Running Out of Good Chord Progressions?

[handoman]

Do you guys ever feel like you're running out of good chord progressions? I know there are tons of combinations, but there is still only a limited number chords that sound good together, right? I'm sure I am nowhere near using them all up, but it gets harder and harder with each new track. I try really hard not to reuse any progressions I've used in the past. Am I looking at this the wrong way? Is it okay to re use chord progressions in different sections of different tracks? With a different rhythm, tempo and instruments, will it sound completely different? Changing one chord in a progression can make it new. Also, having progressions with more than just four chords gives even more possibilities. What do you guys think?

[datroof]

It's totally ok to reuse chord progressions. Not only that, but chord progressions can't be copyrighted, so you can steal them with impunity. I would encourage you to do so, at least to help you get started. Start putting together a library of stolen (borrowed) progressions that you like.

[trusampler]

Start looking at transposing. Transpose those same chord progressions, and watch new life appear into your chords, and music in general.. enjoy

[Jafo]

Maybe your subconscious is just telling you to experiment a bit. Go with it! There are a ton of options.

Certain chord progressions simply work, so they get reused; they're the salt and pepper of music. But you can spice things up a bit by altering chord tones -- say, a dominant 7th with a raised or lowered 5th (great for whole-tone melodies), or a minor chord with a raised (err, natural? major?) seventh. Even just adding a second or sixth can work wonders.

You can also go further afield. A lot of people turn to modes or drones (just intonation optional) or pitch axes or even quartal harmony in this case (staying tonal) -- well worth the effort! Alternately, try atonal music (lack of melody optional) or tritone harmony with whole-tone scales, or free-form tone poems (or even leaving the notion of defined pitches altogether) -- also well worth the effort.

In short, violate a rule or assumption, and see where it leads you. After all, chords were horrifyingly revolutionary at one time.

[fmr]

In short, violate a rule or assumption, and see where it leads you. After all, chords were horrifyingly revolutionary at one time.

Yes, but that was like 600 years go
Great composers used the same "chord progressions" over and over again, and something always came out. Chord progressions are like rice or potatoes - they are just there to fill the plate.

[Frantz]

Chord progressions are like rice or potatoes

So funk music is a low carb/chord diet?

[fmr]

Chord progressions are like rice or potatoes

So funk music is a low carb/chord diet?

Yes, but you can die of sub-nutrition

[ImNotDedYet]

One of the things my teacher has me doing is taking a couple chords I like together, then going through every chord and auditioning them all. Not all chords that fit the scale I'm in/musical key, mind you, but every damn chord. (CMaj, Cmin, C#Maj, C#min, DMaj, Dmin, etc.) Play your progression so far to make sure the chord you like fits. Write down those chords you like that fit what you have so far, move on to the next chord and do the same thing. This time when auditioning how the chords fit with your current progression, audition them with all the possible progressions from the previous step. You can find nice little combinations here, or combinations you turn to later in the song on the second run through the progression, etc.

[handoman]

One of the things my teacher has me doing is taking a couple chords I like together, then going through every chord and auditioning them all. Not all chords that fit the scale I'm in/musical key, mind you, but every damn chord. (CMaj, Cmin, C#Maj, C#min, DMaj, Dmin, etc.) Play your progression so far to make sure the chord you like fits. Write down those chords you like that fit what you have so far, move on to the next chord and do the same thing. This time when auditioning how the chords fit with your current progression, audition them with all the possible progressions from the previous step. You can find nice little combinations here, or combinations you turn to later in the song on the second run through the progression, etc.

yea, I guess I do this. I pick a chord, then test out other chords to see what i like best. Then I do the with the next one and the next.

I'm still gunna try hard not to re use any progressions I've used before. Maybe I can look back at my really old tracks and find chords that I can modify.

[deastman]

There is nothing new under the sun.

[toughenough6]

One thing that helped me was using Xfer's Cthulhu. It might be frowned upon but it's not like I rely on it, I just hop in there and mess around and the result is me playing chords I never would have thought to play.

As opposed to when I'm left to my own devices on my piano and I end up playing the same progressions over and over. Cthulhu basically forces you to not know what you're doing. Well, then again, I'm not a pro with it so I'm probably not using it exactly as it was intended.

I do always take the chords that it gives me and end up doing them myself, so I really just use it for inspiration.

[HolisticSongwriting]

Hey man!

I actually have a PDF with over 143 easy to play chord progressions that you can download here for free:
http://blog.holistic-songwriting.com/ (check the banner on the right)
It comes with 201 song titles and 3 arrangements.

When I'm looking for chord progressions, that's where I look first.

[handoman]

After making this thread I spent a lot of time song writing and making chord progressions. You learn so much by doing it on your own. I suggest to people not to copy others' chords and songs and try to do it on your own. It will feel a whole lot better when you see that you came up with a awesome chord progression all by yourself!

[HolisticSongwriting]

Another tip about making old chord progressions fresh and interesting again:



(Video includes over 400+ chord progressions)