writing good chord progressions(and other stuff) PLEASE HELP

hi im rubbish at composing.. :(

are there any tips or tricks to writing good chord progessions (for piano).... so far i only really know the chord C,E,G and then like progressions but keeping my fingers in the same position. in other words the tonic, fourth and seventh (i think :D )

ive heard a good way to get nice melodys is to have a good chord progression so..

how do you go about writing melodys from that chord progression..... (or just nice melodys as a whole)

all my songs will be in 4/4 timing by the way

my aim is really to write motifs (but like memorable ones) rather than stuff without ostinato... i compose reppetitve dance music sooo im kindof thinking melodic hooks..

any help or advice will deffinatly be MOST appreciated... ;) :P

Chord progressions are pretty easy, in the fact that there is no set rule defining what you can and cannot use, however certain progressions sound, due to the notes each chord has in common, much more consanant than others.

The general Chord Progression for Major scales is:

iii -> vi -> ii/IV -> V/vii(dim) -> I

I (or root) can lead to anything. The best way to approach iii is by V/vii(dim)

Now, if you don't know what all this means:

Each scale is comprised of two tetrachords (chords consisting of 4 notes) in which the middle note is shared. In your key of C: C D E F G A B C. Each of these notes, in ascending order, is given a numerical quality. C=1, D=2, etc.

The most basic chords are triads, or chords consisting of three notes, and is notes 1, 3, and 5 counting from the first note you started on. To build a triad off of C, you would use C, E, and G. Each note in the scale has a triad associated with it, and with that chord, a certain quality; Major, Minor, Diminished, or Augmented. In a major scale, I, IV, V are major, while the rest are minor (vii is usually diminished).

What the above chart means is simply: Start on a chord. For an example, I'll use I. Following this chart, I could go anywhere with I that I want. I'll go to iii.

The chords would be:

CEG -> EGB

Continuing on:

I -> iii -> vi -> ii -> V -> I

would be:

CEG -> EGB -> FAC -> DFA -> GBD -> CEG

The last two chords of a phrase usually form what is called a cadence. V -> I is the Authentic Cadence (Perfect Authentic Cadence under some circumstances). It is the most conclusive sounding cadence you can right. Try playing GBD -> CEG on a piano and you'll hear what I mean.

Now, the chart for minor scales is very similar:

III -> VI -> ii(dim)/iv -> V/vii(dim) -> i

ii and vii are diminished.

The difference with minor scales is that the best way to approach III is not from vii(dim) but from a major VII. (raise the third and fifth a half-step).

Again, these charts are rough guidelines, but are very useful guidelines at that.

What you mentioned with keeping your fingers in the same possition is called inverting chords. It's where you move a note or notes of a chord to a different octave to avoid large leaps, especially in the bass part. You mentioned a common chord progression that demonstrates that well.

If your bass is leaping all over the place, try moving notes down/up an octave to bring the notes closer together. Also to note, if two chords have common notes, like CEG -> GBD share the G, whatever part has the G needs to retain it in both chords. The keeping of common tones makes the music more smoothe and helps it progress towards your cadence point.

Also, as a general rule, try to end your melodies that have harmony on I, so you don't end up accidently changing keys on yourself.

I hope my crash course in theory helps. Also try www.musictheory.net . It contains all the charts I mentioned plus lessons and whatnot.

Just a suggestion - get a book on theory/harmony - from the library if you can't afford one - alternatively get some lessons if you're interested in jazz-styled progressions - or just experiment (but without some help, experiment might take a long time).

On the "classical" route you start by writing a scale in the key of your melody. Major scales/progressions are easiest to deal with. So, for example, C major starts on C then goes up in steps (all the white notes) until you reach the C above, then repeats.

Each step is numbered - C being I, D = ii, E = iii, F= IV etc When you get to the C above, it's I again. These roman numerals are used while you're deciding on the harmony that goes with the melody you're working on. You'll notice the numerals are sometimes in upper case, sometimes lower.

Upper case romans mean the "triad" (about to be explained) is major; lower case means the triad is minor.

Degree/step vii is a special case, being neither major nor minor but "diminished".

A triad is formed by adding the notes over the top of the step in the scale. You add the 3rd and the 5th.

In your example in C, you talked about C E & G. On C, E is the 3rd (3 steps up the scale inclusive from C) and G is the 5th (5 steps up).

If you play D with your little finger, F and A are the 3rd and 5th.

So you have:

I - CEG

ii - DFA

iii - EGB

IV - FAC and so on. These are triads. You can add more notes as you think fit - the most usual is the 7th - and you can alter notes to achieve the effect you want.

The reason we use roman numerals is to avoid having to talk about "Key" all the time.

The progression: I - IV - V is the same relationship in every key, so if someone says, "Harmonise that with I-IV-V, you'll be able to work out what those chords are in any key.

Minor keys are more difficult for several reasons and I won't confuse the issue by mentioning "modes". Modes are just scales by another name - the major and minor modes are the ones most you're most likely to encounter in published "classical" music.

As a subject it can be approached academically like this (useful as some variant of the same system is used in all circles practicing western art music (and it has many musical values within that)) or intuitively in which case you have to develop your own system of jotting your harmonic ideas down. etc etc ( quite aside from analysis issues).

Some people prefer to talk about chords in keys instead, but then you have to learn your progressions in every key to know them, if you see what I mean.

Best get a book and/or lessons. Description is difficult here with no facility to give examples on music staves.

Good luck,

:thumbsup:

M

I think it helps to think of a melody first and then putting chords to it- IF you start out with chrods, sometimes you're limited as far was the melody goes. But not all of the time.

Oh, I'm a little new here, so hi to all...

~Kal

Good site: it helps quite a bit. It touches on everything from the beginner level to some more advanced topics

http://www.musictheoryresources.com/members/FA_rhythm.htm (index on left panel)

What is the method of writing a song.. like in steps.. what do people here do for instance?