Ray Harmony's Blog, page 31

How to Make a Chord Progression Flow Like a Pro

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to make your chord progressions flow like a pro!

What we’re really talking about here are chord changes. So, let’s have a look at the chord progression we made in the previous lesson, using the white-note hack in D Dorian, we’ve got: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj. While these chords are all in the same key and work well together, and sound great too, the actual chord changes sound disjointed and abrupt. Kinda sounds like a cat jumping around on a piano. A very talented cat, granted, but a cat nonetheless.

[image error]Figure 1: Original chord progression in D Dorian: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj

Instead, we want our chords to flow really smoothly into each other, we want them to melt into each other as the chord progression unfolds. The way we achieve this is by finding common notes between chords, and using those as a common thread to tie those chords together.

Let me show you what I mean. In our first chord (Dm) to our second chord (Am), we can see that both those chords have an A in them, that’s a common note! Now, you’re probably wondering why that chord change still sounds abrupt, even though they have a common note. The reason is that the common note is in a different place within those chords, and we need the common note to be in the same place within the chords as they change.

You can see that the common note, A, is at the top of the Dm and at the bottom of the Am. So it’s actually a quick and easy fix, we just grab the notes above that A in the Am chord, and move them down an octave. And voilà, we now have the common note (i.e. A) at the top in both of those chords. Listen to how smooth that chord change now sounds after this one small tweak. Amazing!

[image error]Figure 2: Re-arranged notes of Am, with the common note, A (highlighted), at the top of both Dm and Am

Now, let’s fix the rest of ‘em too. We can also see there’s a common note, E, in both Am and Em. But, it’s in the middle of the Am chord, and at the bottom of the Em chord. Quick fix again, just grab that top note (i.e. B) in Em and move it down an octave, and now the E is in the middle of both Am and Em. Then into the last chord, we can see that common note, G, in Em and Gmaj. But, it’s currently at the top of Em, and at the bottom of Gmaj, so quick fix yet again, we just grab the notes above that G (i.e. B & D) in the Gmaj chord and move them down an octave, and now we’ve got the common note, G, at the top of both Em and Gmaj.

Lastly, please don’t forget that chord progressions loop, which means your last chord needs to always work smoothly back around to your first chord. As you can see, we have the common note D in both Gmaj and Dm, but once again in different places (middle of Gmaj, and bottom of Dm). So here’s a really cool hack for the turnaround in a chord progression, which will also give you some momentum as it heads back around to the first chord. Cut our last chord in half, cos we’re gonna play two different versions of that chord. In the second half of that Gmaj, let’s move the bottom note (i.e. B) up an octave, which leaves that D at the bottom, and exactly where it is in the first chord, Dm. That last chord is still all Gmaj, just two different versions of it, as we re-arranged the notes over the second half. Now, all the chords in our progression have their common notes in the same place as they move into each other, and this is gonna sound incredible cos it’s gonna flow like a pro! Have a listen at 3:16 in the video/podcast.

[image error]Figure 3: Final chord progression with all common notes in the same place between chords

Next time I’ll teach you how to do this hack when there’s no common note between two chords, so stay tuned for that. Also, if you want to go deeper into writing chord progressions using the modes, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, happy songwriting!

Ray :) 

 
 

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How to Write a Chord Progression Using Chords Not in the Key

Knut from the electronic music hub of Tromsø in Norway, emailed us with this question: “I’ve spent some time analyzing an old track from The Prodigy called ‘Out of Space’. The first part of this track mainly consists of a chord progression and a synth riff. I’ve determined the chords used to be Fmaj/A → Dmaj/A → Emaj/B → Dm → Emaj. I think that the song is written in F major (Ionian). Now onto my question: The Dmaj and Emaj chords are outside of the scale, while the rest of the chords conform to it. I’m wondering if you have any tips for how you would approach breaking the ‘rules’ in this way?” Thank you Knut, this is an advanced and awesome question, and you’ve already made some wise observations, so we’re excited to connect these dots for you, starting with our one-sentence answer:

Your chord progression can safely venture out of its scale by adding a non-diatonic chord, which is a chord that contains one or more notes from outside that scale, as long as that non-diatonic chord still contains at least one note from that scale.

First, let’s just solidify the terms “diatonic” and “non-diatonic”. Simply put, diatonic refers to notes that are in the scale, and non-diatonic refers to notes that are not in the scale. So, all the notes of a diatonic chord are in the scale, but one or more notes of a non-diatonic chord are out of the scale. By the way, non-diatonic notes are also referred to as chromatic notes, because the chromatic scale contains all 12 notes.

Okay let’s get to the chord progression in your question now. We haven’t had time to listen to the song and double check your analysis, so we’ll just work with the information you’ve given us. Besides, using the exact chords in this example isn’t important, as the lesson here is about non-diatonic chords, which you can then apply to any chord progression. So, you said the chord progression is in the key of F major (AKA Ionian), which means the diatonic chords we can use are as follows: Fmaj, Gm, Am, B♭maj, Cmaj, Dm, Edim. Now, here’s the chord progression you gave us. We’ve just added the root note of each chord below as reference (these root notes are muted, and dark in the midi screenshot below), but these are not part of the chords.

[image error]

Figure 1: Chord progression in F major (Ionian) from Knut's question

In this chord progression, Fmaj is the I, AKA the root triad, so that’s a diatonic chord. Dmaj is the VI, but it’s major instead of minor, so that’s a non-diatonic chord. It creates tension as the 3rd note in Dmaj is F♯, a non-diatonic note that clashes with our memory of F from the first chord, which is also the root note of the key. Emaj is the VII, but it’s major instead of diminished, so that’s also a non-diatonic chord. Whereas Dmaj only contained one non-diatonic note, Emaj contains two: G♯ instead of G, and B instead of B♭. So all in all, this chord progression makes use of three non-diatonic notes, which definitely blurs the lines of a secure home. It makes the chord progression sound a bit wild, which is thrilling when it’s done well.

So, is this example done well? The short answer is: yes, and no. The best way to add non-diatonic chords to a chord progression is by using a common note from the diatonic chord into the non-diatonic chord, which smoothes an otherwise abrupt change. That’s what happens in the Fmaj → Dmaj, where the common note is A. Remember to always re-arrange the notes so your common note is in the same place within both chords, which is exactly what happened here to get the Fmaj/A → Dmaj/A, where A is the bass note in both chords. Unfortunately though, this is the only chord change in this progression that actually flows well, and you can hear how the rest of it doesn’t sound nearly as smooth as the first two chords. Remember, when you don’t have a common note, you can make one using a sus chord. For more on this, please watch our Chords video from song 1.

To conclude, we’ll simplify this into two different types of non-diatonic chords. The first type is built from a root note that’s in the scale, but one or more of the other notes in the chord are not in the scale. These non-diatonic chords tend to be sneakier to uncover, as at first glance they look like they’re in the key. An example of this type would be the Dmaj in this chord progression, as its root note D is in the scale, but its 3rd note, F♯, is not.

The second type is built from a non-diatonic root note, and these chords are more obvious to see and hear, as they immediately stick out from the scale. In F Ionian, a non-diatonic chord of this type would be A♭maj, which is instantly recognisable as a non-diatonic chord because its root note A♭ should be an A. Even with an obvious non-diatonic chord like this, we can still make it fit smoothly into a chord progression using a common note, like C between Fmaj and A♭maj.

[image error]

Figure 2: Chord change from Fmaj to A♭maj/E♭ with a common note (C) to smooth the transition into a non-diatonic chord

Finally, here’s a little chord progression we made, inspired by this example, but where each chord shares a common note with the next chord. The chords are: Fmaj/A → Dmaj/A → Esus2/B resolving to Em/B → Csus2 resolving to Cmaj then Cmaj/G. The root notes are muted below each chord for reference. This chord progression is definitely in the key of F major, even though half the chords are non-diatonic, i.e. the Dmaj, Esus2 and Em. As always, we added a little synth, bass and drums for fun. You can listen at 8:01 in the video/podcast. Hope you enjoy!

[image error]

Figure 3: Our chord progression in F major (Ionian), with the chords Fmaj/A → Dmaj/A → Esus2/B resolving to Em/B → Csus2 resolving to Cmaj then Cmaj/G

So that’s our answer! Thanks for reading/watching, and if you’d like more advanced hacks like this, please download our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF, the link is below. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then please “like” and subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

How to Write Great Songs: Vocal Melody (Song 1)

As with most things in life, writing a great vocal melody is all about balance: Balancing harmonic and non-harmonic notes, balancing small and large melodic intervals, balancing short and long note values, and so on. It’s also about great motifs (i.e. short musical ideas); allowing them to “randomly” happen (often by fixing perfect 4ths & 5ths), and then recognising them when they do appear, so you can use them again. A great motif will make your melody memorable, but only if you don’t overuse it. This is my rule of “too much chocolate!” (AKA too much of a good thing). Even if you have the most delicious and expensive organic vegan chocolate, if you have too much, you’re gonna get sick of it. Just enough chocolate in your melodies will keep your listeners coming back for more! Please check out the Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF for my full Melody Checklist, which also gives you the “why” and “how” for each element of writing a great melody.

Below is the exact chord progression (including inversions and sus chords) that we’re writing a vocal melody over. It’s in the key of E Dorian:

[image error]

Spelling

Chords

I

Em

V

Bm/D

♭III

Gmaj/D

IV

Asus2/E → Amaj/E → Amaj

♭VII

Dsus2/A → Dmaj/A →Dmaj/F♯ → Dsus2/E

And here is our vocal melody:
[image error]

Chord progression

(root note of each chord is muted and dark in MIDI above)

Vocal melody (first half), with spelling

(spelling is heard and written in relation to each chord's root note)

Em

F♯ (2) → G (♭3) → F♯ (2) → D (♭7) holds over to next chord...

Bm

…becoming a D (♭3) → C♯ (2) → D (♭3) → F♯ (5)

Gmaj

A (2)

Amaj

C♯ (3) → D (4) → C♯ (3) → A (1) → F♯ (6) → G (♭7) briefly holds over to next chord...

Dmaj

…becoming a G (4) → F♯ (3)

Chord Progression loops...

Vocal melody (second half, i.e. the variation)

Em

F♯ (2) → G (♭3) → F♯ (2) → F♯ (2) holds over to next chord...

Bm

…becoming a F♯ (5) → D (♭3) → C♯ (2) → A (♭7)

Gmaj

A (2)

Amaj

C♯ (3) → D (4) → B (2) → A (1) → F♯ (6) → G (♭7) briefly holds over to next chord...

Dmaj

…becoming a G (4) → A (5)

Lastly, always keep my Melody Checklist on hand when writing melodies, as you literally can’t go wrong with that next to you. My Melody Checklist is in the Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, thanks for reading and happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

6 Hacks for Better Bass Lines

Jennifer from Vancouver emailed us with this question: “I’m new to producing, and I’m trying to learn more about bass and how it works, cuz the way I’m doing it now is sounding really boring. You know when you hear a bass line and it just makes you move, how do they do that? I want to be able to do that!” Thank you Jennifer, this is a super fun topic! So, we’ve made a MIDI example that demonstrates our top six hacks for turning boring bass lines into party starters, but first, here’s our one-sentence answer:

Boring bass is a symptom of six musical deficiencies: strong melodic intervals, motifs, syncopation, non-root notes, octaves, and rests – add these, and you’ll have super spicy bass lines!

Okay, so we’ve intentionally made a boring chord progression here with boring drums, so it’s totally up to the bass to bring all the excitement. We’re in A minor, so that’s all the white notes starting from A, and the chords are: Am → Fmaj/A → Am → Cmaj/G → Gmaj → Gsus4. Let’s have a listen. The spelling of this chord progression is: I → ♭VI → I → ♭III → ♭VII, and the notes below the chords are their root notes. Also, we’ve inverted some chords and added a sus chord to make everything flow. For more on this hack, please watch our chords video from song 1.

[image error]
As always, we start writing our melody by copying the chords over into the bass track, then muting/deleting everything other than the root notes of each chord. This gives us a boring bass line, which is our starting point. Now, let’s spice things up!

[image error]
HACK 1: Fix Perfect 4ths & 5ths

Perfect 4th intervals (which are five semitones) and perfect 5th intervals (which are seven semitones) are the most boring intervals by far, scientifically speaking, as the notes vibrate too similarly to each other. So, adding a note in between all perfect 4th and perfect 5th intervals to break them up, will instantly make your bass line stronger. From A down to F is four semitones, so that’s strong, and then obviously from F back up to A is also strong as it’s four semitones again. From A up to C is three semitones, which is strong, but from C down to G is five semitones, a perfect 4th, so that’s weak and boring and we need to fix it. We do this by adding a note in between, to break up that perfect interval. Let’s add an E, which is that happy 3rd note in the Cmaj chord. Now the new intervals we’ve created by doing that are C up to E, which is four semitones and strong, and E down to G, which is nine semitones and strong. Also, always remember to check the last note back around to the first note, so here that’s G up to A, which is two semitones and strong. No more weak perfect 4ths and 5ths. Yay! Now let’s listen to those updates.

[image error]
HACK 2: Make Motifs

A motif is a short musical idea, and using them will make your melodies memorable. Breaking up perfect 4ths and 5ths will often give you a great first motif. Where we broke up that perfect 4th between the C and G, we got an interesting motif: the bass goes up on the off-beat, then falls to a lower note on the beat. We can use that motif again over the Gmaj. The bass can go up to E again on the off-beat, which is a 6 over Gmaj, then it can fall to C on the beat as the chord changes to Gsus4. The C that we’re landing on here, is the 4 in that Gsus4 chord. We can then use this motif one more time at the very end, by going up to an A on the off-beat, which is a 2 over the Gsus4 chord, and that high A will then fall to the low A that kicks off our bass line. Let’s listen to those updates.

[image error]
HACK 3: Add Syncopation

Syncopation is accenting the off-beat, and these accented off-beats are what give bass lines their groove. Without syncopation, bass lines sound stiff and boring, but with syncopation they sound exciting and alive. By breaking up that perfect 4th, we ended up with a motif that was syncopated, so we’ve actually already got some syncopation, but we want more! So, let’s add some syncopation to the A, and then use that exact same syncopation on the C. This not only adds life to our melody, it also creates another motif. Yay! Remember, accenting off-beat eighth notes is pretty safe, whereas accenting off-beat sixteenth notes is thrilling. Let’s listen to those updates.

[image error]
HACK 4: Uproot Some Roots

For the most part, our bass line is still mainly consisting of the root note from each chord, which is boring. While root notes are the most solid foundation for every chord, bass lines that spend too much time on root notes are predictable, and therefore boring. By uprooting some roots and moving them to other notes in the scale, we temporarily destabilize the foundation, which is dangerous but exhilarating. A great place to add a non-root note would be over the Fmaj, as there’s not much else going on there, so let’s add that happy major 3rd note again, A, then go back down to the root, F. Remember to be careful when moving notes that you don’t end up with a perfect 4th or perfect 5th. Now, if we do the same thing over the following A, we have another motif. Yay! So over the A, let’s add that 3rd as well, C, but this time it’s a sad minor 3rd. Let’s listen to those updates.

[image error]
HACK 5: Add Octaves

This octave hack is exclusively awesome for bass lines and synth lines, but not for vocals and most other melodies. By moving some notes up an octave, we create a sense of movement without actually moving. By the way, the reason this hack isn’t good for vocals and most other melodies, is that an octave is actually also a perfect interval, so it sounds boring when used in melodies that are in the spotlight, like vocals. Not to mention that an octave is really difficult to sing as it’s a huge interval, but that’s not a problem for bass. Okay, the obvious place to add octaves in our bass line are these syncopated root notes over the Am and Cmaj chords, so let’s move them both up an octave. Then, one last sneaky little octave at the end of the Fmaj will make that section flow more, and we’re ready to move on. Let’s listen to those updates.

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HACK 6: Add Rests

Rests are little moments of silence, which obviously stop the continuity of sound. As a result, they need to be used sparingly, but one well-placed rest can elevate a bass line to new heights. Rests create phrases, which you can think of as the sections that a vocalist would sing with one breath. And that’s why rests can truly bring melodies to life. So, one little sixteenth rest at the end of the second Am chord, will not only give a little breather, but it will also emphasize the chord coming afterwards, which is that happy Cmaj. And with that one little rest, we’re done! Let’s have a listen to our final bass line, which is now six times spicier than the original version. Lastly, we doubled this melody on a bass synth to give it some bite, then added the piano chords back in. Here’s the full version. Enjoy!

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So that’s my answer! Thanks for reading, and if you’d like to learn more about how to write great bass lines, please download our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then please like and subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

How to Make Your Vocal Melody Stand Out in an Auto-Tune World

 

Are Your Chord Progressions Actually in the Modes You Intended?

 

Alex from Montreal asked the following question in the comments of our Hack-A-Hit video on The Chainsmokers: “In your other videos you emphasized always starting your modes on their root chords, because that gives the listener a sense of where the home is. In this chord progression, the root chord (Fm) starts on the third chord, shouldn’t it be the first chord of the progression? Feeling super confused!” Thank you Alex, and please rest assured that we’ll have your confusion cleared up by the end of this video. I’ve got an example lined up for you in my DAW, but first, here’s my one-sentence answer:

When you’re in Ionian (AKA the major scale) or Aeolian (AKA the minor scale), like that Chainsmokers song, you can get away with putting the root chord anywhere because our ears are so used to hearing those modes, but when you’re in the other five “forgotten” modes, it’s vital to establish the root as it’s way harder for our ears to recognise those modes.

Let’s jump right into the example now. So here’s that chord progression in “Closer” by The Chainsmokers. First things first, we’re gonna use the white note hack to get rid of all the black notes, so it’s easy to analyze. As this chord progression is in a minor key, we select all the MIDI and move its root chord (Fm) up to A, because in A minor there are no sharps or flats. Remember, after using the white note hack, you can just select all the MIDI again and move it to whatever key you want. So, here is the chord progression in the key of A minor: Fmaj(add9) → Gmaj → Am7 → Gmaj, and the spelling of that chord progression is: ♭VI → ♭VII → I → ♭VII.

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And as Alex wisely observed, the root chord is played third in this progression (highlighted in the above MIDI screenshot). Even though they wait until the third chord before revealing the root, our ears are so familiar with Aeolian, that there is absolutely no doubt what the home (i.e the root) of this chord progression is. This is a great example of how we can get away with putting the root chord anywhere in Ionian or Aeolian chord progressions.

However, as the five other modes are so unfamiliar to our ears, when we’re trying to get our listeners to recognise those other modes and feel their emotions, it’s vital that we anchor each chord progression deeply into its root chord. You still don’t necessarily need to start on the root chord, but, whatever chord is played first in your progression has the prime spot, so playing the root chord first in a progression is certainly a very good way to establish its home.

Let’s move this chord progression into Dorian now, to test it out in one of the five other modes. So, using the white note hack, we move the root chord from A to D, as D Dorian has no black notes. Okay, so we can see there’s a black note here, B♭, so that will need to move up to a B♮. That’s the ♭6 of Aeolian moving up to the ♮6, which is the very note that makes Dorian different. Now, as the B chord in Dorian also happens to be the rather unpleasant diminished chord, we’ll just move that B chord down to an A chord. So we move the root of that chord, B, down to A, and the 5th, F, down to the 5th of A, which is E. There’s also this other F here, which we can move up to A. And then the 3rd of that B chord was D, so we move that down to the 3rd of the A chord, which is C. And lastly, if we still want to start with that add9, we can move the C down to a B over here, which also emphasizes the Dorian mode, as that B would be a B♭ if this was Aeolian.

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Okay, now that we’ve got the equivalent chord progression in D Dorian, we need to ask ourselves the most important mode question of all: Are my listeners hearing and feeling the mode that I’m wanting them to hear and feel? In this example, that question is essentially: Are my listeners hearing D as the root? If they’re not, then this chord progression is not in Dorian, and is in fact in a relative. Remember, the best hack for finding the root chord is to test which chord the song wants to end on, as that chord is what our ears are hearing as the root. In this chord progression, there’s absolutely no doubt that our ears are hearing this Am chord as the root. So, this means we’ve failed Dorian, as our listeners are not hearing D Dorian, they’re actually hearing the relative, A Aeolian. This is by far the most common problem musicians have when using the five other modes: Their music accidentally ends up sounding like the relative Ionian or Aeolian, and not the mode they intended.

Now, simply by starting this chord progression on the Dm chord, we already help in establishing that D as the root. So let’s cut this chord progression in half and begin on the second half instead, so we now start on D. Yep, that’s way better already, but, it’s not quite enough yet. We also need to play the specific chord that emphasizes the specific mode we’re in. For more on which chords to play in which modes, please download our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF.

In Dorian you always want to play the 4th chord, as that 4th chord is usually a minor in Aeolian, but in Dorian it becomes a major chord. That deviation from the norm (i.e. Aeolian) is exactly what grabs the attention of our ears and alerts them to the fact that we’re not in Aeolian now. The 4th chord in D Dorian is Gmaj, so we need to play a Gmaj somewhere in this chord progression, and the most obvious spot for it would be in place of the Am chord. The reason for this, is because that Am chord is tricking our ear into thinking this progression is in its relative, A Aeolian, so let’s just replace that Am with a Gmaj, which consists of the notes G B D, and we’ll double the 1 and 5 in the left hand to match the other chords. As soon as you hear this B (the 6 in D Dorian), it’s obvious that you are not in Aeolian, as that note is the silver lining to our cloud, which you only get in Dorian. In other words, our ears are expecting a Bm here, because that’s what we’d get if we were in Aeolian, but instead we get a Bmaj, revealing the Dorian mode.

Finally, to make it even more obvious that D is the root, we can move the C (♭7) on top of our Dm chord up to the root, which releases that tension and makes the D sound final. Remember, 7s always create tension as they want to resolve up to the root, so don’t use them on your root chord when you’re trying to establish it as the home.

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Before we wrap up, I just want to say once again that you don’t have to start your Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian or Mixolydian chord progressions on the root chord, but it sure does help with establishing the home. Other ways you can establish a chord as the root elsewhere in the progression, is by playing it longer than the other chords, or by repeating it within the chord progression.

Last but not least, the fun part: I added some bass and drums to the chord progression, and of course a bit of synth too. Now that we’ve worked so hard to ensure the D is being heard as the root, you’re really going to be able to feel that sad but hopefully Dorian personality shining through. Let’s take a listen (it's at 10:17 and again at 11:12 in the video/podcast).

So that’s my answer! Thanks for watching, and if you’d like to learn more about writing chord progressions in the other five modes, please download our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

How to Write a Dorian Chord Progression

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to write a chord progression in the Dorian mode.

The Dorian mode is our sad but hopeful sounding mode. Using the white note hack, Dorian is what you get when you play all the white notes, starting from D. And remember, after you’ve used the white note hack to write your chord progression, you can just select all the MIDI and move it up or down to wherever you need.

We want to start by building a chord from each of the seven white notes. The way we do that is by playing a note, skipping the next note up, playing the next note note, skipping the next note up, and then playing the next note. That gives us a chord. As the first chord in a mode is built on the first note, AKA the root note, we refer to the first chord as the root chord. And that’s D F A here, which gives us a Dm. Remember, minors (m) are sad, and majors (maj) are happy. Moving on, the 2nd chord is E G B, which is Em. The 3rd chord is F A C, which is Fmaj. The 4th chord is G B D, which is Gmaj. The 5th chord is A C E, which is Am. The 6th chord is B D F, which is Bdim, that weird chord. And the 7th chord is C E G, which is Cmaj. Now, that weird 6th chord, Bdim, while that diminished chord is a favourite for horror movie soundtracks, it’s definitely not a favourite for popular music because it’s way too dissonant, so it’s not really used. Let’s just get rid of that chord for now.

Starting your chord progression on the root chord is the easiest way to anchor it into the mode. You don’t have to start on the root chord, but it is the easiest, and you obviously do have to play it somewhere in the progression. The other chord that you do have to play in Dorian, is the 4th chord. Let me explain that to you now, so I’ll just delete all the other chords and keep the root chord, Dm, and the 4th chord, Gmaj.

Most popular music is written using the Aeolian mode (AKA the natural minor scale). In that mode/scale, the 4th chord is always minor, so we are really used to hearing the 4th chord as a minor. However, as you know, in Dorian the 4th chord is a major. So as soon as you hear that 4th chord as a major, immediately your ear is like: “Oooh hello! That’s not what I was expecting.” It sounds much more uplifting than we’re used to from a minor mode. The 4th chord in Dorian is precisely what gives the mode its hopeful sound; that 4th chord is the silver lining to our cloud. We can play the 4th chord towards the beginning of our chord progression, in the middle, or at the end. Playing it at the end is going to feel like the light at the end of our tunnel. Let’s put it there.

Now we have a gap in the middle, between our root chord Dm at the beginning of our progression and the Gmaj at the end. We have two minor chords and two major chords left (that we haven’t yet used), and you can choose them however you want. Chord progressions can have as few as two chords, but that’s boring, and they can have as many as all seven chords. We’ll go with four here, which is usually the average. Remember, tell the musical story you want to tell by what chords you choose, and by what order you put them in. I’m thinking here that I’ll go with Am (A C E) and then Em (E G B), because I really want the listeners to work through three minor chords in a row before they get the reward of that really, really uplifting major chord at the end, which is not merely a major chord, it’s that special major chord that makes Dorian sound hopeful. So in my chord progression I’ve got 75% minor, and 25% major. You can do your major to minor ratio however you want, but do think about it.

[image error]Figure 1: Chord progression in the D Dorian mode: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj

Next time we'll talk about how to re-arrange the notes within the chords to make them all flow super smoothly into each other, so stay tuned for that. Also, if you want to go deeper into writing chord progressions using the modes, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

014 | How to Write a Dorian Chord Progression

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to write a chord progression in the Dorian mode.

The Dorian mode is our sad but hopeful sounding mode. Using the white note hack, Dorian is what you get when you play all the white notes, starting from D. And remember, after you’ve used the white note hack to write your chord progression, you can just select all the MIDI and move it up or down to wherever you need.

We want to start by building a chord from each of the seven white notes. The way we do that is by playing a note, skipping the next note up, playing the next note note, skipping the next note up, and then playing the next note. That gives us a chord. As the first chord in a mode is built on the first note, AKA the root note, we refer to the first chord as the root chord. And that’s D F A here, which gives us a Dm. Remember, minors (m) are sad, and majors (maj) are happy. Moving on, the 2nd chord is E G B, which is Em. The 3rd chord is F A C, which is Fmaj. The 4th chord is G B D, which is Gmaj. The 5th chord is A C E, which is Am. The 6th chord is B D F, which is Bdim, that weird chord. And the 7th chord is C E G, which is Cmaj. Now, that weird 6th chord, Bdim, while that diminished chord is a favourite for horror movie soundtracks, it’s definitely not a favourite for popular music because it’s way too dissonant, so it’s not really used. Let’s just get rid of that chord for now.

Starting your chord progression on the root chord is the easiest way to anchor it into the mode. You don’t have to start on the root chord, but it is the easiest, and you obviously do have to play it somewhere in the progression. The other chord that you do have to play in Dorian, is the 4th chord. Let me explain that to you now, so I’ll just delete all the other chords and keep the root chord, Dm, and the 4th chord, Gmaj.

Most popular music is written using the Aeolian mode (AKA the natural minor scale). In that mode/scale, the 4th chord is always minor, so we are really used to hearing the 4th chord as a minor. However, as you know, in Dorian the 4th chord is a major. So as soon as you hear that 4th chord as a major, immediately your ear is like: “Oooh hello! That’s not what I was expecting.” It sounds much more uplifting than we’re used to from a minor mode. The 4th chord in Dorian is precisely what gives the mode its hopeful sound; that 4th chord is the silver lining to our cloud. We can play the 4th chord towards the beginning of our chord progression, in the middle, or at the end. Playing it at the end is going to feel like the light at the end of our tunnel. Let’s put it there.

Now we have a gap in the middle, between our root chord Dm at the beginning of our progression and the Gmaj at the end. We have two minor chords and two major chords left (that we haven’t yet used), and you can choose them however you want. Chord progressions can have as few as two chords, but that’s boring, and they can have as many as all seven chords. We’ll go with four here, which is usually the average. Remember, tell the musical story you want to tell by what chords you choose, and by what order you put them in. I’m thinking here that I’ll go with Am (A C E) and then Em (E G B), because I really want the listeners to work through three minor chords in a row before they get the reward of that really, really uplifting major chord at the end, which is not merely a major chord, it’s that special major chord that makes Dorian sound hopeful. So in my chord progression I’ve got 75% minor, and 25% major. You can do your major to minor ratio however you want, but do think about it.

[image error]Figure 1: Chord progression in the D Dorian mode: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj

Next time we'll talk about how to re-arrange the notes within the chords to make them all flow super smoothly into each other, so stay tuned for that. Also, if you want to go deeper into writing chord progressions using the modes, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

How to Write a Chord Progression for a Blues Scale Bass Line

Jared from the States emailed us with this question: “I used the blues scale to make a bass synth line. I really love it, but I can’t seem to add chords to it. I’m getting REALLY frustrated!!!! Can you please show me how I can add a chord progression? I’m using the A blues scale.” Thank you, Jared. I’m so sorry you’re feeling frustrated, that really sux! If it’s any consolation though, this is a very common problem with a very simple solution. And on that note, here’s my one-sentence answer:

As you mentioned a synth, I’ll presume you’re working in an electronic genre and not the blues genre (as blues has its own rules), so, you simply use the natural minor scale from the same root to create a chord progression to your blues scale melody.

Let’s work through an example. You said your synth bass line is in the A blues scale, so that’s A C D E♭ E♮ G. Remember, the ♭5 (E♭) is merely a spicy decoration, so we don’t treat that as part of the harmony. And yes, that ♭5 (E♭) will clash with all the chords that contain the 5 (E), like the root triad (Am), but that dissonance is a big part of the blues scale’s charm.

Now, here’s the hack for writing a chord progression to a blues scale melody. Because we can ignore that decorative ♭5 (E♭), we’re left with the pentatonic minor scale, which is the natural minor scale (A B C D E F G) without its 2 (B) and ♭6 (F), so that’s: 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7 (A C D E G). As all five notes of the blues scale, excluding that decorative ♭5, are in the natural minor scale, you can use the A natural minor scale to write a chord progression to your A blues scale melody. So in other words, your chord options for the A blues scale and the A natural minor scale are exactly the same. The chords are: Am, Bdim, Cmaj, Dm, Em, Fmaj, Gmaj.

For example, if you have a short synth riff that loops, it could be fun to play through one different chord under each loop of the riff. So, if your riff is: A → G → E → D → E → C → E♭, then we could play one chord for each loop.

[image error]Figure 1: Bass line in the A Blues scale

Something like this: Am → Cmaj/G → Gmaj → Dm/F → Fmaj → Fmaj/A, which brings us back around to our root chord (Am). Now let’s put that riff in the bass and play this chord progression over it. By the way, the notes in these chords have been re-arranged to flow smoothly into each other. For more on that technique, please watch our Chords (song 1) video.

[image error]Figure 2: Chord progression in A natural minor, which works over the bass line in A Blues scale

So that’s my answer! Thanks for watching. If you’d like to learn more about writing chord progressions in a natural minor scale, please read chapter 12 in our free book: 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

013 | How to Write a Chord Progression for a Blues Scale Bass Line

Jared from the States emailed us with this question: “I used the blues scale to make a bass synth line. I really love it, but I can’t seem to add chords to it. I’m getting REALLY frustrated!!!! Can you please show me how I can add a chord progression? I’m using the A blues scale.” Thank you, Jared. I’m so sorry you’re feeling frustrated, that really sux! If it’s any consolation though, this is a very common problem with a very simple solution. And on that note, here’s my one-sentence answer:

As you mentioned a synth, I’ll presume you’re working in an electronic genre and not the blues genre (as blues has its own rules), so, you simply use the natural minor scale from the same root to create a chord progression to your blues scale melody.

Let’s work through an example. You said your synth bass line is in the A blues scale, so that’s A C D E♭ E♮ G. Remember, the ♭5 (E♭) is merely a spicy decoration, so we don’t treat that as part of the harmony. And yes, that ♭5 (E♭) will clash with all the chords that contain the 5 (E), like the root triad (Am), but that dissonance is a big part of the blues scale’s charm.

Now, here’s the hack for writing a chord progression to a blues scale melody. Because we can ignore that decorative ♭5 (E♭), we’re left with the pentatonic minor scale, which is the natural minor scale (A B C D E F G) without its 2 (B) and ♭6 (F), so that’s: 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7 (A C D E G). As all five notes of the blues scale, excluding that decorative ♭5, are in the natural minor scale, you can use the A natural minor scale to write a chord progression to your A blues scale melody. So in other words, your chord options for the A blues scale and the A natural minor scale are exactly the same. The chords are: Am, Bdim, Cmaj, Dm, Em, Fmaj, Gmaj.

For example, if you have a short synth riff that loops, it could be fun to play through one different chord under each loop of the riff. So, if your riff is: A → G → E → D → E → C → E♭, then we could play one chord for each loop.

[image error]Figure 1: Bass line in the A Blues scale

Something like this: Am → Cmaj/G → Gmaj → Dm/F → Fmaj → Fmaj/A, which brings us back around to our root chord (Am). Now let’s put that riff in the bass and play this chord progression over it. By the way, the notes in these chords have been re-arranged to flow smoothly into each other. For more on that technique, please watch our Chords (song 1) video.

[image error]Figure 2: Chord progression in A natural minor, which works over the bass line in A Blues scale

So that’s my answer! Thanks for watching. If you’d like to learn more about writing chord progressions in a natural minor scale, please read chapter 12 in our free book: 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?