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Gary Ewer has written four
e-books that 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;
•"Essential
Chord
Progressions" gives you pages and pages of chord changes
you can
use;
•"How to
Harmonize a
Melody" shows you how to add chords to your tunes;
•"The
Essential Secrets of
Songwriting - LESSONS" gives you lessons and activities
that
make you a better songwriter. Read
more... |
Click
here to read today's songwriting news and articles
... and
you really
should take the time to read
this important
article. It will show you seven basic songwriting errors, and
how
to avoid them!
NEWS:
Gary's newest e-book, "More Essential Chord Progressions" has been
released, and is being offered for free to purchaser's of his 4-e-book
package. Click here to take advantage of this limited-time offer.
LESSON
8
MIXING STRONG AND FRAGILE
PROGRESSIONS
STRONG
AND FRAGILE
PROGRESSIONS
In general, chord
progressions are
strongest when the root of the chord (i.e., the letter
name that defines the chord) moves up a 4th (or down a 5th) to get to
the next chord. So in A major, going from an A major chord
to D
major
is considered strong. So is going from E major to A major.
Other chord progressions are needed, of course. They won't all be
strong progressions - you'll want to mix in some so-called "fragile"
progressions. And you want to make sure that verses use, in general,
more "fragile" progressions, to go hand in hand with the less
conclusive lyric and melody.
A chorus should use more strong progressions, to help the
stronger lyric and melody. A verse should use more fragile
progressions, to help describe the more
inconclusive nature of the lyric.
DON'T
OVER-COMPLICATE YOUR SONG
If you've ever gone on a day-tour of a city, you know that your brain
can get overworked very easily by having too many things on the agenda.
In a similar way, a listener can feel lost and a bit overwhelmed if
there are too many chords in your song. Three or four chords can be
just fine.
As the various rooms of a house will all relate to one another, the
chords you choose, and in particular how they progress from one
to another, will determine the overall "flavour" of your song.
SAMPLE PROGRESSIONS
Here are some
chord progressions that are mixtures of strong and fragile
progressions. Overall, a strong progression is predominantly one in
which the roots of the chords are a 4th or 5 away from each other.
Primarily
strong:
1) A D E7 A
2) A F#m C#m D E7 A
3) A Bm A/C# D E C#m F#m B7 E7 A
Primarily
fragile:
1) A F A F
2) A C#m E F#m
3) Bm A/C# B/D# E
As you can tell by playing through the progressions, the fragile
progression is one in which the home key (in this case, A major) is not
strongly outlined, and so it leaves the key feeling a little bit vague.
Therefore, using too many fragile progressions can leave your music
sounding a bit vague and meandering. So don't dwell on them too much in
your songs.
The activities for this lesson will get you
thinking
about
how the
chords you choose will work together.
Looking for
some chord
progressions? "Essential Chord Progressions" is now
available.
ACTIVITIES
for HELPING TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT CHORD
1.
Write
five samples of
chord progressions, using at least four chords each, that do not start
or end on the tonic (I) chord, and might be classified as
primarily fragile:
i)
__________________________________
ii)
__________________________________
iii)
__________________________________
iv)
__________________________________
v)
__________________________________
2. Write five samples of chord progressions, using at least five chords
each, that end on, but
do not start
on, a I-chord, that might be classified as mainly strong.
i)
__________________________________
ii)
__________________________________
iii)
__________________________________
iv)
__________________________________
v)
__________________________________
...on
to Lesson 9 -
CONSIDERING FORM
Get Gary's songwriting
e-books and learn to make songwriting FUN AGAIN! Read
more here.
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I'd love to hear from
you! If you find these lessons useful, or if you have any questions,
please don't hesitate to write me (Gary Ewer): gary@pantomimemusic.com
©
2005-2008 Pantomime Music Publications
"The Essential
Secrets of
Songwriting
Online Free Songwriting Course" is the copyright property of Pantomime
Music Publications. Permission is granted to link to this page;
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