

Play around with these three chords and see what you can come up with! Feel free to simplify it and stick to I-IV, which is a great foundation for any great folk/bluegrass/soft pop song. IV is a popular starting point for many choruses, regardless of chord progression.

so bad G D And Im kicking the dirt cause I never gave you Em C The things that you needed to have G. There is no strumming pattern for this song yet. These when combined with the saddest of all keys (according to Spinal Tap that is), D minor will make anyone want to shed an empathetic tear. 205,513 views, added to favorites 3,678 times. Often, songs that contain this progression will use I-IV-V for the verse, but switch to a different order of the same chords for the pre-chorus or chorus. Anyway, the point is, that to make a sad song properly sad, you need a properly sad chord progression, so we’ve sought out one or two of the saddest chords known to mankind.

Generally, this progression lends itself to brighter, happier, and sometimes nostalgic song ideas, due to its very major tonality. It’s used in genres as far afield as bluegrass and as modern as hip-hop and trap. Otherwise known as the “three chord song,” this chord progression has stood the test of time as one of the most popular progressions in modern western music. In this article, we’ll cover the latter method and share some widely used chord progressions that will help you break out of writer’s block.įor ease of explanation, the key of C Major will be used for this article. You can try using apps that help you choose chord progressions or you can take chord progression ideas from existing songs. When writer’s block happens, however, it helps to have a system in place that will help you get out of it quickly. Common methods include borrowing chords from a parallel key, building new chord progressions around an alternative melody, or adding a sense of richness and tension with diminished chords. There are a number of chord progression tricks you can use to make your songs more interesting.
