Chord Sequences: You don’t have to re-invent the wheel
Hey everybody. I notice that many folks out there are a little frustrated with creating original chord progressions. Emails come into my inbox daily about this subject. I’m about to hit the facts in this post HARD.
Here’s the truth of the matter: Nearly EVERYTHING you hear on the radio today is re-cycled chord structures in ONE way or ANOTHER. To find a chord progression that’s 100% original is like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s not even worth going there.
And nor should you try and point one out OR more importantly, try to create one . I promise you if you sit down all day and all night, and try to create a completely original chord sequence, you will drive yourself crazy.
Let me tell you something …do you know where the real authenticity comes from? It’s not from chord progressions. It’s from not melodies. It’s not from lyrics. It’s not from song production or vocal arrangement…
…It’s actually comes from an amalgamation of ALL the above.
If you sit down and focus on ‘being totally original’, you’ve lost the real perspective. I’m a great believer in the philosophy “whatever you focus on expands”, and I believe it’s a mistake to isolate a ‘variable’ (ie. melody, lyrics, chords) in a song and focus on it solely to make it sound as original as possible. Why? Because you’re energy is expanding on the WRONG area.
What you should do, is Instead of trying to create something with total originality, focus on the whole experience you’re tying to give your listener. Remember this: The chords you create are merely a blanket to your lyrics and melodies. They act as an ‘accompaniment’ to your words and tunes - not the other way around.
Now sometimes I have an internal debate in my own mind my as to whether or not I should at least TRY to be totally original. And I can tell you with absolute certainty that when I do TRY to be 100% original with my chords, the songs don’t turn out as good as I’d hoped. Strange? Not really. Remember, whatever you focus on expands. So If I focus on being totally original, I may get something completely original …but it will probably be at the mercy of a average sounding song … see what I mean? 
To illustrate my point further, how many songs have you heard that have intricate chord progressions - of which have been massive worldwide hits? In comparison to those with relatively ’simple’ chord progressions, the answer is “not many at all”.
I understand, that some songwriters find it difficult because they feel they don’t KNOW enough chords to do anything remotely different to the songs they’ve already written.
The answer to this is simple: You need to build up a song library and then store it in your brain.
Here’s direct quote from one of my earlier blog posts:
Here’s the thing. Have you built up a song library in your head? If not, build one from today onwards.
Why? Because searching for tunes and chord sequences will be an absolute cinch when you already have a few hundred floating around in your head from songs you have already learnt and played.
And yes, I’m talking about OTHER people’s songs. Whatever style you’re into, you should learn a new song from that genre EVERY WEEK. I’ll say it again, learn one NEW song from the style that you love every week.
Example:
You prefer Rock? >> Learn how to play and sing songs from Aerosmith, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Green Day, Linkin Park, etc.
You like folk? >> Learn how to play and sing songs from Bob Dylan, Fairport Convention, Neil Young, etc
You prefer pop? >> Learn how to play and sing songs from Prince, Elton John, Phil Collins, Beatles, etc
You prefer R&B? >> Learn how to play and sing song by Stevie Wonder, Boyz II Men, Erykah Badu, etc.
Please don’t scold me over the definitions for these artists above… lol. For me , it’s not even about style and genre. It’s more about what you like, and then learning it (on the piano in my case) and then trying to sing it.
This does two things. One, the chord progressions of other artist and groups get burnt in my memory. Secondly, the melodies are subconsciously recorded in my brain too. So it serves a dual purpose.
Actually, I’ll add a third to that list. You generally become a more competent musician!
This will be crucial to your songwriting success.
Shamir
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
sounds good. Thank you
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I think the more chords you add to a song the harder it can be to sing as the vocal range increases. Im learning to sing and find it difficult so i use a cappo to help get to my vocal range and i find this helps a lot. Also i would like to add that some of my favourite songs dont have many different chords but the way they are played, the words and how they are sang make them classics. The bests songs are thoes sang with emotion like Wires By Athlete & a more recent one How to Save a Life By can’t remember who sings it now but I like it.
Thanks for the blogs that you send, they are helpful
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Yea i’ve noticed that many songs have the chord sequence C - Am - F - G. I heard 3 songs in a row yesterday that had that sequence (She’s Everything - Brad Paisley, Ghosts - Jake Owen, and Busy Being Fabulous - The Eagles). They are all extraordinarily great artists and song writers and they all those songs sounded totally original and different.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Great songs are created from Lyrics and Melodies. Songwriter and singer Jobin created a song called One-Note Samba. He had quite a few Chords but only one not throughout the whole song. People today are trying to do the same thing. They have a melody that has no tune and harmonize with great chords. IT STINKS!!!!!!! Some of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard only had three or four chords!!!! Hank Williams, Sr was a country singer/songwriter.
He died January 1953, yet his music today pays more than $1,000,000.00 per year in royalties. Amazing!!!! You can play a single line of melody. No chords and you can hear the words to his songs!!!!! Amazing!!!! No one today wants to take the time to create great sounding lyrics and great melodies. They take the easy way out and try to create chord progressions. Play the melody line without any harmony. Who would want to hear this junk. Have you ever listened to Moon River? The melody was written by Henry Mancini. You don’t need any harmony to know what song you’re listening to.
David Different
June 23rd, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Melody is most important in a song in my opinion, chords add to the melody and inhance it , we can play the same chord progression then add different melodies to it many ways thus making different songs. Coming up with a nice melody is what makes a good and different song as well as good lyrics we can give ten people three chords and they ll each come up with a different song , thats how versital chords are or progressions there is no limit to them in my opinion. just my thoughts on the matter . Russ
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Hopefully this will be of some help, I started writing songs and learnng to sing and play guitar a little over two years ago. Every time I learned a new chord i would write a song useing it. I have found that just by useing these 5 chords G , D, Em, F, and C there are thousands of songs you can play . I always start with useing these chords then mix and match as I refine my lyrics and melody .
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Really Awesome, Willing to recieve more, also if available free DVDs or VCDs
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Really Awesome
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
I havw wriitten hundreds of songs; blues, country, rock and pop. The melody carries the songs for me with pimarily 1-4-5 chord progressions. I type my songs on my computer and have a mental image of the chord progressions as I type.
I perform the songs on a weekly basis and no one has ever told me that all of my twelve and sixteen bar songs sound the same.
My son is an excellent lead guitarist and if he can’t carry the melody for me while I play my electronic keyboard, then we would be in trouble. So far that hasn’t been a problem.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Hi
This is great advice, thanks heaps.
How do I play guitar and sing at the same time IN TIME… are there any secrets??
Been singing for years, now I want to play my originals myself and it’s prooving a tad challenging…. Any tips would be relly appreciated.
Cheers
Jo
June 24th, 2008 at 3:02 am
Some of it I get, but some of your blog confuses me even more. I
thought the idea in this business is to be original, and not copying
other people. U r saying just the opposite. Explain, please.
June 24th, 2008 at 3:03 am
Additionally, can you explain a few other items, please? Thanks!
June 24th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Yeah, No work in Music today can be completely original. You heard the scales and the chord, or for that matter the words. That memory will be in your subconcsious forever. They will flow back into you as you get inspired, or touched by something you see or experience. This recall will be selective though subconcsiously. Then if you are lucky they will come to you in the form of melody and or words. They will have more or less the same element of your favorite song, genre or even favorite band or singer, but with your own interpretation.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Reading your Blog merely confirmed my own immediate thoughts…when hearing the quandry; WHY? Somebody said…even the pros steal from the greats…BECAUSE NOTHING IS NEW UNDER THE SUN.
In other words…like you said…: Why argue with success, Hits are hits…because they CONTINUE TO STRIKE A FAMILIAR ‘CHORD’…YOU CAN’T ARGUE WITH SUCCESS.
PEOPLE ARE COMFORTABLE WITH ‘STRUCTURE’; And music has a beauty of simplistic ‘anticipation’, and DONE RIGHT…it’s LIKE A TRUE FRIEND…YOU ALREADY KNOW WHERE THE MELODY IS PROGESSING-FLOWING…AND DONE GREAT…THE ‘SUBTLE CHANGE’ builds upon THE Original-Flow. ANY SUCH WONDERFUL DEPARTURE…IS ALWAYS IN ‘The Right’ New Direction…WHICH WAS ALWAYS THERE TO THE WHOLE. THE NEW…JUST WAITING TO BE RELEASED…IS BUT A ‘WAITING’ Nuance-Progression that Work MERELY to Highlight the PREVIOUS ‘ACCEPTED NORM’, without replacing the IT. THE NEWLY DISCOVERED ‘PART’ OF THE ‘WHOLE’ ALWAYS MAKES PERFECT HARMONY AND JOINS THE ‘WHOLE’ AS AN ACCEPTABLE and APPRECIATED ‘DISCOVERY’…SINCE IT ALL WORKS TO ALLOW ‘RE-CREATION’ OF THE SAME IN FUTURE ‘SONGS’…WHICH CONFIRMS ITS VALUE AS A ‘NEWLY-FOUND’ MEMBER OF THE ‘FAMILIAR’…IT TOO, like the other ‘ACCEPTED and FAMILIAR’ Progressions, ANTICIPATING the NEXT…NEW: ‘Waiting to be Released ‘Family Member’ PROGRESSION. [I RE-READ THIS...AND WHILE WORDY...IT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE...Go Figure]
June 24th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
You can use the same chords and whatnot but vocally most people sound different anyways so the songs they write and sing would not even sound the same……anyways I think you you could always play a song different with strumming patterns , lyrics and vocals.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Hey Shamir,
I would like to thank you for (amongst others) to keep me going on with my music making.
All the best for you,
Fred Jankowski
June 24th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
J Mitchel Simon - NO, I’m not suggesting that you purposely go around and copy other people’s songs. To put it simply, focus on writing an original SONG, not an original CHORD SEQUENCE
I’m in NO way shape or form trying to condemn originality. It’s just the WAY we go around creating something of authentic value needs to change. We need to SHIFT our perspective when it comes to HOW we create an original song.
In most cases, trying to be original will more likely be a counter-productive exercise. But trying to create a magical experience with your music will force your energy to expand on the write area’s in writing a song.
Anything else you want clarifying, please be as specific as you can
Jo - go SLOW. Do a verse, then do a chorus, etc. You will give up almost immediately if you go fast with that one. Practice SLOW - and avoid over-syncopated strums/picks initially - if you can. In other words, do a simple song first. Actually, Do MANY simple songs first.
Fred - your welcome
Thank you.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
well i appreciate your advice,and it will be a thing of joy if can see my self
arhieve this dream of writing a good and structured songs packed full with well enphacised lyrics.
thank you shamir
June 24th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I write songs from the lyrics up the chords come last, usually after i have figured out the meter of the words and the melody. Works for me, but my husband does it the other way round, using a chord sequence he fancies and then putting the melody over that. I find that really difficult. Horses for courses I guess!
Jude
June 24th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Thanx for the chords!!! I really appreciate..
June 25th, 2008 at 1:09 am
guys im just starting to write songs again and i learned that it is sooo hard cuase ive only done it once and never been able to finnsih songs i start so im wondering if you guys can critisize me on my lyrics for teh chorus see im not sure if it should be longer or better thts why im asking you ok here it is:
i dont think i can bee free of himm
without him its hard for me to fly
i dont think he even knows how i feel
but without him its ahrd for me to fly
PLEASEEEE REPLYY IT WOULD MEAN ALOT TO MEEEEE!!!
June 25th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
you can’t play different chord and sing the same melody..
For exaple if my melody is hiting a C note in that moment i can play a C chord or F or Am or or D7 or Bbadd9 or etc or i can sing that C note against whatever chord i want and explain it as a dissonance
I think the more chords you add to a song the harder it can be to sing as the vocal range increases!!—->VERY WRONG!
sorry i’m from argentina and we speak spanish you know!
June 25th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Great Blog cheers, I have been over critical as of late because all my songs seem to use the same chords alot or have one progression throughout and I can see that it’s not a bad thing as long as the lyrics/melodies/harmonies/leads etc are kept interesting…hell look at status quo haha
Ron
June 26th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Jo - I always write my lyrics first. My inspiration comes from my lyrics!!
I then use simple chords. I usually play in the key of C. Starting with
the C chord I strum the chords while singing my lyrics. When I go higher
I go to F. then back to C. Then to a G7. Sing your lyrics as slow as you
feel comfortable with your playing. After a while it will seem like nothing.
I can sing my lyrics and change chords as fast as I need. After you
practice your harmony, you can start writing the melody. It was good
enough for Rogers & Hammerstein. Oscar Hammerstein always wrote
the lyrics first. Then Richard Rogers wrote the music. When you look
at the songs they wrote over the years, no one can compare. There
are others though that wrote the music first. Henry Mancini would write the music first. Always be original with your lyrics and music. No one has a monopoly on chord progressions. I use the simplest chords and try to write great lyrics and a great melody.
David
June 26th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
NICE WORK SHAMIR.BUT I THINK I COULD USE MORE INFO ON CHORD SEQUENCES. HELP? ANYONE?
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
i dont understand exactly what melody/harmony/leads are i just play chords and sing over them am i missing some vital ingredients? I know my songs need improvement but i dont really know how? Any suggestions
July 10th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
This is definentally the most helpful post, for me, that you’ve posted.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:35 am
Hello Shamir and readers,
I am new at song writing and teaching myself to play Piano. I have been writing poetry for a few years and have had one published…..maybe you have read it…..’A Pain In The Earth’. In song writing, for me the words come first along with a tune in my head. It is the way I say the words that dictate the sound of the tune. I try to match the notes on the piano with the syllables of the words that I sing. What I would like to know is….. How do I know which key I am in and how can I tell if the black key is a sharp or flat? Also, how do I know which chord to use and when do I use it?
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Lynette R
July 24th, 2008 at 11:43 am
I agree with you shamir,aspiring songwriters like myself might tend to
put to many chords in when its not actually necessary.i analysed as best i could, stop and stare from one republic. i was astonished it really only contains four chords,but it was clever the way they used those chords.Again the progression was run of he mll,1,5,6m,4.The verses were just variations of these.The melody is what defines the song.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Hi Sharmir,
I am a choir master in my choir, and wud like to make a capella church songs for my choir. Cud you help in this direction of ‘chord progession’ as we lean our church songs in ‘tonic solfa notations.
Thanking you in advance, my freind.
January 8th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
thank you very much shamir, merry christmas and a prosperous new year.
i am very happy for the mails, but i would like to receive more free lessons on hard core lyrics. thank you once more.
christo
cameroon
May 18th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I ENJOYED READING WHAT OTHER HAD TO SAY, VERY NICE PLEASE SENT MORE
tHANKS
DOROTHY
August 13th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Well… another thing would be to look into jazz chords.
11, 9, add9, 6, 7, m7, +9, sus2/4. All wonderful additions. Also be creative with the bass line. Your bass needn’t play the root of the chord that the guitar does. I suggest looking into a Genesis song “Blood on the Rooftops” Wonderful music and the bass does very interesting jazzy things there - harmony wise.
Also incorporating modal harmonies and modulations works to create an unique soundscape.
Harmony isn’t the only way to create something unique, I agree - Shamir. Yet adding to your knowledge on harmony and progressions allows you to create richer music and one should definitively experiment and study and build on that. Ofc this is not a music theory blog, but a songwriting one, but still - seeing as mostly people are satisfied with, I, IV, VI, V, I sequence is disappointing. There is a rich harmonic world yet to be discovered people!
September 24th, 2009 at 1:50 am
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