Q. If I have the right thing.. when writing a song on the piano, and you're in a specific key - for example let's say we're in C major - how do you work out which chords you can use? And it's called chord progressions, right? Please tell me if i've gone off in totally the wrong direction. Thanks.
A. Hope this helps! It did with me because I've been wondering the same thing. Look on the website to see the basic things you need to write a song. It helped me so much!
If you havenât understood anything Iâve said, donât worry. Here are some common keys, the chords you can use if youâre writing in that key, and the number that corresponds with the chord (something youâll need later). Key of C major: C major (1), F major (4), G major (5), A minor (6), D minor (2), and E minor (3). Key of G major: G major (1), C major (4), D major (5), E minor (6), A minor (2), B minor (3). Key of A major: A major (1), D major (4), E major (5), F# minor (6), B minor (2), C# minor (3). Key of D major: D major (1), G major (4), A major (5), B minor (6), E minor (2), F# minor (3). If you donât know how to make these chords on your instrument, youâll need to get a chord chartâtheyâre easy to read and they donât require any knowledge of theory!
One last thing before we move on: time signatures. Most popular songs are in 4/4 or 3/4. The bottom number tells you what note gets the beat (e.g., 4 = quarter note) and the top number tells you how many beats are in a measure. Donât worry too much about the bottom number; just pay attention to the top number. In 4/4 there are four beats per measure; in 3/4 there are three. The first beat is emphasized more strongly than the other beats. So in 4/4 you would count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on. In 3/4 youâd count: 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, etc. "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat" is in 4/4 time. "Amazing Grace" is in 3/4.
Now that youâre thoroughly confused, letâs move on to writing the melody.
Writing the Melody
The easiest way to write a melody is to come up with the chord progression first and write the melody to fit that chord progression. There are a lot of songs out there that only use three chords: the 1 chord, the 4 chord, and the 5 chord. These three chords can be combined in innumerable ways. Here are a few things to keep in mind: the chord progression typically starts on the 1 chord and goes to the 5 chord before resolving back to the 1 chord; the 5 chord creates tension: it makes the listener want to return to the 1 chord. A typical chord progression might look like this: 1, 4, 1, 5. The chord progression for a blues song looks like this: 1, 4, 1, 5, 4, 1, 5. (Remember, you donât have to stay on each chord in a progression for the same length of time.) Hereâs the chord progression for "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" (the chord numbers are in parentheses): (1) Twinkle, twinkle, (4) little (1) star, (4) how I (1) wonder (5) what you (1) are.
What is the most harmonic chord progressions for the Piano?
Q. I understand this is a little broad and heavily opinionated, but what would you say is?
A. AHHHH this is like my dream question. :DDDD thanks for totttallly making my day.
First of all, I'm sorry if some of this isn't clear in my description. I'm a teenager and haven't had the heavy music theory stuff. It's like I know everything that happens in songs and exactly what notes are being played in whatever key I choose, but I just don't know the official names like tonic and dominant and all that. I plan on learning it though⦠:) )
My NUMBER 1 favorite chord progression of ALL TIME is in Angel of Music from Phantom of the Opera. It comes on the lyrics "and I knowwww he's hereâ¦." Let's say it's in the key ofâ¦. Eb major. Cuz I love that key. The chord progression is F minor, Db major, Bb major. It's FANTASTIC. I guess in intervals it would be a major 2nd (minor chord), a major second DOWN from the tonic (I think tonic is the first scale degree) and then your perfect fifth. :D It's amaaaazing you should look up the string version of that. You can hear the chord progression really well.
Coming in at number two would also come from Phantom of the Opera, in the chorus of the Point of No Return. In the key of Eb, the CP would be Cm, G7, Cm, C MAJOR. And the C major chord is just SO PERFECT there! In the words of the Phantom, "â¦could make my soul take flightâ¦" :)
Ummmm the last one I'd say would be one I wrote myself (I'm sure it's been used somewhere else probably), in the first symphony I ever wrote. It was in the key of B minor, and it went Bm, A, E/G#, F#/A#. I really like that one.
That was fun.
:)
Piano Progressions ??????
Q. Can someone explain it to me....
Like, the 1 7 3 6 progression and why is it called 1 7 3 6 progression.
Do the numbers represent a chord? And how do I learn to automatically know what chords to play when I see a numbered progression?
A. in a regular major key, in c for example, all the regular chords in that key correspond to those numbers.
The reason that some progressions use numbers (in jazz a lot), it's because you can easily play them in other keys. You just build triads on the relevant number of the scale without any accidentals. so in c it would be-
1 - C major C E G
2- D minor D F A
3 -E minor E G B
4- F major F A C
5- G major G B D
6- A minor A C E
7- B diminished B D F
1 7 3 6 would be C, Bdim,E min, A min
you could work this out in other keys by doing the same thing, but making sure you follow the key signature, unless it says for a major or minor chord
. in the key of E the same progression would be E, D#dim, G#min, C#min
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