All Questions
Tagged with composition chord-progressions
58
questions
2
votes
6
answers
892
views
Is adapting existing melodies a useful way to improve composition skill?
As the saying goes ‘immature talents borrow; mature ones steal’. When I write songs I normally start with chord changes and try to sing something over them, but this often results in uninteresting ...
- 151
-1
votes
1
answer
336
views
Adequate chord progression for an intimate "bolero"-"jazz" song?
I am trying to compose an intimate song to be played by an acoustic guitar (and a piano at most) related to the genre of "bolero" or "jazz", perhaps with traces of "fado"....
- 107
0
votes
1
answer
274
views
Rationale behind the modulations in Alice Cooper's Poison
I was playing along to Poison and noticed a curious chord progression:
[Verse]
(in Dm)
i VI III VII
Dm Bb F C
Your cruel, device, Your blood, like ...
- 445
1
vote
1
answer
97
views
What options do I have to utilize all my created riffs to their full potential?
Playing guitar, I tend to create a whole bunch of different riffs that flow one after the other in the same key. They all sound really good together but then I wonder how I could turn them into a song....
- 13
1
vote
0
answers
63
views
Harmonic accuracy check [closed]
I would like a harmonic accuracy check for a variation that I composed based on a section of the first movement of Brahms's Violin Concerto. I am concerned with whether or not the notes of Bars 18 - ...
- 11
7
votes
2
answers
569
views
Replacing chords with riffs
I'm kind of unsure as to where I can look for help regarding this but I've become very interested in the guitar playing of Jack white and Dan Auerbach. Both seem to have this amazing playing style ...
- 71
2
votes
3
answers
152
views
What do I call this type of transition?
I'm a complete novice to composing and music theory, but part of what I'd like to do is acquire the vocabulary to describe subtle changes in sound, especially ones that evoke a distinct emotion.
For ...
-2
votes
2
answers
153
views
What makes descending chords so Sci-Fi? Psychologically [closed]
I have noticed that descending chord progressions seem to feel sci-fi-ish. I'm playing on an acoustic piano, so I mean that it just feels that way because of the composition, not some synth filter.
...
1
vote
4
answers
125
views
Theme seems complete enough, but Variations seem to need that extra harmony, what should I do? [closed]
So, I’m composing a Theme and Variations based off of the La Folia progression and I started really basic for the Theme so that I would have some more wiggle room for Variations. I’ve even considered ...
- 6,614
10
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How to apply Paul Hindemith's harmonic theory
I have been studying Paul Hindemith's "The Craft of Musical Composition, Book 1: Theory", trying to apply Hindemith's principles to my own harmonies and melodies.
As you may know, Hindemith'...
- 1,396
0
votes
1
answer
191
views
Does this song use chromatic mediant in G major? and what other music theory concepts this song's verse utilize
I'm currently learning basic music theory and along the way I review old songs on my playlist then analyze what key, chord progression and somehow discover the composer's way of creating music.
The ...
2
votes
6
answers
469
views
How is D7 functioning here? Applied chord both kind of does and doesn't fit
I am composing this Adagio piece in E Minor and there’s one chord in the starting chord progression that I can’t seem to figure out the function of, that being D7. It seems on listening to be an ...
- 6,614
5
votes
1
answer
282
views
Love Shack Chorus Chord Progression
I've seen this chord progression pop up verbatim in a few songs I've been learning recently. It's (in a major key) I - bIII - IV - bVI then back to the tonic.
My question is: is there a name for this ...
- 51
3
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Can I use two minor scales in the same song? [duplicate]
I've been composing a song, using the chord progression Am - G#° - Dm7/A - E (i - VII - iv - V), that is using the Harmonic minor scale.
The song has some melodies, that appear in different parts. The ...
- 105
6
votes
4
answers
623
views
How would you analyze this chord progression and the function of Am7 here?
Disclaimer: Novice songwriter here.
I've started to write a new song, started with a 16 bar funky bass line in C natural minor and kept adding some chords which I think might not be fully correct but ...
- 61