You Are Reading the First 6 FREE Chapters (470 pages)

6.18.6
How to Write Chord Progressions, Rule #6, Part A: Make Structured Use of Chords of the Same Type

You can use sequences of the same type of chord any time:

Moving from any chord to any other chord of the same type sounds palatable to the ear.

You should do it in some organized manner, such as progressing in intervals that are the same distance apart.

For example:

C – G – D – A – E (the classic song, “Hey Joe”)

sounds palatable, even though it’s moving counterclockwise, against the “natural” flow of the circular harmonic scale, because all the chords are of the same type (major triads).

If you reverse the chord sequence, like this:

E – A – D – G – C

the progression sounds very natural because it goes with the flow, the natural clockwise direction around the circular harmonic scale. The chords of most great songs progress in this general direction.

< Previous   Next >