Depends on what your trying to create, i,ve been trying to make a lot of atmospheric modal stuff lately where you basically make another degree the I in the scale like the six.
Some progressions i've been messing with lately
6//3//5//7/1/
But i do the 5 and 7 as 6th chords so if i was in e flat i would do c minor f minor c minor 6th f minor 6th some inversion of the one
If in E[sup]b[/sup] then that would be
Cm / / Gm / / B[sup]b6[/sup] / / B[sup]b7[/sup][sub]/D[/sub] / E[sup]b[/sup]
because
| Scale tone number | in E[sup]b[/sup] is |
| 1 | E[sup]b[/sup] |
| 2 | F |
| 3 | G |
| 4 | A[sup]b[/sup] |
| 5 | B[sup]b[/sup] |
| 6 | C |
| 7 | D |
the chords built above the scale tones indicated are then:
Cm = C-E[sup]b[/sup]-G
Gm = G-B[sup]b[/sup]-D
B[sup]b6[/sup] = B[sup]b[/sup]-D-F-G
B[sup]b7[/sup][sub]/D[/sub] = B[sup]b[/sup]-D-F-A[sup]b[/sup] with a D in the bass
E[sup]b[/sup] = E[sup]b[/sup]-G-B[sup]b[/sup]
A 6th chord built on B[sup]b[/sup] is presumed to be the triad plus the scale tone 6th above it's root: this renders as a Gm7 in 1st inversion or as B[sup]b6[/sup]
A 6th chord built on D is presumed to be the triad plus the scale tone 6th above it's root: this renders as a B[sup]b7[/sup] in first inversion
basically just try new things that work for you. And learn about voicings unless you already do, but you dont want to just use block chords all the time.
And another little tip there is a chord progression generator in teoria.com, and it is ****ing bomb for giving you skeletons cadances or full progressions to **** around with and make your own. They got standard progressions and jazzy which use paralleled minor, sub dominant and just altered chords.
Which is something else you should get into wont get into it here cuz its all around the forums but really helps change things up and give your progressions some flavor.
Agreed: lot's here and definitely worth exploring
Another progression i've been messing with
vi-V of the V-V-I6-IV
Which in E[sup]b[/sup] renders as
Cm-F-B[sup]b[/sup]-E[sup]b6[/sup]-A[sup]b[/sup]
Cm = C-E[sup]b[/sup]-G
F = F-A-C
B[sup]b[/sup] = B[sup]b[/sup]-D-F
E[sup]b6[/sup] = E[sup]b[/sup]-G-B[sup]b[/sup]-C
A[sup]b[/sup] = A[sup]b[/sup]-C-E[sup]b[/sup]
My own thoughts are more varied - start on any chord - say chord IV and then move to any other chord that follows from it - see my tricks for major chord progressions for some ideas.
There is absolutely nothing that says that you have to finish on chord I either - recently wrote a song that finishes on on V[sup]7[/sup] because any opther ending whilst perhaps sounding final also leaves a feeling of forward motion again - I could have use the late classical/early romantic period idea of repeated
V[sup]7[/sup]-I-V[sup]7[/sup]-I-V[sup]7[/sup]-I-V[sup]7[/sup]-I-V[sup]7[/sup]-I
to force a final ending but it was not in the same stylistic approach to the harmony in the rest of the song
Progressions are chord sequences that move through cadences, having a starting point and and ending point clearly defined by such cadences
Sequences of chords are just that endlessly wandering without a target - can provide for some interesting solutions to problems.
Also consider substituting the primary chords of a tonality with their relative minors and vice versa I becomes vi, IV becomes ii, V becomes iii. When a much younger inexperienced composer, I did just that and had a progression that moved ii[sup]7[/sup]-iii[sup]7[/sup] repeatedly and then finished as V-IV-I-[sup]b[/sup]VII:
||:Am7-Bm7 :|| D-C-G-F and repeat ad infinitum et ad nauseum (Infinitely to nausea)
