This changed how I write Chord Progressions

Everybody writes chords progressions, but not many folks seem to do this anymore. Today we'll take a look at a different approach to harmony that's time-tested.

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[ryan.noakes]

"Rick Beato made me say it."
Omg I laughed so hard at that!

[NoahHornberger]

I started out composing parts with one line at a time because I couldn't play the piano but I could sing. So I would just play the line I was singing and stack them. it worked to help me produce clear ideas but then I learned about chords and everything got more complicated. Chords are about color, not melody or harmony . . .It took me 10 years of that to go back to writing how I started. In my mind chords are the important results of writing good lines . . . but starting with them before you really understand harmonic leading can be a problem. Nice reminders here! Also it helps to work with an instrument with rich overtones because then a single note is already thick like a chord but more simple. Regarding part doubling as weakness: I think of it as a special effect, like a delay or a phaser, use doubled notes to draw attention to a reality in the music, like a pause that says "this". Or someone being very obvious to explain something. Thinking of doubled notes as 'weak' feels like missing all the good things they can do for your music.

[michaelkonomos]

I like the "start with two parts" tip.

[LindseyKyle]

I love how the simple example becomes the melody in the outro music starting at 9:52! Awesome!

[VenusTheory]

Oky but pls sned midi chord pack for 8 ez payment of $99.95

[FASTFASTmusic]

Voice leading is EVERYTHING. That's the beauty of the keyboard. And also the beatuyof DAWs by selecting the "Toppest notes" and dropping an octave then raising the "bottomest" notes up an octave, repeat until everything sits within one octave - insta voice leading.

[joegrant]

hanging on every word here! Trying to resist the temptation to just crank chords out through scaler 2 :-)

[davidasher]

One benefit of being self-taught is developing alternative ways of thinking about music. I was surprised when I started music theory in high school. Until then, my system was simply recognizing where the half-steps were and anticipating what notes not to play. When they introduced concepts like tonic, dominant, and subdominant, it seemed confusing and overcomplicated. Over the years, I’ve become well-versed in Western music theory, but I’m definitely most creative when I return to that simplistic mindset I developed as a kid.

[TenorCantusFirmus]

That's why they teach you counterpoint - Voice-leading is perhaps even more important than "raw" chord succession.

[MNolanMillar]

The way I've begun conceptualising the reversal in my composition process is from bottom up, to top down.
I used to think about chord progressions first, then build melodies around them. This led me to producing boring, clunky, repetitive sequences of short progressions and I often got stuck in loops.
Now, I'm thinking in terms of emotion, texture, and melody, before worrying about structure.
Naturally, it's often necessary to let the harmony lead the melody, but my process is moving towards an interplay between or oscillation from one direction to the other, like repeatedly zooming in and back out.
On the other hand, adding limitations such as chord progressions and structures can aid the composition process as it pushes you to find creative solutions to conceal the fact you're using a stock standard foundation. This also provides good exercise when learning, whether that be as a beginner learning to write simple progressions, or even moving from simple to intermediate.
I wouldn't call myself an advanced composer, but I find the new approach much more satisfying.

[WillRoan]

JNJ. I loved the ending. Hear how the progression turned into a track!

[francistomalik]

Awesome, harmony is essential. Even simple stacking of harmonic content throughout a track I found does wonders. Thanks for the freebie too. You give out a lot, appreciated.

[cybercassette]

Nice video! One way that works for me to come up with chord progressions:

Use a drone note in the chord progression and stick to it (make sure the rest of the notes you built around it stay in key). Then the experimental stage begins, and sometimes it can take quite a while to get it right. When experimenting, do weird stuff! You might accidentally come across something cool you didn't know existed. Just follow your ears and gut when something sounds right. If it sounds right, leave it at that, and move on to the next set of chords. It's not a sin to re-use notes from a previous chord if it makes sense in the whole progression. You can always go back and change them later to make them make sense or improve them in the whole sequence. It's like modeling clay; you're working towards an end result with small iterations and victories.

As for being 'stuck in the loop':
Look up the "2 loop rule". Listen to the loop you have and go over it with your mind as if it were a full track; think about how you want it to progress beyond the loop you have already made. I often use humming and beatboxing to come up with a next phrase, no joke! Another way I do this is to pick a melodic part of the loop and cut it up/change it and paste it behind the loop that I already have. For parts with a kick drum for example I usually shorten them up and use a small section which includes the root note and use it in the next loop, to be consistent with the key of the track. After that, the iterative part starts again; making the transition fit smoothly between the two loops by changing stuff around, adding/deleting parts and/or coming up with completely new parts that fit the track etc., while keeping the progression of the track itself in mind.

Rinse and repeat the above process and you'll notice it will go easier every time you do it.

Also, don't be afraid to re-use loops in a track when it makes sense; familiarity can be a satisfying thing when it comes to music. Otherwise you can also use the familiar 'Intro', 'Verse', 'Chorus', 'Break' and 'Outro' segenments to structure your track. For pop tracks the structure is "I-V-C-V-C-B-C-C-O" I believe which works well in some cases, but is by no means a structure you must abide to.

Hope this helps out some people! Send me a message if you have any questions!

[oliverdenyer]

Really simple but powerful advice! Can’t believe no one’s explained it like this before. thanks

[docjoesweeney]

Very interesting and practical discussion. The idea of starting with only two notes is useful.

[slimyelow]

After many years of writing vertical and linear, I found that vertical sounds great when employed explicitly over time or extended harmonic rhythm. This approach of course goes past the typical 8 bar loop. Vertical can be like a ladder, where you escalate your composition over time and space in both directions. I have truly grown fond of massive vertical structures that hit exactly when they are supposed to in a composition. It provides great drama, which is so satisfactory.

[Sultingas]

This looks like the basis of four part harmony, it makes chords feel a lot more natural and integrated.

[slimyelow]

2:40 - a chord can also overstay and extend its welcome and there while become the superstar of the show.

[jeffreygower]

I liked how the example he used and demoed near the end was incorporated (for the most part) into the video's final background music. Cleverly done!

[edwinbrown]

Another great video. Thanks again Jameson.