This is the first in a series of articles that will show you how to write better songs using the circle of 4ths and 5ths, specifically how you can create good sounding chord progressions quickly.
Although it's good to try to be original when writing music there are certain rules which you can follow in order to make your music sound better and more memorable. In order to use these rules you need to know the circle of 4ths and 5ths and the different ways in which you can use it. So the first thing you must do is use the diagrams I've provided to memorize the circle.
In order to write a chord progression that sounds coherent you want to have chord movements in 4ths and 5ths about 50% of the time. This means that half of the time you want to have chords played in sequence that are only one step clockwise or counter-clockwise around the circle of 4ths and 5ths.
An example, if you're writing a song in the key of C and C is your first chord (tonic) then the next one will be G (5th away from C) or an F (4th away from C).
Another way to find a good chord progression is as follows. Find the 7 chords for the key of C wich are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim. Now write the progression in order of 5ths (just look at the circle of 4ths and 5ths and see in which order they appear clockwise around the circle). You'll get: C, G, Dm, Am, Em, Bdim, F. Now it's time to write a chord progression using this order of chords.
Start with a C, then jump along to any point in the sequence, for example Em. Then just play the chords in reverse order back to the C. So the chord progression you'll have created is C, Em, Am, Dm, G and then back to C. But you don't have to play every chord on the way back to the tonic chord C (the chord in which key the song is). You can skip some like in this example: C, F, Em, G.
This will come in handy when you feel that your chord progressions sound aimless and not coherent and it's especially important to consider at the end of verses and choruses when you want to set up the song for the next section.
Although it's good to try to be original when writing music there are certain rules which you can follow in order to make your music sound better and more memorable. In order to use these rules you need to know the circle of 4ths and 5ths and the different ways in which you can use it. So the first thing you must do is use the diagrams I've provided to memorize the circle.
In order to write a chord progression that sounds coherent you want to have chord movements in 4ths and 5ths about 50% of the time. This means that half of the time you want to have chords played in sequence that are only one step clockwise or counter-clockwise around the circle of 4ths and 5ths.
An example, if you're writing a song in the key of C and C is your first chord (tonic) then the next one will be G (5th away from C) or an F (4th away from C).
Another way to find a good chord progression is as follows. Find the 7 chords for the key of C wich are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim. Now write the progression in order of 5ths (just look at the circle of 4ths and 5ths and see in which order they appear clockwise around the circle). You'll get: C, G, Dm, Am, Em, Bdim, F. Now it's time to write a chord progression using this order of chords.
Start with a C, then jump along to any point in the sequence, for example Em. Then just play the chords in reverse order back to the C. So the chord progression you'll have created is C, Em, Am, Dm, G and then back to C. But you don't have to play every chord on the way back to the tonic chord C (the chord in which key the song is). You can skip some like in this example: C, F, Em, G.
This will come in handy when you feel that your chord progressions sound aimless and not coherent and it's especially important to consider at the end of verses and choruses when you want to set up the song for the next section.
