I IV V I and repeat

Lately I've been working on finding interesting (to me) instead of specific songs. Unfortunately I don't know much beyond the basic I IV V variations. One progression that I keep coming back to is:

G D C
G D C
G D Em Am
Em C
D


Am7 Em
Am C
D

G D C
G D C
G D C
D
G

I vary the rhythm to keep it interesting.

Another one I do is:

C D
G Em
C D
G
C D
G Em
C D7
G

Now, that one is quite familiar but I can't quite figure out what song(s) use the pattern.

The chord progression from Roy Orbison's Cryin' is kinda fun

D D+ G Gm
D A7 D

Well, that's just a short snippet but it was kinda fun to learn.

Another one I'm having fun with is:

D A Bm F#m G D G A

Which also happens to be the progression for Pachelbell's Canon in D. I found this one online however. It came up in a songwriting lesson on about.com that compared Pachelbell's masterpiece with Green Day's Basketcase. Interesting. The same progression for both (I V vi iii IV I IV V), just different keys. It does tell me that songs written in D would have the B and F# chords as minor, and I'm pretty sure the II chord (E) would be minor as well. And the seventh tone is almost always a form of a 7th chord (coincidental?) so VII would be C7.

So,what have I learned with all this mumbo jumbo. Just this, if I were to write a chord in a major key, the triads would be I ii iii IV V vi VII7. Good to know.

Now, can someone tell me when to add 9?


1 Comment:

  1. The Kanji Hanzi Hub said...
    >>> Now, can someone tell me when to add 9?

    Not today. I used to have some knowledge of this kind of stuff, but 1) I forget theory really fast and 2) I played most classical "written" music (even if most of it was modern 20th century stuff like Leo Brouwer etc.)

    If you want to listen to some absolutely stunning "guitar music" - lute - do yourself a favor and get Sting's most recent record with music by John Dowland, the Jimi Hendrix of the renaissance. :-) The lute player there is so great! His rendition of Forlorn Hope Fantasy is the best I've ever heard and this piece is one of my favorites. OK, with tough competition from Red House and Hey Joe.

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