Where do I go from this progression start?

Hi Roy

That looks like a typo on my part. You want to think of these in generic terms
On the "sometimes" column, it should look like this for C:

Am
F or Am
F
C or Dm
F or Am
Em or F

It's important to realize, especially if you're reverse engineering, that all this can be reduced to "generic" terms, which describe each chord in Roman numerals (capitals for majors, lower case for minors). In the key of C:

C = I
Dm = ii
Em = iii
F = IV
G = V
Am = vi

In the key of G, you have the following:

G = I
Am = ii
Bm = iii
C = IV
D = V
Em = vi

So if you use this for whatever key you're in, the "Sometimes" column looks like this:

vi
IV or vi
IV
I or ii
IV or VI
iii or IV

I hope this helps. Sorry about the typo - I'll get hold of Paul once he's done with all the New Year Celebrations going on and see about getting that corrected.

Peace

Thanks for this, David. :D :D

I've got a subsequent question, but I'll see if I can't find the answer in the article or one of the linked articles first. Not even quite sure how to ask the question. It involves why a chord is a minor chord at certain points.

Good question, RP. You're at a point where you can think as your fingers work...newbies take note.

As illiterate as I am, I've always considered these modals as "passing chords"...which are pretty horrible unless they come from somewhere and end up going somewhere. I use them all the time, and if you write for a living, they are the better part of your songcraft. This is where your style comes from. Maybe like a suspended 4th, as an example...without the resolve to the root of the chord. If you throw those into everything you write...it's how you will be known.

Hey, David...Parker and other enquiring minds wanna know!

Cat

Three basic reasons you might have a minor chord, Roy:

1. It fits the key. A Dm chord has the notes D-F-A; all of those are in the key of C. If you're writing in C, which has no sharps or flats, Dm works, but D (D-F#-A) doesn't.

2. It fits a modulation. If you're in C, you might follow a C chord with a Cm - you've just used C as a "pivot", and now you're in some key that has an Eb note. Rule of thumb for songwriting: anytime you change only ONE note (C-E-G -> C-Eb-G) it'll sound OK - that's the basic logic behind chord substitutions.

3. It fits into a chain. As David showed, each key has some 'native' minor chords. If you're in C and you play Am-Dm-Em, you can continue with another minor chord - maybe you use Fm. Although you're changing keys, you've set it up by establishing minor sounds.

The theory reasons behind #2 and #3 will vary depending on exactly what you do, but in a nutshell it all boils down to something a composition teacher once told me: when writing, change ONE thing at a time. With #3, you're changing key, but keeping a minor feeling; with #2 you're changing a key, but keeping the root the same. For best effect, you'll want to have other things established as well that stay the same on both sides of the change... like the same rhythm, or the same note in the vocal melody.

There are a couple other things that can help figuring out what to do next. I wrote a lesson a few years back that covered some of the reverse engineering that David mentioned: https://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/untangling-chord-progressions/ . But something to keep in mind is what Cat's getting at - theory follows usage. If you find something you like, keep doing it - either the theory already exists and you just don't know it yet (which isn't essential to use it), or you've broken the mold... and theory will catch up to you later.

Cool. Old dog now understands his very old tricks! Geez, Note...wish I could read! Thanks for that. But playing from the gut's cool, too. I'm not half bad at it... :wink:

Funny...but true...about being able to get away with one different note in a chord as it gets repositioned elsewhere in songwriting. If you are playing a standard...you can hear them. But if you are writing...you always tie in a harmony note to that oddball note on another instrument. I like doing that with a driven-high bass guitar note.

Gotta love this instrument!

Cat