This means being aware of the fact that we may typically start a verse or chorus on the tonic.
It might just mean writing in the key of Db when you typically write in D major or G major. This might mean a capo on the guitar, a new tuning, or switching over from major keys to minor keys. A few of the changes songwriters can make are: Make some concrete changes to encourage a new direction. You’re no longer satisfied with the status quo. Pat yourself on the back because that means you’ve grown. Or said without redundancy: we’re copying ourselves. When we’re tired of what we’re creating, it means we’re aware that what we’re creating is a recreation of what we’ve already created. TAKE A SONGWRITING COURSE WITH ANDREA STOLPE 1. We gravitate towards the same chords and the same keys. I believe the secret for songwriters looking to harness the power of chords lies in the answer to this question: What are specific tools songwriters use to break the monotony of our standard chord progressions? To answer this question, we need to look individually at what is happening in our writing process when we’re dissatisfied with our chord progressions. But by all means go ahead, be the exception.įor some basic theory for songwriters, check out my book, Beginning Songwriting, available on Amazon. Without the motivation to get a strong handle on it or an innate sense for how music flows, most writers never get to the point where theory knowledge is a useful tool. Furthermore, theory just isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. But writing is more than a theoretical process, and so theory is a tool like any other learned skill to inform and guide our natural creativity. It can enrich our feeling for utilizing new chords and pushing the envelope as we understand the function of our chords in the broader context of the progression. Having a healthy understanding of basic theory can make identifying chord progressions in other songs quicker and easier. Music theory is a powerful tool, but it’s not the answer for everyone.
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE CHORDS CRACK
But how do we songwriters find and use great chord progressions? Is the answer to delve deep into music theory? If it is, are we fated to forever feel stuck if we don’t crack the chord code? I’d like to offer specific tools that songwriters-not composers, arrangers, or jazz harmony graduate students-use to write songs, using a richer chord vocabulary. When we’ve got four elements of songwriting to manipulate (melody, chords, lyrics, and groove), it’s natural to credit them or blame them for a successful song. They make crowns out of them.Ĭhords are a driving element of many songs. For the everyday songwriter, great chord progressions are rare gems buried just under the surface. We shush our loved ones over it, wade through mind-numbing verses to get to it, and try to lure these progressions out with a guitar in our skivvies at 2 in the morning. We know a great chord progression when we hear it.
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