tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post3810573751724337907..comments2024-01-23T17:14:04.067-05:00Comments on Jaltcoh: The 2 most overused chord progressions in pop music todayJohn Althouse Cohenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-72723440179390271292019-01-13T19:34:29.261-05:002019-01-13T19:34:29.261-05:00They are both the same chord progression, just rot...They are both the same chord progression, just rotated by two chords. You don't have to re-cast I-V-vi-IV into a minor key. Just call the second chord progression what it is: vi-IV-I-V.Ronnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-55388777943404637142016-11-13T03:17:07.437-05:002016-11-13T03:17:07.437-05:00Realy i am happy for his post
6 Worst Lady Gaga ...Realy i am happy for his post <br /><br /><a href="http://www.styzzz.com/5-worst-lady-gaga-songs-time/" rel="nofollow">6 Worst Lady Gaga songs of all time<br /></a><br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15246272201031190052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-62911302862489650152015-11-02T08:46:17.086-05:002015-11-02T08:46:17.086-05:00searching for Top Escorts in Gurgaon, We have top ...searching for Top Escorts in Gurgaon, We have top Class escorts in Gurgaon, for fun in the Night, Our High Class escorts in Gurgaon are top escorts in Industry and they have great qualities to gave you real fun time.<br /><a href="http://www.sexgurgaonescort.in" rel="nofollow">Escorts in Gurgaon</a><br /><a href="http://www.callgirlsservicemahipalpur.com/dwarka.php" rel="nofollow">Call Girls in Dwarka </a><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04730610595839888828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-78625268694010657552015-04-18T03:32:44.656-04:002015-04-18T03:32:44.656-04:00John Cohen looks like he's in the state of per...John Cohen looks like he's in the state of permanent shock. Was he smoke'n some powerful stuff out of his musical bong? Deer caught in the head lights. Hey man, who stopped the music dude? John and his co hens, cold hands. The two most abused chords are the ones that John Cohen plays on his invisible violin. How many Co Hands am I holding up dude? I am a freak'n robot man!! A.K.A Ho Hands. Wait until the hair lose starts then you'll be pissed man.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-14932296148166468332014-11-25T08:11:43.910-05:002014-11-25T08:11:43.910-05:00The great songs, whatever chord progression when a...The great songs, whatever chord progression when analysed, hit the llstener as being AUTHENTIC...not contrived....the brain says this song is saying something i should pay attention to. Once you've heard such a song it's as though you think...this hasn't been created....it was always there in nature waiting for someone to find it. Can you imagine the world 30 minutes before the Beatles created "She loves you" ?...a world in which "She loves you" doesn't exist.Paznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-3935167671316661732014-02-18T23:05:14.283-05:002014-02-18T23:05:14.283-05:00I have another one... IV I VI V: Safe and Sound (C...I have another one... IV I VI V: Safe and Sound (Capital Cities)... and Paradise (Cold Play)..ted samuelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-47059276401607964842014-01-03T04:03:46.428-05:002014-01-03T04:03:46.428-05:00I really enjoyed this conversation. There's g...I really enjoyed this conversation. There's good knowledge in here for new people to learn a lot, I would like to add to that.<br /><br />All of this being said and opinions aside, bottom line is you can't copyright a chord progression. That is where the exploitation potential stops. You can't call using common chord progressions plagiarism, because it's not.<br /><br />If I want to make scrambled eggs, I have to use eggs. The same eggs everybody else does. I don't get bonus points for trying to make eggs with pizza dough. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-41310189342388334602013-12-29T23:29:31.195-05:002013-12-29T23:29:31.195-05:00I didn't take the time to read all the comment...I didn't take the time to read all the comments but this what they did with the 12 bar blues format. Nearly all the blues songs follow it in one way or another and then 50% of Rock and Roll and even alot of country music used the same structure. Noone ever complains that blues music is boring (though I personally do, I just don't complain about it). There is no musician on Earth who hasn't been influenced by someon else's music. And it ultimately shows up in their own work. The Beat Goes On (no pun intended)Roslynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14855481097946612354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-62770624956844334872013-12-20T15:57:55.468-05:002013-12-20T15:57:55.468-05:00This is because everybody just sticks to diatonic(...This is because everybody just sticks to diatonic(Maj/min) scales instead of using modes(which is essentially using notes from other scales for effect/different emotions). For example, a superlocrian mode(7th mode of harmonic-minor) played over a major progression would create a very evil/ominous sound.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-61173233898447835532013-10-11T18:09:38.515-04:002013-10-11T18:09:38.515-04:00To the people who claim "it's not the col...To the people who claim "it's not the colors you use, it's the painting you make", I'll say you're right. And what exactly is the painting? The painting is a pretty sunset with waves crashing on the beach, and there's a castle in the distance as well as a woman on a white unicorn riding through the surf. These images are used over and over again as FORMULAIC SCHLOCK, meant to appease the simple-minded and un-educated public. And this chord progression is one of those formulaic elements that is used OVER AND OVER because the people using it know exactly how easy it is to use it, OR, they are so inexperienced with the wealth of sounds one can create, that they simply revert to the same old stuff over and over again. If you honestly don't agree, then you honestly don't *know* the building blocks of music. Just like if you honestly think a painting of waves crashing on a beach with a woman on a unicorn is amazing art, then you have very little experience with art. You only know what makes you feel good. That's great... but guess what? You're being manipulated.Jeff Engelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07125228008923689479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-87317926747494291222013-09-26T15:02:53.767-04:002013-09-26T15:02:53.767-04:00Sometimes a beautiful voice and lyrics makes this ...Sometimes a beautiful voice and lyrics makes this entire discussion obsolete...Adele. Case in point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-21596140594570400282013-07-31T10:39:55.335-04:002013-07-31T10:39:55.335-04:00@thisisnotablog
Hey, you've got me on board 1...@thisisnotablog <br />Hey, you've got me on board 100%, my friend. You are absolutely spot on with everything you said there. <br /><br />You wrote that you could mention plenty of examples of 'more thoughtful, skilled songwriting' which doesn't resort to monotonous/cliched chord progressions. Any chance of you putting a longer list together? I'd be very interested to look at how these songs have been constructed and I'm sure many others would too. You'd be doing a great service!<br /><br />If you don't ask...<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15087047588581614242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-33208198003809911152013-07-20T01:23:49.479-04:002013-07-20T01:23:49.479-04:00Oh my god - THANK YOU for this blog post.
The use...Oh my god - THANK YOU for this blog post.<br /><br />The use and abuse of these two godforsaken, worn-out, tedious musical cliches is something that's grated on me for years.<br /><br />Last night I was at a club, which spewed a steady stream of current pop hits (from the untz-untz-untz club-pop variety to contemporary commercial country) from its PA system. <br /><br />Easily 90-95% of all the songs I heard over the course of several hours were based on one of these two progressions.<br /><br />STOP THE MADNESS!!!!<br /><br />To those of you who defend the continued use, re-use and abuse of these trite devices, based on the "it's only pop" mentality, allow me list just a few tunes that are unequivocably within the "pop" millieu, and yet possess utterly unique chord choices, arrengements, melodies, etc:<br /><br />Prince "Take Me With You"<br />Queen "Killer Queen"<br />Olivia Newton John" "Magic"<br />Madonna "Borderline"<br />The Chiffons "Sweet Talkin' Guy"<br />Stone Temple Pilots "Interstate Love Song"<br /><br />Some of the breeziest, catchiest, sing-along-iest pop/rock songs you've ever heard, right? <br /><br />Right. But have you ever tried to learn the chords? By today's pop standards they're practically laborynthine in their complexity, yet the songs never sound dense, difficult or laborious. <br /><br />In fact I'd argue that the above-mentioned tunes are far more memorable and repeat-listenable than something like "Edge of Glory" (Lady Gaga - I V VI IV) or "Stronger" (Kelly Clarkson - I VI III VII).<br /><br />There are PLENTY of examples (I could go on and on) of more thoughtful, more skilled pop songwriting that doesn't lean on lazy-ass cliches.<br /><br />As far as I'm concerned, leaning on these chord progressions again and again (you'll hear these used multiple times on a single album - just check out Nicki Minaj's last LP) is no different than rhyming "girl" with "world", "fire" with "desire" or "down on my knees" with "beggin' you please". <br /><br />These chord progressions are used by lazy, cynical songwriters who are banking on a non-discerning public who desires only familiarity. <br /><br />this is not a bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12024711031574436090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-8131123942296418702013-06-23T13:38:42.797-04:002013-06-23T13:38:42.797-04:00I was searching for a tutorial on how to make comp...I was searching for a tutorial on how to make complex chord combination with both major and minor chords while still on thesame key in a song before coming across this blog and although most of the people here have spoken the painful truth about over used chord progressions I still believe there are people out there who know how to use their chords when composing songs with somewhat complex chords for example take a look at "Bruno Mars' When I was your man" although he used the popular IV,V,I (F,G,C) progression in the song he went a long way to add II,ii,IV,iv(Dmaj,Dm,Fmaj,Fm) chords to the song and that gave an amazing color to the song. If you'r a musician or a song composer you'll know that these popular progression are almost impossible to avoid I do believe theres hope.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-1549243058264070702013-06-10T20:06:12.322-04:002013-06-10T20:06:12.322-04:00It's definitely unfair to label all pop music ...It's definitely unfair to label all pop music using these common progressions as 'plagiarism'. There is a lot of, in my opinion, garbage music being mass produced to make as much money as possible with a formula that currently sells. That's why they call it the music business. Every industry (eg. Fashion, food..) does it because that's how they make their money. The only way you can get away from it is by making an effort to hear the musicians who deviate from all that crap in a way you like. Find the ones who want to share their art with you instead of selling their produce and support them. All that said, a lot of creative artists do get caught in the business trap because that's how they will make their living. The lucky ones manage to make their money and actually have a say in their sound.<br />I do pride myself on being an open minded with a good understanding of music theory and appreciation of all genres, and while I love experimenting with different patterns in my own music, I understand the gravitation towards the common progressions. There's a reason those chords became so popular and it's because they are simple and effective which is all a lot of people are looking for in their favourite tunes.<br />These chords have been pooular a lot longer than many people seem to think. A lot of my oldest classical and folk piano pieces use the same progression everyone here is complaining about. Soo, take it up with Pachabel.<br />Finally, I said I have favourite artists and songs from all genres, and that includes pop of course. A lot of my most loved songs happen to use the progression I-V-vi-IV or some order of the like, and I respect the artist no less for it. Some of my most hated songs use the same progression. There's so much more to music than that. The pregression really serves as a backround. If it sucks than the piece doesn't work but once its good you still have a lot of work to do to make somewthing worthwhile.<br />Anyways, that's my two cents on this old post. Please excuse any grammatical or spelling mistakes, I got sick of editing on my mobile phone a couple of paragraphs ago. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-64171647414294213182013-05-22T22:51:24.222-04:002013-05-22T22:51:24.222-04:00This is an interesting discussion, and you have a ...This is an interesting discussion, and you have a point, but I wouldn't labour it too strongly.<br />I echo some of the previously made comments: <br />1. that we are talking pop here, which by definition cannot be overly challenging to most people's ears<br />2. there is a lot more to making a "good" pop record than laying down a I VI VI V (or whatever)<br />Furthermore,<br />3 if it's that easy to do, please go ahead and do it, to prove it<br />4 a good melody can very well disguise or distract from the chords that sit underneath it<br />5 it's not just the progression, it's how it's used; in particular you have (as has been mentioned) timing issues, but you also have inversions, and you also have different bass roots (e.g. C/G chord).<br />There are so many ways to do it. <br />Sure, there's a lot of lame stuff around, but perhaps more in stuff like trance (especially considering you can just whack an arpegiattor on a chord and get away with it) than on mainstream pop.<br />Good discussion though.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02630312327272333889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-20538072303207045722013-03-25T04:48:09.773-04:002013-03-25T04:48:09.773-04:00I write hard rock and metal, and i'm always tr...I write hard rock and metal, and i'm always trying to push the boundaries to stay fresh. try this progression, i used it to envoke a feeling of space. F#m-D-Db7-E-FAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01852341789432180423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-74405446097872863752013-03-20T19:00:44.536-04:002013-03-20T19:00:44.536-04:00Major scales tend to be more rigid than minor scal...Major scales tend to be more rigid than minor scales and since most songs are written in major keys, you will have a lot of the same progression. Wanna sound different, use a minor scale. I want to correct an earlier remark about only 7 chords. Technically yes but minor scales can be harmonic or melodic and that changes things. In a harmonic minor, you introduce a second diminished chord (normally in either major of minor there is just one; #2 in a minor scale and 7 in a major scale. This is caused by rasing the 7th note, the subtonic a half step making it a leading tone. Also if you add a root to this second diminished chord you get a dominant 7th.<br /><br />I recently wrote a song in the harmonic minor scale. it contains three different seventh chords and two different diminished chords (they are also different types of each). Can't really do that in a major scale.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-18828016172983856152013-02-01T05:02:50.618-05:002013-02-01T05:02:50.618-05:00The second one is the same as the first one, only ...The second one is the same as the first one, only starting from bar 3.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-78533678200621664412013-01-30T22:23:13.266-05:002013-01-30T22:23:13.266-05:00This is retarded, if it was that easy to write a r...This is retarded, if it was that easy to write a radio station worth of hits, you would have them written already, and you'd be writing more, instead of writing a blog. I did just want to comment "Dominant 7th" but i think i'll elaborate. By understanding the harmonic sequence of a single key being struck on a piano, you would understand harmony and how the major chord comes from the first 4 harmonics of the strings vibrations. Hence why it's harmonious. The most dominant harmonic in the sequence, gives us a note a fifth away from the fundamental. By striking the fifth note, it gives us it's own set of harmonics, i.e. the major chord, the dominant harmonic is again a fifth away. This would give us C, G, D, and so on up the keys untill you hit F and back to C. The major third of the fifth chord gives us a note that is known as the leading note, residing one semitone below the first key, that wishes to gravitate back to the first root key that was struck. Dominant is another word for leading. So the V chord leads us back to the I chord. Knowing that there's a strong connection to notes and chords that are a fifth apart, we can see from moving up the keys that the fifth below the fundamental has the fundamental as it's dominant harmonic, i.e. F to C(IV to I). So if the V chord leads to the I chord, then the I chord leads to the chord a fifth below it, the IV chord or the Sub-Dominant chord. Therefore the I chord leads to the IV chord and to get back home to the I chord instead of falling down all the keys by fifths, taking us out of the original key which was defined be the first harmonic sequence of the root note, we move to the dominant or V chord as it's the only chord (within the key) with the power to lead you back home to the I chord. The dominant 7th chords hold the power to also clearly demonstrate what the root key is, because from the scale built from the harmonic series we get many instances of each interval within the scale except, we only get one instance of the tritone interval, or augmented 4th as it's also known, and this interval only appears in one chord within each key, and that chord is the Dominant7th or 7th chord as its known in pop, jazz, classical, heavy metal, hip hop, etc. To explain the minor chord i would recommend researching Arnold Schoenberg's over-hang and under-hang harmonic series. The reason these chord progressions are used have more to do with the physiology or the ear and the way the physical world vibrates with rational number and simple ratios. Pop music is arguable more sophisticated and less limited than the restricted composers of the classical period. A pop writer can put a story as complex as Wagner's 9 day opera in a 3 minute time frame. I mean Ernest Hemingway famously wrote a novel in 6 words, "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn," an epic story of heart break and acceptance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-53873976764854677172013-01-12T08:44:23.118-05:002013-01-12T08:44:23.118-05:00I'm not basing it on the relative minor. I'...I'm not basing it on the relative minor. I'm basing it on the actual key. The relative minor is when you're in a major key but temporarily switch to the minor key having the same notes. I don't think it's correctly to say that a song that's entirely in a minor key and starts on the tonic starts on "vi."John Althouse Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-39457872547471535972013-01-01T23:23:06.432-05:002013-01-01T23:23:06.432-05:00Change the second progression (i VI III VII). You&...Change the second progression (i VI III VII). You're basing chord numbers on the relative minor, but chords are generally written in the major numbering regardless of key and it will confuse people. It should read vi IV I V.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-57583494130883196442012-11-26T22:21:46.280-05:002012-11-26T22:21:46.280-05:00I don't mean to go off topic, but my favorite ...I don't mean to go off topic, but my favorite thing to do is create chord progressions based on patterns. And if you use chromatic harmony (like secondary dominants) you can create cool chromatic bass lines.<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-25583811576011994672012-10-14T21:57:12.163-04:002012-10-14T21:57:12.163-04:00The examples you list make this a good post for wa...The examples you list make this a good post for wannabe songwriters who aren't too familiar with music theory. Even if we don't get the whole roman numeral thing, we do know what 'with or without you' sounds like. That makes sense to my ears, and that's what music is all about, isn't it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-89716255746242099372012-09-06T07:33:42.331-04:002012-09-06T07:33:42.331-04:00Ironically I found this while looking around for p...Ironically I found this while looking around for pop songs that use unusual chord progressions but I found this interesting (and the Axis of Awesome video was funny)<br /><br />As others have said, it's not the chords you use; it's how you use them. What makes With or Without You so much better than a lot of other songs that use that progression? If the song has been written by some professional songwriters in a studio, feigning emotion in their writing so they can give it to the next beautiful female artist the label has thrown at them then it's going to come out as cold crap.<br /><br />There have been some great uses of this progression in recent years though. A good example is Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap. Even without the vocoder it's a brilliantly written song (because let's face it; an interesting arrangement doesn't make an interesting song).Andé D'Mellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13997047242288069337noreply@blogger.com