Chorus/Bridge/Verse Chord Progressions?

K

kton16

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I Can always come up with a 1 or the other, but I cant translate my Verse to the Chorus or to the bridge. I know it has to be in the same scale of course, but Im not sure what "Tonic" to go from and how to end them.

So say im in C major scale and I have a 4 bar chord progression enough for the Chorus but need a change up chord progression for the bridge and verse.


Thanks :)!

Help a brotha out LOL I used to take music lessons under someone that was trained under the great James Moody but he's overseas and I only know the basics.

Thanks!
 
So there are several ideas that pop up about how to do this:

Chorus has a progression, verse step it up to chord IV, or chord [sup]b[/sup]VII if you in the minor, and work your way back to the chorus. Bridge look to go somewhere else again, maybe to area based on chord III or chord VI. Maybe even [sup]b[/sup]II or [sup]b[/sup]V....

In C these ideas would be work it up to F or B[sup]b[/sup] and work your way back to the chorus. Bridge, work it in E or A, for some real challenges maybe move to D[sup]b[/sup] or G[sup]b[/sup].....
 
Bandcoach, can you explain what you mean by work it up to? Do you mean play that as the next chord?
Or are you saying, from CMajor to work your progression up to a given chord? So technically, working up to, could mean to end on that chord you've worked your way up to
 
Im pretty sure he means by the next tonic (roman numeral). The whole chord progression has to reslove according to the formula. Imma post the chart that banscoach did so you can understand more.

---------- Post added at 03:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:05 PM ----------

ChordGoes to
Iany chord
iiIV,V,vii[SUP]b5[/SUP]
iiiii,IV,vi
IVI,iii,V,vii[SUP]b5[/SUP]
VI,vi,IV
viii,IV,V,I
vii[SUP]b5[/SUP]I,iii

to be this

ChordGoes to-Examplesin C
Iany chord-CC, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bm[SUP]b5[/SUP]
iiIV,V,vii[SUP]b5[/SUP]-DmF, G, Bm[SUP]b5[/SUP]
iiiii,IV,vi-EmDm, F, Am
IVI,iii,V,vii[SUP]b5[/SUP]-FC, Em, G, Bm[SUP]b5[/SUP]
VI,vi,IV-GC, Am, F
viii,IV,V,I-AmDm, F, G, C
vii[SUP]b5[/SUP]I,iii-Bm[SUP]b5[/SUP]C, Em



:By Bandcoach
 
thank you for the quotes and yes that is exactly what i mean, work our way back to the chorus by choosing chords that link back there.....

For example Starting on Chord IV I could progress as follows:

ProgressionIn C Major
IV-iii-ii-V-I F-Em-Dm-G-C
IV-I-IV-V-IF-C-F-G-C
IV-iii-vi-ii-IF-Em-Am-Dm-C

and so on
 
LOTS OF DEEP INFO ON THIS PAGE!!!!! But to make your job a little bit simpler start by going back to the basics. If you are having trouble coming up with bridges or ways to change progressions during the chorus start by learning other songs. Thats what the best producers/musicians do. By learning other songs you open up your ears to new ideas and as you begin to make new tracks it will be much easier to figure out where to take your own ideas because you have a new repertoire of chords and chord progressions to choose from. If you have anymore questions holla at me on twitter @djchev
 
kton16 said:
Im pretty sure he means by the next tonic (roman numeral). The whole chord progression has to reslove according to the formula. Imma post the chart that banscoach did so you can understand more.

---------- Post added at 03:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:05 PM ----------

ChordGoes to
Iany chord
iiIV,V,vii[SUP]b5[/SUP]
iiiii,IV,vi
IVI,iii,V,vii[SUP]b5[/SUP]
VI,vi,IV
viii,IV,V,I
vii[SUP]b5[/SUP]I,iii

:By Bandcoach
Click to expand...
Hi Bandcoach, does this apply to fifth chords too? I mean I guess it's called fifth chord.. you know like C5 being C and G. Two notes only. Anyway I made a progression using fifths that goes 1 - 3 - 7 and it sounds weird. Kinda works but then if I'm trying to write a melody on top of it it seems like nothing works. Almost like out of keyish no matter what i play. So I'm asking if this rule applies to fifths also?
 
Last edited:
I think the best way to create variations such as bridges and choruses is to "borrow" chords from other keys. This can be achieved by adding an extra major chord into ur progression. The 5th of your major will become the root of another major maintains the same tonic.
E.g. C major's 5th is Gmajor. Play around with chords in the new Gmajor key to get that variation. You should be able to smooth work back to Cmajor as they have relative tones.
 
I'm not as learned as you guys but could one also use the melodic or harmonic minor scales to "creep" or transition into other keys with (at least the melodic) elements of the verse/chorus/bridges?
 
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