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Using Strong Inner Melodic Movement to Guide Your Chord Progressions

Blog Posts, Composition, Music Theory, Song Writing

When it comes to writing chord progressions, it’s easy to get caught up in the harmony and forget about the melody. However, incorporating strong inner melodic movement can take your chord progressions to the next level and make them more memorable. In this article, we’ll discuss some tips and tricks for writing chord progressions with strong inner melodic movement.

Passing chords

One way to incorporate strong inner melodic movement in your chord progressions is to use passing chords. Passing chords are chords that are played between two other chords to create a smoother transition. Because they are typically not diatonic (within the key) they build tension. However, they resolve quickly as they do not last long. This also creates an opportunity for the melody to include non-diatonic notes which can make it more interesting and create nice voice leading opportunities.

(Ex: G-F#, F)

Inversions

Another technique to consider is using inversions. Inversions are when you invert the order or chord tones inside of a chord. For example, a major triad consists of the chord tone 1,3,5. This is called “Root position” because the root is in the bass. First inversion would be 3,5,1 and second inversion would be 5,1,3. Inversions can be an interesting way to play the same chord, yet make it sound different. It can also help you outline the melody if the melody note is a chord tone, because you can voice the chord with whatever the melody note is as the highest voice of the chord. Inversions can also make for great bass movement. For example, if the chord progression is I-IV-V, you can play the 1 chord first in root position, then in first inversion before arriving at four. This puts the third of the chord in the bass, so the bass notes go like this: 1, 3, 4, 5. Instead of just: 1, 4, 5.

Structure

It’s also important to pay attention to the arc of your chord progression in order to create a song that feels well paced and keeps the listener engaged. A very common song structure is “AABA” where each letter represents a section of the song, or independent chord progression. Another common song form is: “Intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse or chorus again, outro. These are just outlines you can use to help you get started. Feel free to alter them to your liking.

Also consider using techniques such as modulation, where you change the key of the song temporarily, or using a pivot chord, which is a chord that can be used in two different keys. Temporality shifting to a different key center can give the song a sense of movement. Often times the bridge or B section will be in a different key, and then return to the original key.

Starting with the Melody

Choosing different starting points can help you conceptualize songwriting in different ways, therefore getting different creative results than you typically would. Try starting with: chords, melody, lyrics, all separately to see what challenges they make you work through, as well as what comes naturally with each. The melody is arguably the most important part of a song, so it makes sense that starting with the melody can yield positive results, as well as create interesting opportunities for harmonizing notes of the melody. A strong melody can inspire the chords and give them direction. Begin by creating a simple melodic line that you can build upon. Once you have a melody, you can start thinking about the chords that will support it.

Arpeggios:

Arpeggios are the notes of a chord played one at a time. Since they are single notes, they contain inbuilt melodic potential. They are also guaranteed to work over your chord, since it is just the notes of the chord. In addition to providing melodic content for a chord progression, using arpeggios can add texture to the rhythm or accompaniment part.

Conclusion

Writing chord progressions with strong inner melodic movement can take your music to the next level. By starting with the melody, using chord inversions, adding passing chords, using arpeggios, and crafting strong song structures, you can create interesting chord progressions that support your melody. Incorporating these techniques into your songwriting can provide you with more tools to express yourself emotionally and achieve a greater sense of depth with your music.

Happy songwriting!

Using the Circle of Fifths To Understand Key Signatures and Learn the Fretboard

Blog Posts, Guitar Fretboad Memorization, Music Theory

Part of an acoustic guitar, guitar fretboard with strings on a black background with highlights.

Intro:

Learning the fretboard
- When learning guitar, many people learn chords, their favorite riffs, or even scale boxes and shapes, but continue to struggle with being able to name the notes that they are playing.
- Why does this matter? Shapes, chords, and riffs will take you a long way, but without knowing the name of the note you are on, you are limited to those shapes, chords, and riffs. Learning music theory enables you to better understand how each note fits into the context around it. BUT, in order for this to be helpful you need to know what note you are actually playing before you can understand how it fits into the context surrounding it. Therefore, learning the fretboard is one of the most crucial, yet daunting tasks a guitarist must tackle.

Why Circle of Fifths, and Key Signatures.
- Kill two (or several) birds with one stone
  - Learn key signatures, therefore major scales.
    - A major scale is a series of notes and is the foundation for all of Western music theory.
    - Understanding the major scale will be helpful in and of itself for everything you do, ever.
  - Learn the names of the notes in first positions (or ‘learning the fretboard’) (easier than memorizing them because it provides context)

Into the lesson:

First, we need to understand the musical alphabet. (if you are familiar feel free to skip ahead)
- Show a keyboard. Uses letters A-G, then repeats instead of continuing on to “H”. However, there are “Sharps” and “Flats” (or accidentals) in between every note except for in two places. B to C and E to F. This is why there is no black key in between those notes on the keyboard.
- Each fret is one “half step” or the smallest amount of distance you can travel in Western music. This is equivalent to one key on the piano.
- Start on each string and count up half steps: E F F#(Gb) G G#(Ab), then A string: A A#(Bb) B C C#(Db) etc.
Circle of Fifths
- Travels to the right, (left is the circle of fourths)
- C: The first key is “C”. This is because C contains no sharps or flats. Each key represents a major scale. Each major scale ascends the musical alphabet starting on the pitch after which it is named until it repeats and arrives at the same letter. You just add in whatever sharps and flats are in the key signature for that particular key. Because the C scale has no sharps or flats, it is spelled: C D E F G A B C. Now find those notes on the guitar. You can use the exercise we learned to understand the musical alphabet to help you.
- G (1 sharp): The next key is the key of “G”; this can be determined by counting up 5 letters from “C”, hence the Circle of Fifths.
  - As you go each key to the right on the wheel, you add one “sharp”. There is an easy trick to remember which sharp note you add. It is always the letter before the key you are in. We are in the key of “G” so it will have an “F#”. Therefore it is spelled like so: G A B C D E F# G.
- D (2 sharps): Count up five more letters from “G” and here we are. For each key, you keep the sharp from the previous key, so you are accumulating sharps. We keep F# and add C# (because C comes right before D in the alphabet) so we have 2 sharps in the key: F# and C#. Therefore, it is spelled like so: D E F# G A B C# D
- A (3 sharps): Count up five letters from “D” to reach “A”. We keep the F#, and the C#, and add G#. The A scale is spelled: A B C# D E F# G# A
- E (4 sharps): Count up five letters from “A” to reach “E”. We keep the F#, C#, and G# and add D#. The E scale is spelled: E F# G# A B C# D# E
- B (5 sharps) We keep the F# C# G# D# and add an “A#”. The B scale is spelled: B C# D# E F# G# A# B
- F# (6 sharps) We keep the F# C# G# D# A# and add an “E#”
  - This may be thinking “Wait a minute, I thought E didn’t have a sharp!” and you would be correct in the sense that E and F do not have another pitch in between them. However, the pitch “F” can be referred to as “E#” in this context because adding a sharp raises the pitch by one half-step, which would be “F”. They sound the same but have different names. This phenomenon is called “Enharmonic”. This concept also applies to any other sharp being referred to as its equivalent flat. Ex: C# and Db are the same pitch.
  - The reason we use E# instead of F even though they sound the same is that a major scale is supposed to ascend straight up by letter without repeating or skipping any.
  - The F# scale is spelled F# G# A# B C# D# E#
- C# (7 sharps) This is the last key we will do going in this direction. We already have 7 sharps, and there are only 7 notes in a major scale, so if we continue past this point it gets ugly and we have to use “double sharps” which nobody wants to have to do! We keep the F# C# G# D# A# E# and add “B#” (which would be the same as the pitch “C”) The C# scale is spelled C# D# E# F# G# A# B#

Circle of Fourths and Enharmonic keys:

Since we aren’t continuing in the same direction anymore, we go back to C and start looking at the keys to the left instead (the flat keys). Going in this direction gives us the circle of Fourths instead of the Circle of Fifths. This can be understood in the same way that counting up 5 letters gave us the next key for the circle of fifths, but now counting up 4 gives us the next key for the circle of fourths. The first key is F, which is 4 letters above “C”. instead of adding sharps, we will add flats. The shortcut is a little different to determine which flat is being added. It will always be the same as the name of the following key on the wheel.

F: We know we have to add one flat because it is the first key on the wheel in this direction. To determine which flat we add, look to the next key. The next key is Bb, so F will contain a Bb. Therefore it is spelled: F G A Bb C D E F
Bb: We keep the “Bb” from the key of F and again look to the next key on the wheel, which is Eb. Therefore the key of Bb contains a “Bb” and “Eb”. It is spelled: Bb C D Eb F G A Bb.
Eb: 3 flats: Bb, Eb, and Ab. (Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb)
Ab: 4 flats: Bb, Eb, Ab, and Db. (Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab).
Db: 5 flats: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, and Gb. (Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db)
Gb: 6 flats: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, and Cb. (Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb)

And that covers the circle of fourths and fifths, and each of the key signatures in both directions!

The Ultimate Guide to the Circle of Fifths: How to Master Key Signatures, Chord Progressions, and Musical Harmony

Blog Posts, Music Theory

The circle of fifths is a helpful tool for understanding music theory. It is a visual representation of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale, and the relationships between them. By looking at the circle of fifths, you can better understand how key centers work, which in turn will help you understand how chords are built and progressions are formed.

The circle of fifths is made up of 12 points, each representing a note of the chromatic scale. Since there are 12 notes, there are also 12 keys. Each point on the circle of fifths also represents the key center for that note. Starting with C and going clockwise, each point is a perfect fifth (seven semitones) away from the previous one. In this way, the circle of fifths is a representation of the harmonic series. You can also find the next perfect fifth on the circle by ascending 5 notes up the major scale. The note you land on will be your next key. For example, take the first 5 notes of the C major scale: C, D, E, F, G. “G” will be your next key on the circle of fifths.

The circle of fifths can be used to better understand chord progressions. For example, if you start on C and go clockwise around the circle, the chords are C, G, D, A, E, B, F#(Gb), C#(Db), G#(Ab), D#(Eb), A#(Bb), F, and back to C. This is called a circle, or cyclical progression, and it is very common in popular music. The parentheses indicate the enharmonic equivalent or the same pitch written as a flat. Once you pass the halfway point from C on the circle of fifths, using flat keys becomes more economical to avoid double sharps. The flat keys can be understood by using the circle of fourths which I will discuss later in this article.

The circle of fifths is also useful for understanding keys and modulations. By looking at the circle, you can see which notes are in each key and how they relate to one another. You can also use it to find keys that are related to each other, allowing you to modulate between them easily. Understanding the circle of fifths is a great way to understand music theory better. The way to figure out which notes are in which key is through the key signature. The key signature tells you how many sharps or flats are in a key. You will ascend the musical alphabet until you reach the note you started on, altering any notes from that contain sharps or flats from the key signature. As you go through the circle, you add a sharp sign to each key and accumulate sharps as you go. The shortcut to remembering which sharp you add is that it is the letter before the key you are in or the 7th note of that key. For example, the key of G has one sharp: “F#”. Therefore the G major scale is spelled: “G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G. The next key: “D” contains 2 sharps: “F#” and “C#”. Therefore the D major scale is spelled: “D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D”.

The circle of fourths is a helpful tool for understanding music theory and is closely related to the circle of fifths; in fact, starting on C and going the opposite direction (counterclockwise) is the circle of fourths. Like the circle of fifths, it is a visual representation of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale and their relationships. However, instead of perfect fifths (seven semitones), the circle of fourths is made up of perfect fourths (five semitones). You can also find the next key on the circle by counting up four notes of the major scale. Ex: C major scale: C, D, E, F. “F” will be the next key on the circle of fourths.

The circle of fourths can be used to understand chord progressions, just like the circle of fifths. Starting with C and going counterclockwise, the chords are F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb(F#), Cb(B), Bbb(A), Ebb(D), Abb(G), and back to C. This is sometimes referred to as “backcycling” and is also a very common progression in popular music.

The circle of fourths can also be used to understand keys and modulations. By looking at the circle, you can see which notes are in each key and how they relate to one another. You can also use it to find keys that are related to each other, allowing you to modulate between them easily. The circle of fourths can be used to understand the flat keys. Similarly to the process of accumulating sharps as you climb the circle of fifths, you accumulate flats as you ascend the circle of fourths. The shortcut for which flat you add to the key signature is that it is the fourth note of the key you are in. For example, the key of F has one flat: “Bb”. Therefore it is spelled: “F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F”. The next key is “Bb”. The key of Bb has 2 flats: “Bb” and “Eb”. Therefore it is spelled: “Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb”.

Understanding the circle of fifths and the circle of fourths will equip you with the knowledge you need to understand key signatures, chord progressions, and scales.

The Essential Guide to Triads: Understanding Major, Minor, Diminished, and Augmented Chords

Blog Posts, Music Theory

Learn everything there is to know about Triads

Triads are a fundamental musical concept and a great way to add harmonic interest to your compositions. A triad is simply the three notes that form the foundation of a chord. Triads can be major, minor, diminished, or augmented, and each type of triad has a distinct sound. Understanding the different types of triads can help you create more exciting and varied musical arrangements. You can use various triads to create unique and beautiful musical pieces with the proper knowledge and practice. By understanding the basics of triads, you can take your musical compositions to the next level and add depth and complexity to your music.

Major, Minor, Diminished, and Augmented Triads

The four main types of triads are major, minor, diminished, and augmented. A major triad consists of a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. A minor triad consists of a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. A diminished triad consists of a root, a minor third, and a diminished fifth. An augmented triad consists of a root, a major third, and an augmented fifth. Each type of triad has its own distinct sound that can be used to create interesting musical pieces.

The major triad has a bright, happy sound. The minor triad has a darker, more melancholic sound. The diminished triad has a very tense sound. The Augmented triad has a dissonant, yet mysterious sound.

How to Identify Triads

Identifying triads can be a bit tricky, but it is a skill that can be developed with practice. The first step is to learn the notes of the scale you are working out of. Once you have learned the notes, you can start to identify triads by looking at the intervals between the notes. A major triad will have a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth; a minor triad will have a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth; a diminished triad will have a root, a minor third, and a diminished fifth; and an augmented triad will have a root, a major third, and an augmented fifth.

You can also use a keyboard or piano to help you identify triads. Start by playing the root note and then play the third and fifth above it. You can then determine if the triad is major, minor, diminished, or augmented by looking at the intervals between the notes.

Using Triads to Create Interesting Musical Arrangements

Once you understand triads well, you can start to create interesting musical arrangements. Triads can be used to create chord progressions, melodic lines, and harmonic textures. You can use the various types of triads to create different moods and add complexity to your music. For example, you can use a major triad to create a bright, joyful mood and a minor triad to create a more melancholic feel. You can also use a diminished or augmented triad to add tension or drama to your music. Another cool application for triads is to play different voicings of the chord progression. Since triads are just the notes inside chords, you can play high triad voicings of the chord progression one note at a time to generate melodic ideas.

Practicing Triad Exercises

Practicing triad exercises is a great way to understand triads better and develop your skills. One great way to practice triads is by practicing all of the inversions of a triad. An inversion is when you flip the order of the notes in the triad. For example, root position would be 1,3,5. 1st inversion would be 3,5,1 and 2nd inversion would be 5,1,3. You can also practice playing triads in different keys and in different positions on the fretboard. This will help you understand how the notes of a triad relate to each other and how to use triads to create interesting musical passages.

Tips for Creating Unique and Beautiful Musical Compositions with Triads

Creating unique and beautiful musical compositions with triads can be challenging, but it is also a rewarding experience. Here are some tips to help you create unique and beautiful musical compositions with triads:

Pay attention to voice leading. Voice leading is the movement of the individual notes or voices of a chord. Close voice leading is when the notes of a chord don’t have to move very far or at all to the voices of the next chord. This results in strong resolutions.
Listen to different styles of music: Listening to different music styles can help you better understand how triads are used in different musical genres. This will help you create more interesting and varied musical pieces.
Use chord progressions: Chord progressions are a great way to create interesting musical pieces. Try using triadic voicings of your chord progressions to help see new ways to play the same chord progression.
Find creative ways to use triads: Experiment with different ways to use triads in your musical compositions. Try using triads in melodic lines, harmonic textures, and chord progressions to create unique and beautiful musical pieces.

Conclusion

Triads are an essential part of music theory and are a great way to add harmonic interest to your compositions. Understanding the different types of triads can help you create more interesting and varied musical arrangements. With the right knowledge and practice, you can use the various types of triads to create unique and beautiful musical pieces. By understanding the basics of triads, you can take your musical compositions to the next level and add depth and complexity to your music.

How to use the Circle of Fourths to Learn Key Centers on Guitar (part 2)

YouTube Videos

In this week’s video, Unraveling the Mystery of the Circle of Fourths.

Hey everyone! Welcome to part two where we’ll be taking a deep dive into the Circle of Fourths.

Just like the Circle of Fifths, the Circle of Fourths cycles through key signatures, but with a slight twist: Instead of adding sharps, we’ll be adding flats. This will give us the ‘flat keys’.

Let’s start with the key of C, which has no sharps or flats, and is spelled like this – C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. To find the next key, you can look to the left on the wheel, or count up to the fourth note of the scale you’re on. In the case of C, the fourth note is F, so the next key on the Circle of Fourths is the key of F.

As you move up one fourth to the next key, you always add one flat to the key signature. The shortcut to remember which flat you’ll be adding is that it will be on the fourth note of that scale. For example, in the key of F, the fourth note is B, so we add a flat sign to it, giving us B flat. This means that the F scale is spelled like this: F, G, A, B flat, C, D, E, and F.

Just like the Circle of Fifths, we’ll keep all the flat signs from the keys that came before as we move through the Circle of Fourths, accumulating flats. For example, once we get to the key of B flat, we add a flat sign to the fourth note of the scale, which is E flat. Now, in the key of B flat, there are two flats – B flat and E flat.

This is the basic concept of how the Circle of Fourths works, and I’m sure you can take it from here! To practice it on the guitar, you use the same approach: use the Circle of Fourths to determine which notes are in which scales, then look for that set of notes in the first position of the guitar, on frets one through four.

Happy learning!