Chord progression rules

[bluesky]

Hi there, recently I put together this chords Dmaj Dmin Gmin which I like. It doesn't really follow any laid down chord progressing which I know of. Thus, my question is must one really follow chord progression like I IV V, ii V I, etc. Or one can put together chords as long as it sounds good to ones ears. Thanks in advance.

[TruthHertz]

Sure. We live in a post modern world, you can do what ever sounds good.
Sometimes you might find that what sounds good does so for a reason though.
Sometimes you might find that to do more with it, you need to have some idea of the big picture.
Sometimes you might find that what you "stumble across" is part of an entire room of great sounding treasures that there's a map to. It's called theory. But you certainly don't need it to come across things that you like.
Like your chord progression will strike many here as the modal interchange dominant substitution of DM, Dm, Gm, C7 back up to the D again. It's kinda nice. The Beatles liked that one. I do too.
Theory's not so bad, there aren't an overwhelming number of rules but they will help you understand the reasons why chords sound good together.
Finding new ways to sound good with only the rules of your ears, that's really great too, and if you come across something and use it enough, they'll make a rule about it. Rules just give you the map so you can get there again when you want; put it in a tune so it fits in with other chords you know and love.
David

[cosmic gumbo]

Trust what sounds good to your ears first. What usually happens is as your knowledge of theory grows, you start to recognize functions that relate to what your ears told you first.

[bluesky]

Thanks guys, you've really liberated me. Cos I've stumbled upon so many nice tunes I like, but thinking it wouldn't be taken, cos they weren't following the well know progressions. But your words have untied my hands. Once again thanks a bunch.

[brwnhornet59]

Originally Posted by bluesky

Thanks guys, you've really liberated me. Cos I've stumbled upon so many nice tunes I like, but thinking it wouldn't be taken, cos they weren't following the well know progressions. But your words have untied my hands. Once again thanks a bunch.

As you study theory more, you will come to see that a lot of the things your ears actually like, are following those chord progressions that you referred to in one way or another, you are just not aware of it yet. Playing inversions off of the 3rd or 6th, secondary ii V's, non diatonic chord subs, modal interchange etc..

In time you will come to see a never ending repetition of these ideas, in one form or another, that in the end comes full circle. That is a Voila moment indeed, when discovered for the first time.

Like David said, Theory is just a road map to get where you are going on a tried and true course. But as experience has shown, there is always more than one road. In fact if approached properly, all roads lead to quality music.

[TruthHertz]

You might not need this right now but I came across this interesting site:

Chord Progressions in Tonal Music

Put it on your shelf and maybe some day when questions come up it can be one resource for you. It can be of interest for those of you that are good with language or grammar. Anyway it gets a bookmark for me.
David

[bobby d]

Dmaj Dmin Gmin

I don't think this is anything new. It's also easy to put a melody to this. Minor to major has been done in lots of songs and it works to do the opposite too.

That said, it wouldn't be too difficult to come up with a chord progression that is way too dissonant for human ears.

[bluesky]

Originally Posted by brwnhornet59

As you study theory more, you will come to see that a lot of the things your ears actually like, are following those chord progressions that you referred to in one way or another, you are just not aware of it yet. Playing inversions off of the 3rd or 6th, secondary ii V's, non diatonic chord subs, modal interchange etc..

In time you will come to see a never ending repetition of these ideas, in one form or another, that in the end comes full circle. That is a Voila moment indeed, when discovered for the first time.

Like David said, Theory is just a road map to get where you are going on a tried and true course. But as experience has shown, there is always more than one road. In fact if approached properly, all roads lead to quality music.

well I hope to come to the realization of what you talked of; see those progressions I think are not following standard chord prog. That they actually do. That's going to be a great eureka. Thanks brwnhornet.

[bluesky]

Originally Posted by TruthHertz

You might not need this right now but I came across this interesting site:

Chord Progressions in Tonal Music

Put it on your shelf and maybe some day when questions come up it can be one resource for you. It can be of interest for those of you that are good with language or grammar. Anyway it gets a bookmark for me.
David

hey thanks, I love your contribution. It will in a long way.

[brwnhornet59]

Originally Posted by bluesky

well I hope to come to the realization of what you talked of; see those progressions I think are not following standard chord prog. That they actually do. That's going to be a great eureka. Thanks brwnhornet.

Just Curious, post some of them, we can look at them together and analyze them. What do you think?

[JonnyPac]

I'd say know all the basic functional progressions within a tonal center that are in common practice: All diatonic, secondary dominants, parallel and neighboring "borrowed" chords, and units of more than one chord ie (ii V7's) that can come packed together. Then play every cool mode (and modal chords) you can dig up, slash chord, melodic minor, dim, and whole-tone chord and sift through till you have a palette of personal favorites... Not forgetting modulations... and hybrid tonal/modal frameworks.

Then go get extra creative and mix them in any way you want. Listen to lots of guys who use cool interesting progressions; Wayne Shorter, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Andrew Hill, Miles, etc.

You should feel liberated in the modern musical world, indeed, but just be sure you've mined the music for all of the possibilities that will ultimately inspire you. There are so many interesting sounds to be had!

Here's a little cheat sheet on (heavily) related chords: http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...elMinKeyQ3.jpg

[NSJ]

Originally Posted by TruthHertz

You might not need this right now but I came across this interesting site:

Chord Progressions in Tonal Music

Put it on your shelf and maybe some day when questions come up it can be one resource for you. It can be of interest for those of you that are good with language or grammar. Anyway it gets a bookmark for me.
David

Thanks for that find, that looks to be a very interesting book. I'm at the stage where I can intellectually follow it and it makes sense. The way of conceiving a musical phrase, analogous to speech, I can really dig that.

[JonnyPac]

That link looks way cool. I'll dig in when I get a free minute or two!

[bluesky]

Originally Posted by brwnhornet59

Just Curious, post some of them, we can look at them together and analyze them. What do you think?

yeah mr brwnhornet. I'll do just that very soon, so we can walk through them together. Thanks for giving me such a room.

[bluesky]

Originally Posted by JonnyPac

I'd say know all the basic functional progressions within a tonal center that are in common practice: All diatonic, secondary dominants, parallel and neighboring "borrowed" chords, and units of more than one chord ie (ii V7's) that can come packed together. Then play every cool mode (and modal chords) you can dig up, slash chord, melodic minor, dim, and whole-tone chord and sift through till you have a palette of personal favorites... Not forgetting modulations... and hybrid tonal/modal frameworks.

Then go get extra creative and mix them in any way you want. Listen to lots of guys who use cool interesting progressions; Wayne Shorter, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Andrew Hill, Miles, etc.

You should feel liberated in the modern musical world, indeed, but just be sure you've mined the music for all of the possibilities that will ultimately inspire you. There are so many interesting sounds to be had!

Here's a little cheat sheet on (heavily) related chords: http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...elMinKeyQ3.jpg

hi there jonny, thanks for that cheat, I love interesting and inspiring things like that.

[JonnyPac]

Right on! Have fun!