#1 Principle - Follow a Chord Progression

I would like to start describing my composing technique by talking about the most important element to the process: Chord Progressions. According to this wiki article, chord progressions are central to western music and the study of harmony. Chord progressions form the basic structure of a song, whether the composer thinks about them or not. A lot of people can seemingly throw notes down on a page (or the piano view of their favorite software) without ever thinking about what they are throwing down. It comes natural to them. They don't have to think about what notes sound good together or what type of sound they would like to produce. Perhaps they have studied music extensively and don't have to ponder the structure of their song. I don't know, but I do know that I can't do that. When I try, my songs sound like crap.

However, when I follow a chord progression (even a very simple one), my songs sound a lot better.

According to the most basic definition, a chord progression is simply a series of chords. Theoretically, then, you could use whatever chords you wanted and use this as a template. It would certainly produce an interesting song. Perhaps not the most pleasant one, though.

Instead of teaching you about chord progressions, it would be easier to allow someone else to do that. This site is an exellent way to learn about chord progessions. (It is the same site I told you about before.) Plus, it touches on things that I will talk about in future posts. This lesson is part of a very good music theory website. Their lessons are all flash, so they are easy to follow and learn from.

Once you are familiar with chord progressions, how do you follow it to compose a song? Well, there are many different scenarios. You might already have a melody and are having a hard time coming up with the harmony. Build a chord progression around the melody and then ... follow the chord progression. You might have a wicked bass line but can't think of a good melody to go along with it. Build a chord progression around the bass line and then ... follow the chord progression. You might be at the very early stages of a song. No melody, no harmony, no bass, etc ... Where do you start? Build a chord progression and then ... follow it. Do you see a pattern here?

In future posts, I will discuss how I build a chord progression and how I use it to create my songs. For now, if you aren't familiar with chord theory, learn from one of the two links I have given you. Till next time!