Because most songwriters want to stand out from the crowd, at least just a bit, it’s common to go looking for chord progressions that are unique, or at least somewhat inventive. I love a creative chord progression, and so I think looking for chords that sound fresh and not overly-used by others is a worthwhile […]
Most songs will keep the same key from beginning to end. For songs that do change key, the most common circumstance is when you have a minor verse that moves to a major chorus. You hear this in lots of songs. I did a video a while back regarding how songs change key, and referred […]
Back in the early 70s the band Chicago recorded “Happy ‘Cause I’m Going Home” (Robert Lamm) for their second album. What I love about the chord choices is the primarily minor key feel at the beginning — F#m-Bm — in a song that’s supposed to be about being happy. There’s a chorus-y section where the […]
Of all the various elements that go together to make a song, you’ll find that a boring chord progression will almost never be a problem. A boring melody can be a problem (not always, though), and a boring lyric might spell a song’s demise. But the chords? They can be as stunningly boring as a […]
“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle” contains several eBooks that are meant to get you moving quickly in your songwriting process. They’ll give you progressions, formulas for creating your own, and all the info you need to add chords to an existing melody. Many songwriters love the chords-first songwriting process, for several reasons: Chords […]
A verse’s chord progression is sometimes short and strong, sometimes long and wandering. But no matter what its character, or how long or short it is, it usually does one important thing: it aims for the first chord of the chorus. Sometimes a verse will start in a key that’s different from the chorus. Often […]
