50
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Which key signature to pick for this chord progression?
Put it in key A. That's I, and D is IV, while E is V. The slightly awkward G is said to be a borrowed chord, from, in this case, A minor, the parallel key.
It's theory, an observation, not a rule, ...
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29
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What are the four chords that so many pop songs are based on?
This chord progression is common enough to have a Wikipedia page:
I–V–vi–IV progression
The 'axis of awesome' video you refer to is talking specifically about those chords in that particular order - ...
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26
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What is a B-flat major chord doing in the key of A minor?
This is a very common concept known as the Neapolitan chord.
In short, the Neapolitan chord is typically a major chord built on the lowered second scale degree; you'll occasionally see/hear it called ...
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25
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Is it necessary to use only notes and chords that belong in a specific scale?
As the other answers have correctly pointed out, you can do what sounds good to you. But this might leave you with a feeling of not knowing where to start. That's why I would like to let you know the ...
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23
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Randomly and Programmatically generate a "good" next chord?
There are several "chord maps" on the net which indicate chord successions; these may be a good starting point. The chord maps do not give any relative weights or probabilities to chords.
A ...
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22
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What is a I♭ chord?
I think, based on the co.uk domain, and the instructor's accent, that those are not flat signs, but British inversion signs.
a = root position
b = first inversion
c = second inversion
I'm also ...
- 55k
21
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Is it necessary to use only notes and chords that belong in a specific scale?
Theory is not a set of rules to be followed or broken. Theory is a set of explanations for why things sound the way they do. As a composer you use theory to help inform your choices, but it never ...
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modulating from G major to G# major
Any readers may thank you more if the new key becomes Ab. Ab has only 4 flats in it, whereas G# has 8 sharps.
The simplest, which always works, pretty well whichever key you're changing into, is to ...
- 190k
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What is the progression from A minor to F minor called?
Chromatic mediant is the technical name
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_mediant
This is where the chord roots are a third apart and there is one common tone.
So with Fm and Am you have:
F, ...
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21
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Why does the iii chord seem to be usually avoided in many styles?
I'll go a slightly different direction with my answer and say that I think this is a misconception. And frankly, I blame lackluster textbooks for it.
I recall Kostka/Payne's Tonal Harmony in my ...
- 84k
20
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Significance of pop songs with progressions that alternate one chord with one that's three semitones below it
In addition to No'am's nice answer, there are two further points I'd like to make:
In most (all?) of your instances, note that the chord in question changes from major to minor. This is thus an easy ...
- 84k
20
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The function of Gm G♭ B♭ chord progression in "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
The move from Gm to GbM is definitely not a standard “classical” progression, although it does start to happen more and more in the late Romantic era and in lots of Impressionist and other neo-tonal ...
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19
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Significance of pop songs with progressions that alternate one chord with one that's three semitones below it
Let's say a song is in the key of C; three semitones below this is the key of Am, which is known as the relative minor key. In the same way, chords which are 'three semitones below' (e.g. F and Dm, G ...
- 1,643
19
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What is the name of using a major chord instead of a minor chord at the end of a progression?
The original term - still used - is 'Tierce de Picardie', which translates to Picardy Third.
No proof has emerged appertaining to the reason why Picardy was involved, except perhaps the major chord ...
- 190k
19
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Randomly and Programmatically generate a "good" next chord?
Formal Grammars
I have done some research on formal grammars for composition. A formal grammar G = (V, S, P) consists of a vocabulary V, a starting symbol S in V, and replacement rules P. A rule ...
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18
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Why do these chords from the plastic bag scene in American Beauty work?
In addition to Tim's great answer, we can also conceptualize this as being in C Dorian.
The Dorian mode is a major scale with a lowered third and seventh. C Dorian would thus have E♭ and B♭.
I think ...
- 84k
18
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Using chord iii in a chord progression (major key)
iii is used, I'm not sure where you heard that it wasn't really used much.
Sure, you could argue that it's used less than other diatonic chords, (Em in the chart for chords, according to this site), ...
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17
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Sharps used in Super Mario theme
You are right, this piece is in the key of C major. There are countless songs written in C major, or any other major key that don’t use any notes outside the major scale or any chords outside the 7 ...
- 25k
16
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How do I correctly borrow chords from one key to another?
The term "borrowed chords" relates to borrowing from the parallel major or minor. This is also called "mode mixture."
At its most basic, when we're in a given key, we can use chords from the parallel ...
- 84k
16
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Can the same song be written in a minor key and major key with the progression written differently?
The scale/chords are good clues to the key of a song, but at least as important is the tonal center. That's not as easy to define but generally it's where the song comes back to a place of less ...
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15
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When creating a bass line, how do I know what notes I'm allowed to use?
Where my confusion really comes in is that if the song is in the key
of G does that mean I'm only allowed to play the notes in that scale
(G,A,B,C,D,E, F#)?
The key of a song does not determine ...
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15
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How do I know what patterns to play under a melody?
This is where your musicianship skills become useful. (Or where you realise you need some!)
Write down the melody and show it to us as notation. Then we know what we're talking about.
Hint: You'll ...
- 90.5k
15
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What chord is "A7+4"?
This answer assumes that 7#11 chords are equivalent to 7b5 chords, and it uses the two symbols interchangeably. I acknowledge that there are in fact some pedantic differences between the two, but for ...
- 12.6k
15
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Sharps used in Super Mario theme
Adding to John Belzaguy’s answer: The piece is pretty much straight C major, but it is using something we call chromatic approaches. This means that when playing a note you approach it from a half ...
- 18.7k
14
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Is it necessary to use only notes and chords that belong in a specific scale?
TL;DR: No.
You can use anything you like, as long as it sounds good to you. You can use many scales or not use any; you can use chords from some scale or use chords outside that scale.
Just ...
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14
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Are there scales and chord progressions particularly used in Rag music?
Structurally ragtime harmony is pretty much classical tonal harmony, but there are some idiomatic specificities that give ragtime its characteristic sound.
One progression very characteristic of ...
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Are chord progressions used in classical music?
I think your terminology is a bit off here. Nothing about a chord progression requires repetition although a lot of more modern pieces will use progressions that repeat, it does not speak for all ...
Dom♦
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What are the four chords that so many pop songs are based on?
To quote Leonard Cohen: "It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall". Then "the major lift" is another fourth. Those plus the tonic give you your four chords.
If it's good enough for ...
- 4,752
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Accepted
Chord exceptions in City of New Orleans
The chords you've listed in your table are what we call the diatonic triads of a key. "Diatonic" basically just means "within the key," so the diatonic triads are what are created when we only use the ...
- 84k
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