Share your favorite chord progressions

[Optomadic]

GbMaj7 - Fmin 7th - Db6sys4 add9
GbMaj7th add9 - Fmin 7th - Cminor - EbMin 7th - Ab7th sus 4th
EbMin 7th - Fmin 7th - EbSus 2nd - Gb6Sus4th - Ab7Sus4th
GbMaj - Dbmin Maj7th - EbMin - Gb5th - EbMin 7th - GbMaj - EbMin
GbMaj - F7Sus 4th - DbMaj

From our little cover Free Marc Emery.

[gambaytheunspoken]

Fm7, Am7, Fm7,Dm7,Bbsus4,Bb13,Bbm7,Eb7#4,Absus4,

Ciao!

[arbogast]

love the subtitution for a reg vamp (Bbmaj7 - Gm7 - Cm7 - F7):

Bbmaj7 - Dbmaj7 - Gbmaj7 - Bmaj7

[xtp]

GbMaj7 - Fmin 7th - Db6sys4 add9
GbMaj7th add9 - Fmin 7th - Cminor - EbMin 7th - Ab7th sus 4th
EbMin 7th - Fmin 7th - EbSus 2nd - Gb6Sus4th - Ab7Sus4th
GbMaj - Dbmin Maj7th - EbMin - Gb5th - EbMin 7th - GbMaj - EbMin
GbMaj - F7Sus 4th - DbMaj

Hi Optomadic,

is that Db6sys4 add9 chord ?

1,4,6,9

cheers Shaun

[aeron]

Before I took theory I used VI-VII-i for practically every song I wrote Right now though, my obsession is with cadences... for instance, you're traveling along a major key and suddenly V-V/vi-VI/vi (Or V-III-IV if you prefer). *head explodes*

[psenior]

I like the iim7b5 - V7 progression because of the beautiful bebop melodic lines you can play over it. For example, Gm7b5 to C7, you can play Eb7 down to the 3rd of C.

What does that mean, "play Eb7 down to the 3rd of C"?

Eb7 is obviously a dominant chord. However, Eb7 down to the third of C is a term used by Barry Harris to describe one of the scales he uses to play bebop lines.

Eb7 when referring to a scale is really what you might know as Eb dominant bebop. It's just Eb mixolydian with an added major 7th. In our left hand we play Gm7b5, which is really Eb9. In our right hand, you play this 8 note scale in a descending fashion, starting on the Eb: Eb D Db C Bb A G F.

Now, the next chord in the left hand is C7, so instead of ending on Eb, you land on E, which is the 3rd note of a C7 chord. This gives strong coherence to your melodic line. Continuing on from there (E), you might want to play something based on F harmonic minor descending. The last chord would be Fm6, over which you can play F melodic minor, or better yet, Fm6-diminished (yet another Barry Harris scale).

This is how the best jazz musicians do what they do; they are targeting their melodic lines to resolve either to the 3rd or the 7th of the next chord and then change the scale they are playing as is appropriate for the chord. This is probably the most important concept to understand in order to create bebop jazz solo improvisations.

[Download SOphist]

wow, barry harris mentioned on KvR!
my favourite changes come in 2All the things you are" and 2i can't get started" shapes, if i have some.

[Muse-Med]

Interesting topic. I see that this thread started back in October, 2009.

Hmmmmm. . . Favorite chord progression. . . .

Depends on the genre of music. For the more progressive rock or progressive rock/jazz stuff, lately I've been experimenting more with the concept of hybrid chords. Some might call it a form of poly-tonality. For example:

G/C - amin/D - dmin/G - G/C

These "hybrid chords" quickly give that lush sound. It's kind of a dated sound, at least to my ears. But it's a sound I like.

For more orchestral-based compositions, I like to use more "conceptual tools" to come up with chord progressions. For example, I may have a 2 or 4 measure melodic motiff. From that motiff I look to see how I can create "chords" based on the melodic intervals. My ears tend to go more towards quartal-sounding chords. Again, the sound is kind of dated and a bit over-used. But it's a sound that I like. The trick is to create (compose) an interesting motiff. Varying the motiff helps keep it interesting (for example, using compositional tools like melodic retrograde, melodic inversion, etc.) I use these tools especially when I'm feeling compositionally dry.

I'm getting ready to set aside some time to do some major composing. I'm a full-time ICU nurse and, lately, I haven't made the time and energy to sit my ass down to do some serious writing. I like writing both progressive rock and orchestral styles of music. I even have a few pieces that combine the two. But, for me anyway, it's a LOT of work.

Responding to this particular thread is helping me get the old creative-juices flowing. (LOL!) There are many cool way to develop "interesting" chord progressions. Also, sometimes it's cool to not think in terms of chords or chord progression. Think linearly. Fugue writing is one example. (It's also one of the more challenging forms of composition!) But some pretty cool chord progressions can be "developed" this way as well.

When I finally do sit my ass down to write music, I'm there for hours. sometimes I'm at it for days at a time working on a piece. (This may be why I may only do one or two compositions a year, if that many!)

I saw some cool ideas on this and other threads. This is very helpful, thank you!

Happy writing to you all. . .