Sure, you could look up commonly-used chord progressions if you want, but that won’t always work. Plus, part of the fun is in coming up with something original. So you need to rely on your own ears. Just listen carefully to what you’ve written, over and over again. If the sequence of chords you’ve chosen sounds good to you, then experiment further to see if you can make it sound even better. Trial and error, sweat and blood, that’s how you write a good chord progression.
Here are a few guidelines:
- Each chord should flow nicely into the next one if you want it to sound natural and unforced. For example, [I – II 4/2 – V 6/5 – I] works well because the supertonic likes to go to the dominant, which in turn likes to resolve to the tonic. But if you went from II 4/2 to V7 of bIII, then that wouldn’t make any sense at all . . unless that was your intention. Otherwise, surprises in your chord progression are acceptable as long as they fit in the overall structure.
- The flow in your chord progression can be aided by crafting a balance between tension and resolution. Going back to the previous example, you should be able to hear that using the supertonic and dominant creates tension, while returning to the tonic gives you resolution. The interaction between tension and resolution is what gives your chord progression a sense of purpose and destination. So if you keep building up the tension before you eventually resolve, then that’ll maintain the interest in the music (but don’t overdo it).
- Trial and error can be reduced if you have a good understanding of harmony. You’ll waste less time searching for a chord that’s completely wrong, and you’ll become more aware of chord possibilities.
- For instance, if there is a small section of your melody that contains the notes C and E, then some of your chord options are: A minor (A – C – E), C major (C – E – G), F# half diminished 7th (F# – A – C – E), etc. And if the next small section of your melody contains the notes D and F, then your next chord’s options could possibly be: D minor (D – F – A), G major 7th (G – B – D – F), Bb major (Bb – D – F), etc. So based on the melody’s four notes, perhaps your chord progression could go from C major to G major 7th (depending on the needs of the entire melody). Anyhow, that was just a random example, but it reinforces the point that understanding harmony is critical, and it also demonstrates that you can sometimes figure out the chords based on the notes in the melody (e.g. if your melody contains nothing but Cs, Es, and Gs, then it’s obvious that your chord will be C major). But don’t forget about non-chord notes, since they don’t belong to the chord (as the name implies!). So maybe the C from above is actually an appoggiatura, or the F is a passing note instead, which would completely change everything (i.e. you don’t need a chord change for every single note in your melody).
- Don’t forget that the harmony is ultimately meant to serve the melody (that’s why I often compose both of them simultaneously, but you’re free to compose them separately if you wish). What this means is that if you have the harmony, then you’ve got a bass line, and a bass line in conjunction with the melody can bring out a chord progression before you even know it. I’ll demonstrate this concept through a familiar song.
Oh Come All Ye Faithful (because it’s still the holidays)
Since this hymn is so popular, we’ve come to accept all the cover versions without much dispute. But we should have much higher standards, because what I’ve noticed in many amateurish (and professional) performances is that the chord progression in the chorus is often butchered.
Usually what you hear is V-I-V-I-V-I-V-I-V-etc, which is monotonous and boring. Yes, there is some tension and resolution, but it’s of the simplest kind.
So how about we throw in a bass line? By treating the vocal line and bass line as two separate melodies (i.e. counterpoint), along with the usage of some trial and error (in this case, I happened to try contrary motion), I’ve come up with something more imaginative.
The nice thing is that the harmony has now been suggested for me. I only need to fill in a few more notes to make the chords more full (yes, I broke some SATB rules).
Pay attention to the meter, as the important chord changes occurred on the strong and medium beats. Also note that the tension builds alongside the melody, giving rise to a climax (the peak of the tension) and a satisfactory resolution. And that is the point of a chord progression.
