks like you’re on your way back to G I think the way to go is to play a D7, a good ol’ V7 chord. What do you think? I think it works well because you modulated to D for a bit then the I chord becomes the V chord back to your original key.

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1

Expanding on my comment to your question, suggesting you work back from where you want to go, that last F#m isn’t playing nice to my ear. I suggest you change it to a C chord, and end with D7.

G-Em-Bm-C G-Em-Bm-C

G-Bm-F#m-A D-Bm-C-D7

G-Em-Bm-C…

I think there are also cases to be made for:

  1. changing the third G to an Em. I think it helps prepare the ear for that eventual F#m-A (or F#7-A,) but it’s your song and I may be missing your intent.
  2. as others have suggested, changing that F#m to F#7.

G-Em-Bm-C G-Em-Bm-C

Em-Bm-F#7-A D-Bm-C-D7

G-Em-Bm-C...

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