Experiment with different combinations of chords until you find a short 4-bar progression that seems to express something rad
explain what you just did
Create a new Word or Pages document
Explain what you did (above) using appropriate terminology – see if you can begin to explain the feeling that results in the movement between different degrees, and how they were used expressively
Save this – you will come back to it later (below)
Recreate the chord progression (above) by drawing in the degrees used, then adding notes a third and a fifth above to create simple triads
eplain what you just did
Create a new Word or Pages document
Explain, in words, which degrees of the scale were used, and which notes were added to form basic triads
Save this – you will come back to it later (below)
Step 3:Recreate the progression in Logic/Ableton
Open Logic and/or Ableton
Create a new software instrument capable of playing chords
Recreate what you just programmed in learningmusic.ableton.com
Then create a new bass instrument and double the root note of the chords (one octave below)
explain what you just did
Take the Word or Pages document from the previous step (above)
Explain which notes were used (Logic/Ableton will tell you if you’re not sure)
Step 4:Extend your chord progression
Go back to Hookpad and repeat the short 4-bar chord progression
Make a change in the progression (either by adding, removing or changing chords) to create an 8-bar progression (with two ‘lines) the goal is to create a sense of call&response between the first and second line of the progression
Repeat this process again by taking the 8-bar progression and duplicating it to create a 16-bar ‘section’. You might only need to make a single change to the final 4-bar phrase to create a sort of ‘ABAC’ call&response (you can also add variation in the penultimate phrase too, giving ABCD, or even just in the third ‘line’ to create ABCB) See if you can really begin to ‘tell a story’ with your progression, keeping the tension/resolution of the progression in mind – where is it “going”, what chords could you supplement for the relative major/minor to create unexpected surprise/variation?
When your progression feels like it flows, recreate in Logic/Ableton (using Ableton’s Playground if that’s helpful)
explain what you just did
Take the Word or Pages document from the previous step (above)
Explain which chords were used and why.
Explain how each chord was created
Step 5:Create a contrasting progression
Go back to Hookpad and create a new contrasting chord progression on a new line (this will be the foundation of a new contrasting section – think Verse/Chorus or Verse/Drop) think about the sort of progression that would be a good counterpart for the initial progression: maybe the first progression leads to this second one, or maybe it’s a similar progression but in a relative major/minor key, or maybe it uses similar chords but in a different order. A great way to create instant contrast is to start the progression using a different degree of the scale, otherwise the two progressions will feel like they’re starting in the same place (imagine a film where the next ‘scene’ starts in the same place – it feels like the same scene and has to work harder to go somewhere new)
Have a think about how this second progression will lead back to the first – does it want to feel like it devlops and flows natrually back to the first progression? Or take the song/track in a new direction then leave it on a cliff hanger before jolting back to the original progression?
When you’re happy with the new contrasting section, recreate this in Logic/Ableton (using Ableton’s Playground if that’s helpful)
explain what you just did
Take the Word or Pages document from the previous step (above)
Explain which chords were used and why
Explain how each chord was created
explain what you just did
Take the Word or Pages document from the previous step (above)
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