Smooth chord progressions

Filed in Free Lessons on December 20, 2008



The normal song you play in church consists almost entirely of I, IV, and V chords.  One of the problems with very simple harmony is that does not move as smoothly as it could.  Here is a easy way to improve it.

There is a very important rule about harmony--chord progressions sound smoothest when moving down in fifths.  By the way, the tradeoff with this kind of movement is that it is predictable--smooth but predictable.   I will discuss this dilemma at another time.

So what can you do to take a normal song and make the harmony smoother?  The easy answer is to change the harmony so that it moves down by 5ths. 

Modern songs are full of V-I progressions which take advantage of this rule.  However, you can improve V-I progressions by extending them to include more chords that move down by 5ths.  In other words, a ii-V-I is stronger than a V-I because it contains two moves by fifths.  A vi-ii-V-I would be stronger still.

When I see a V-I, I instinctively extend it to take advantage of this concept.  Typically, I only add the ii, but sometimes add more chords such as the vi and the ii.

Let's say that you see a V-I cadence in 4/4 where one measure is a V and one measure is a I.  Try splitting the first measure in half, putting a ii on the first two beats and a V on the second two beats.  You will be surprised at the improved sound. 

You could also split the first measure into three parts, putting a vi on the first beat, a ii on the second beat, and a V on the last two beats.

I cannot tell you how valuable this concept is to your sound.  Try it and you will see what I mean.

 



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Lenny
12/20/2008 1:31:49 PM

I could not be more confused. Can you post some examples of this for us to look at?

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Jenni Kutts
12/20/2008 11:06:05 PM

I think I understand what you are saying. You are really saying that a minor ii chord can be substituted for a V chord. I did not know that. However, I just tried it, and it does work.

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Greg Howlett
12/22/2008 11:57:00 PM

I will get some examples up this week. The answer to your question is yes, the ii7 substitutes for the V chord quite nicely. Those two chords actually are basically the same in their function.

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