It’s not unusual for songwriters to be in search of distinctive chord progressions that may, in flip, make their track sound distinctive. However a number of the greatest songs written use very fundamental chord progressions, often dictated by the expectations of their chosen style.
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In case you’re writing songs in a style that doesn’t have a tendency to just accept complicated or in any other case distinctive progressions, one widespread drawback is repetition: you have a tendency to listen to the identical easy development again and again. However there are issues you are able to do to make normal progressions sound a bit extra attention-grabbing.
A kind of issues is creating a transient key change — a fast change to a new key for a couple of bars, after which one other fast change again to the unique key.
The track “One Extra Mountain to Climb” (1971, by Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield) is a good instance of a gospel/pop track that does this sort of fast key change. Your entire verse is a easy, predictable development (with chords given beneath in G main):
IV – I6 – ii – V – I (C – G/B – Am – D – G)
That phrase is performed 4 instances, however in truth for the third go-through of that development, it’s transposed upward by means of an abrupt modulation to the important thing of Bb main. We nonetheless get IV – I6 – ii – V – I, however now the chords are: Eb – Bb/D – Cm – F -Bb
So the 4 phrases of the verse are this, with the bounce as much as Bb main proven in inexperienced:
IV – I6 – ii – V – I (C – G/B – Am – D – G)
IV – I6 – ii – V – I (C – G/B – Am – D – G)
IV – I6 – ii – V – I (Eb – Bb/D – Cm – F -Bb)
IV – I6 – ii – V – I (C – G/B – Am – D – G)
What does this fast key change do for the music? There’s in all probability no good purpose that the modulation needed to happen, but when you end up involved that 4 phrases all utilizing the identical brief development may be simply a little repetitive, that key change will resolve the issue.
Within the case of “One Extra Mountain to Climb,” the change was up a minor third. It appears evident that that alternative took place as a result of the beginning chord for the brand new key was Eb — not a troublesome chord to get to from G. And from the top of the brand new development (Bb), getting again to the unique key’s first chord (C) can be fairly simple on the ears.
So when you’re writing a track and going through the identical predicament — a chord development that you just suppose could also be simply a little too repetitive — you possibly can contemplate placing one of many center phrases in a new key, with the one caveat being that you need to make sure that it’s a fairly simple transition to the brand new key, and again to the outdated key.
The Australian singer Sia did one thing related in her track “Quickly We’ll Be Discovered” (2007, Sia Furler, Rick Nowels). The verse consists of two lengthy phrases, the place the primary phrase is in C minor. For the second half of the verse, there’s a modulation to the relative main key of Eb main, utilizing very related (however transposed) melodic shapes.
The profit to transposing the best way Neil Sedaka did is that you just’re in a position to maintain your development the identical all through the verse, however with that further shot of creativity that a new key brings to the music.
Written by Gary Ewer. Comply with Gary on Twitter.
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