Week 10 - Chord Progression

1. SONGWRITING 1
Week 11

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
➤ By the end of today’s session, students will be able to:
1. Identify and describe common major and minor key diatonic
chords
2. Make the most of 4 and 5 chord progressions
3. Identify chord progressions common to 3 main genres of
song

3. DIATONIC MAJOR KEY CHORDS
➤ Most hit songs use between four and six different chords
only.
➤ So you only need 6 chords to write effective songs
I IIm IIIm IV V VIm
C Dm Em F G Am
F Gm Am Bb C Dm
G Am Bm C D Em
D Em F#m G A Bm
C Major
F Major
G Major
D Major

4. DIATONIC MINOR KEY CHORDS
➤ Diatonic minor key chords are the same chords as major key
chords, but arranged in a different order
➤ Im IIdim bIII IVm Vm bVI bVII
➤ Minor keys tend to use a lot of modal interchange
➤ Here are the most common minor key chords:
Im IIm bIII IVm V bVI bVII
Am Bm C Dm E F G
Dm Em F Gm A Bb C
Em F#m G Am B C D
Bm C#m D Em F# G A
A Minor
D Minor
E Minor
B Minor

5. 4 CHORD PROGRESSIONS

6. I - V - VIMIN - IV
➤ Adele - Someone Like You https://www.hooktheory.com/
theorytab/view/adele/someone-like-you
➤ Let it Go - https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/
idina-menzel/let-it-go
➤ Etc

7. IMIN - BVII - BVI - BVII OR VIMIN - V - IV - V
➤ Am - G - F - G
➤ Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson https://
www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/michael-jackson/
smooth-criminal
➤ Somebody that I Used to Know - Gotye feat Kimbra https://
www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/gotye/somebody-that-
i-used-to-know

8. MORE:

9. OK, BUT HOW DO I USE THAT TO WRITE A WHOLE SONG?
➤ A four or five chord progression runs the risk of getting overly
repetitive and boring.
➤ Often, it’s all about the melody - the chord progression just
serves as a solid foundation for the song.
➤ Melodic phrases have interesting rhythms, or occur at
interesting points within the progression.

10. OTHER TIPS AND TRICKS
➤ Use cluster chords - sus2, or sus4, or add9 etc
➤ Sing the extensions (7ths etc.) in the melody to add colour to
the progression
➤ Use root motion to your advantage - create ascending or
descending motion in the bass.
➤ Avoid resolving too often - keep momentum going by starting
something new when the chord progression hits the tonic
(i.e. start a melodic phrase).

11. GENRE AND CHORD PROGRESSIONS
➤ Every music genre has a distinctive sound
➤ Some of this has to do with arrangement and instrumentation
➤ But a big contributor to the unique sound of each genre is the
types of chords used