Preston
471 posts
Aug 20, 2009
10:18 AM
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For those of you who only want to play the 12 bar blues.... go read some other thread, this probably won't be interesting. :)
Everybody else:
What are some other typical progressions in other genres?
I know of a I-IV-V-I and a I-IV-Vm7-I.
From a song writing stand point: what works well? Would you do a I-IV-V-I and make it fit a verse and then do something different for a chorus? Or is there a better Idea?
I know that some Rock songs are not even that deep, and are just based off of a two or three different riffs.
I guess what I'm really trying to ask is if there is a "generic progression" (for lack of a better term) that will always sound good and is a building block for music writing? Then you can change here and there to suit the song in your head and/or your own taste or style.
Last Edited by on Aug 20, 2009 10:21 AM
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congaron
57 posts
Aug 20, 2009
10:36 AM
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http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/moneychords/
Here you go...more than you can wade through in a short while. There is enough here to help you write songs and learn tons...geared toward guitar, but who cares...it's all music.
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gorignak
58 posts
Aug 20, 2009
10:41 AM
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I don't think there is one generic progression that works for all styles (one progression to rule them all). But there are definitely progressions that are the most popular. So maybe knowing the most common ones would be more helpful. Then picking out which one fits your song style the most, then tweak the progression from there.
II V I progressions are really popular, as well as I VI II V progressions.
Last Edited by on Aug 20, 2009 11:13 AM
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mickil
473 posts
Aug 20, 2009
10:49 AM
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Preston,
The short answer is study 4-part harmony.
The long answer is study 4-part harmony.
But seriously though, there are certain progressions that go well together; this is what Frank Zappa called 'painting by numbers'.
I suppose one good way to learn them is to copy them from songs that you like.
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'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
http://www.youtube.com/user/SlimHarpMick
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congaron
58 posts
Aug 20, 2009
10:57 AM
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I think (my opinion here) There is no more generic building block music than the blues. It has the key ingredient of repetition that makes it catchy, the key ingredient of simplicity (don't get too carried away on this statement)that makes it playable, which also makes it expressive..which makes it catchy. It has a very generic, building block structure about it that goes off in many different directions and easlily comes back home...which makes it catchy. I think one of the key ingredients to a good song (a hit) is that it's catchy..can you tell that's what i think?
If you are new to music, learning some grass roots theory is what you need to do along with whatever "generic" form you decide to write in. The web link above is a good place to start. There are also beginner guitar books on all genres that often include some basic theory in the first chapters.
If you like a certain song..write one with that progression, or even that rhythm structure. If you do both, you're pretty much just changing toe lyrics to a catchy song. If you like it, do it. Then try doing some stuff you don't like just to see if you can even do it..it makes you better as a musician. Some people don't ever play stuff that is "too hard" and simply decide not to like it. Stretch yourself. I try to do something I can't do yet in every single practice session. I do it until I can and move to another thing I can't do yet. All these things, licks, phrases, techniques, whatever are things I've heard other people do. I have decided i want to do it too. It's amazing how soon it becomes a staple in my "stuff" to improvise with. I personally think The Blues is a generic as it gets. If you need rock, metal, soul, rap or whatever else, you will have to learn it too.
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mickil
474 posts
Aug 20, 2009
11:08 AM
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congaron,
I agree with you. But, I suppose what I mean to say is if you want to go beyond I IV V then listen to great songs you like that do.
They won't go when I go by Stevie Wonder comes to mind, with that superb chromatic descending passage. You can learn the passage and hear what the different parts of the chords are doing. Though keyboard is infinately better than harp for this kind of study.
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'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
http://www.youtube.com/user/SlimHarpMick
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GamblersHand
75 posts
Aug 20, 2009
11:10 AM
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I think the I - VI - II - V (e.g. C Am Dm G) mentioned by gorignak is a good one for harp. It's frequently used for "hokum" songs, and the odd SBW1 track.
For other common chord progressions, I totally recommend Ricky Rooksby's "how to write songs on guitar". Great book, and it's obvious he's got a passion for a good song. In a roundabout (but entertaining) way it also taught me the basics of music too.
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Preston
472 posts
Aug 20, 2009
11:15 AM
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Good stuff guys! Thanks.
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congaron
59 posts
Aug 20, 2009
11:32 AM
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Exactly Mickil.
Remember, Less is more sometimes when playing music (pretty often actually). Not when it comes to actually learning ABOUT music. The more you can learn, across all genres (even rap..which I personally dislike)the better musician you can be.
The trick is to apply your heart to your knowledge. Once you have lots and lots of both, well mixed with a little humble pie and a tiny portion well deserved arrogance (just enough to shake off stage fright..a tiny amount), you can become a musician beyond your own expectations. Music becomes a blessing, instead of just a job or another hard thing to conquer.
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bluzlvr
235 posts
Aug 20, 2009
1:01 PM
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I was at a jam a couple of months ago and the first song that was called out was "House of the Rising Sun" in A minor.
Of course I was very familiar with it, but I'd never played harp to it before.
Turns out I had a lot of fun with it, a couple of times through with a minor tuned harp in second position, and a couple of times through with a G harp in third.
Got some nice applause too...
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congaron
61 posts
Aug 20, 2009
1:05 PM
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Good example..I'm betting your musicianship was key to the applause. In my experience, they don't applaude because they're glad it's over....not in this day and age.
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Preston
476 posts
Aug 21, 2009
6:15 AM
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Hey Gene,
That second link was just what I was looking for. Thank you sir!
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gene
243 posts
Aug 21, 2009
5:05 PM
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Glad to be of help. All I did was type "chord progressions" into Google and look around a little bit.
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