Is there a way of practicing how to write/comprehend fantastic chord progressions?

[lvlitsuo]

I was curious if there's a way of viewing chords so that they make more sense in my head.

[lfm]

The simplest progressions can be incredibly beautyful, like Hans Zimmer "Time"


How you build tension and melodies and arrange it all.
- I've seen too many threads on progressions lately
- it's nothing fancy about Zimmers chord above, very common progression

I'll stick my neck out and say, it's not the progressions that make it interesting and beautyful
- it's what you do with them
- and how you voice them and phrase them

Learn chords on keyboard and surprise yourself
- the normal major and minor chords, and 7th and 9th goes a long way
- a surprising interval is always interesting, maybe even shift key
- "what happends if I do this now...." kind of thing
- try melodies with different phrasing, how you pause and perform

When you do find something that hit you as interesting
- have a little dictaphone within reach and record just 15-30s of the idea
- the exact phrasing makes all the differences, how you emphasize and rhythmically do it

I tried a piano teacher once that was amazed by an musician
- because he bent the "musical rules"
- he had an intellectual approach to music

Music is a universal language and just hits you - or not

Do what you find interesting...if you want to go back and listen over and over to it, somebody else will like it too....

[lvlitsuo]

For sure. I agree with everything you said but if there was a way to understand why certain chord progressions “work”, I was hoping to be able to reverse engineer small ideas into larger ones.

Like an example, a 2,5,1 chord progression in a C major. Is there chords that can substitute for the 1 that I can expect will play nicely? if so how would i train myself to anticipate that?

sorry if that was confusing

[eLawnMust]

Going by what you are saying Chordpulse seems right on... It is also easy & fast so substituting different chords fast not complex like Band-in-a-Box or that RapidComposer thing...




I use it to discover new chord inversions as per progressions quite a bit...


https://www.chordpulse.com/

[lfm]

Like an example, a 2,5,1 chord progression in a C major. Is there chords that can substitute for the 1 that I can expect will play nicely? if so how would i train myself to anticipate that?

I can only share from the journey I am on, trying to be fluent with all chords and inversions.

This guy, JasonZac has some interesting approach
https://rumble.com/v4gz8tl-how-to-pract ... -5ths.html

He is going round the circle of 5ths and jumping between neighbouring chords in all inversions to do that from backbone.
- they always have one note in common

Later I will do with 7th and minor etc too.

This is the long term route.

Being able to "hear" the leading tone where you want to go, kind of.
- going from 5 to 1, is a 5th, and will have one note in common with previous chord

I also like this approach this guy at PianoGroove is has


"Add cool Inner voices to your voices" if that is close to what you ask for.

At 02:25 he is doing 2, 5 and 1 progression.

This is interesting too "A Simple Formula For STUNNING Jazz Chord Progressions"


At 1:40 a 2, 5, 1 as well. And about how he spreads notes involved into left and right hand for cool voicings.

So he is taking each note in the scale, and making maj7 or min7 chords. The major scale 1,4,5 are major chords and 2,3,6 minor and then a dim.

Hope you find something interesting, if you are into the long term result.

If the ChordPulse is doing something like setting up each chord in the scale like above on buttons and just try out how they sound in progression could be very helpful, I guess.

Anything that makes exploring fun....

[lobanov]

Like an example, a 2,5,1 chord progression in a C major. Is there chords that can substitute for the 1 that I can expect will play nicely? if so how would i train myself to anticipate that?

Look at cadences?

[Stanklydankly]

Going by what you are saying Chordpulse seems right on... It is also easy & fast so substituting different chords fast not complex like Band-in-a-Box or that RapidComposer thing...




I use it to discover new chord inversions as per progressions quite a bit...


https://www.chordpulse.com/

Going to have to check this out, I struggle with making chord choices more interesting and fall into the same choices too often.

[NKF]

Aldwell and schacters book on harmony and voice leading is the gold standard.

This will provide a framework that once learned makes almost all harmonic language up until late romantaticsm recognizable and easy to replicate.

You also have to do a lot of transcription.
In school , they would play excerpts and you were expected to notate the melody , the bassline , and the harmony.

So
1. Learn a framework.
2. Learn to recognize framework
3. Learn to reproduce the relationships you find interesting.