Chord Progressions

Lesson goal: be able to pick out the chords to a piece of music. 

Up to now you have learnt to transcribe the rhythms, melodies and basslines of a piece of music. The last remaining component is the chords. Almost all music uses chords and chord progressions and so not only  is learning to transcribe chord progressions necessary to properly learn a new piece of music but it will also be a useful asset that deepens your understanding of that piece of music and aids us in memorizing it. 

Eartraining check

If you have not done any eartraining up to this point I highly recommend that you set aside some additional time daily (10-15min) to do at least one fundamental exercise: Work on distinguishing major and minor triads. For us root position triads in the middle of the keyboard (C3 – C5) is fine.

Quick try it out if you are not sure you can do it.
audio 5.1

Answers

Being fluent in determining whether a chord is major or minor is a useful asset not only for what we will be doing in this course, but it also provides a foundation for being able to aurally comprehend larger sonorities (chords) often composed of several smaller triadic units. When doing this sort of eartraining and generally almost any type of eartraining, the goal is to be able to distinguish major and minor chords with the same ease as say the colors red and blue. If you can hear all of the notes in the chord and then use some music theory to deduce whether the chord is major or minor that’s great, but that should not be a crutch in learning to distinguish major from minor. What you really need to do is create some sort of association in your mind so that you can tell instantly upon hearing it whether a chord is major and minor.  This is not a class in eartraining so as important as it is I do not want to dwell on this topic. All of the apps and websites mentioned in the lesson 1 will provide many exercises for you to work on this skill. Feel free to contact me if you are still having troubles with this.

Working within a tonal context

Being able to tell whether a chord is major or minor is merely a useful tool in being able to pick out the chords to a piece of music. A far more important tool that we will make use of is tonal context. Tonality is a musical phenomenon that still to this day is not entirely understood. It describes a hierarchy among sonorities within a given key. Though not entirely understood we can still use some common tendencies and patterns of tonality to help us learn chord progressions by ear. So the first step to using tonality to help us figure out chords to a piece of music is to determine what key the piece of music is in.

Determining the Key of a Piece of Music 

Most music is tonal and in a particular major or minor key. There are however pieces of music that are atonal or whose key is not always well-defined. As interesting as these pieces of music may be, we will not concern ourselves with determining their key(s), mode or tone row. Rather, we want to know what notes/scale a piece is predominantly using. It is a bonus if we also know the tonal center(s) of the piece.  Many methods for finding the key of a piece of music involve trying to isolate a tonic and then finding that tonic. Not only are these methods vague but they are also tailored towards individuals who already have an aural understanding of tonal centers and have already developed skills that help them to hear melodies or chords as pertaining to a tonal center. These skills are exactly what we want to develop from transcription so let us not take it for granted that you have already acquired them. In fact, you will never stop acquiring them – there are practically infinite fresh new harmonies that you have never heard before – or even old harmonies in new contexts! Only by actively listening to music and transcribing music will you start to understand more precisely and develop labels for what you are hearing. So that is why it is important that when looking for a key of a piece of music we try to first understand in our head what we are hearing and only then check to see if we are correct. 

Finding the Key: 

1) Listen to the piece of music for a little bit. Choose one section and listen to it in its entirety. (Like one whole chorus or one whole verse – minimum 15 sec maximum 40 sec) 

2) Play the note that you think corresponds to the tonic of the piece. Note: for the first iteration this only really makes sense if you have perfect pitch so if you don’t, do not worry, just guess ANY note. 

3) Listen to how that note sounds against the piece of music. Does it sound:

entirely out of place? Like The augmented 5th? The augmented 4th?
Restless? Like the leading tone? Or the 4th? 
resolved? like the tonic? Or the 3rd?
indifferent? like the 2nd? Or the 6th?
Or something else? 

This step is very important as it is helpful in developing labels and becoming aware of what each note sounds like in a tonal context.

4) Based on what you think it sounds like from 3) play what you deduce the tonic should be. Call that note t1.

If you are sure you have already found the tonic stop – you are done. If you still haven’t found the tonic (or you are not convinced you have) don’t fret, proceed to make a pitch inventory:

5) Listen to one instrument/vocal line and transcribe the pitch content of whatever melody is being played/sung. Just like in lesson 2, don’t worry about writing any rhythms, just write down the pitches. Remove any repeated notes and call this list of pitches your pitch inventory.

6) If the melody does not have a variety of notes (less than 5 different notes) transcribe another melody form another instrument/vocal line and add any new notes to your pitch inventory. 

Otherwise: you can start to make some guesses for the key: Which major and minor key(s) contain the notes in your pitch inventory? Call these t2,t3,t4…etc. (please no more than 5) 

7) The last step is to check all candidate t1,t2,t3,t4… against the piece of music and try to see which is best. You can literally just play each candidate tonic 1 by 1 over and over again during the section of music and then determine which one sounded best. If you are having troubles deciding, usually it will be the one that:

1. is the last note of the main melody of the piece
   
2. is the first bass note of the piece (apart from the intro)
3.  sounds most resolved and stable

Be careful not to assume that just because a certain note is repeated many times that it is the tonic. Even if it is in the main melody.

8) If you are still having trouble go back to step 1) and start over with a new guess in step 2) and transcribing something new in step 5). (Try a new t1)

Also any ear training exercises involving melodic dictation where you try to identify certain notes played in a tonal context will be helpful for improving at steps 1)-5)

I know it seems like a long procedure, but until you are fluent at recognizing any of the 12 notes in any tonal context it is important to exercise a more systematic method to finding a tonic. Eventually you will improve at step 3) and you will regularly be able to find the tonic right away rendering steps 5)-8) unnecessary. Eventually you will do steps 1)-4) in a couple seconds (or a fraction of a second!) nearly subconsciously! 

Demo 5.1 Finding the Key

Give it some practice:

Assignment 5.1:

Find the key of the given piece of music:

Rihanna – Diamonds
Colin James – Know How to Love You
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy – Chorale in —– (Mendelssohn) First 35 seconds
Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do

Chord progressions: 

Just like when learning a melody by ear, when learning a chord progression by ear there is a brute force method and a finesse method. The brute force method involves exhausting all possible chord choices in a systematic way where as the finesse method is more vague and difficult yet much more rewarding. 

Within the finesse method you will try to learn what each chord (and later common chord progressions) sounds like within a tonal context. Often involving vague aesthetic reasoning, this method is best exercised through hard work and experience. Every time you hear a chord change in a piece of music ask yourself the following questions:

1) have I heard this before? What piece of music? What part in what piece of music? 

Comparing Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer and Have a Holly Jolly Christmas you can see that the chord progression is identical (aside from an A7 and G7 chord in Rudolf but not in Holly Jolly – which is of little significance). Both carols move to the IV chord for the bridge – something common not only to Christmas carols but numerous other pieces; Don’t get around much anymore, Oh Darling, I’m Falling In Love, I just want to make Love to you – just to name a few.

Audio 5.2

Comparing Okaïdi & Playing for Change – What a Wonderful World and Israel IZ Kamakawiwoʻole – Somewhere over the Rainbow you can see that the chord progressions are similar (functionally even more so). Listen to only the first chord change in both examples (I to iii). Create in your mind an association with that chord change. Does it evoke any feelings or emotions? Can you hear it in these songs: Doctor My Eyes, Let’s get it on, Hey There Delilah? Listen to the three places where the chords differ. What a Wonderful World uses a iii chord as a substitute for a I chord in bar 4 (not including pickup), a ii chord as a substitute for IV in bar 5, and a V/vi chord as a substitute for V in bar 7. Hear how the iii chord substitute is less resolved than the I chord, the ii chord substitute is the most subtle and really blends in as the bass moves parallel to the melody, the V/vi substitute gives more weight to the arrival to the vi chord in bar 8 and is perhaps the most obvious. Of course it is best if you make your own associations with these progressions and with how they differ. That way you can really learn to pick them out when transcribing. 

Okaïdi & Playing for Change – What a Wonderful World
Audio 5.3

Israel IZ Kamakawiwoʻole – Somewhere over the Rainbow
Audio 5.4

2) was the overall tension increased or decreased? Does it sound restless, resolved or neither?

Listen as the tension builds and builds until the climax in this Etta James song:

Etta James – I Just Want to Make Love to You
Audio 5.5

 

If the tension was increased often this implies movement to a dominant function chord and if the tension was decreased to a tonic. 

3) Does this chord sound like something new in the piece of music? Something that you haven’t heard yet? Does it sound bright? Or dark? How does it sound? 

Listen 9 bars in to the II chord. How does it sound? To me it sounds bright and inquisitive – raising an eyebrow. 

Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
Audio 5.6

 

Listen to the change at bar 5 (bar 8 of the song). Again, how does it sound? To me it sounds like … a long, lonely drive on a gradual curve through a dark rural plain. Be creative!

Audio 5.7

Bright sounding chords tend to include the #1, and #4 of the key and dark sounding chords the b7, b6, b3 and sometimes b2 of the key 

Just like when learning melodies (lesson 2), the finesse method is more difficult than then the following brute force method. By practicing the finesse method however, you are getting the most out of the transcription process. After learning many pieces of music by ear you will start to learn to hear chord progressions themselves just as you hear intervals or triad qualities. You will also discover that many pieces recycle the same chord progressions and so memorizing these pieces becomes easier. Take the blues as an example: once you know the 12 bar blues form you know the chords to many blues songs. Or once you notice a i VI III VII progression you won’t help but notice it in a large percentage of today’s popular music. You will also start to make your own unique associations to certain harmonies in certain tonal contexts. For example a borrowed vi chord may evoke a strong emotional satisfaction and as you start to notice it in more and more you may call it “that chord that pulls at your heartstrings” and you will start to recognize it right away. Even though I highly recommend using finesse as much as possible there will be times when in order to figure out a certain chord we need to resort to rigorous deduction.

So here is a complete guide to

Figuring out a chord progression:

Demonstration with Ben E King – Stand By Me

 

1. 1. 1. Determine how long your chord progression is and draw the correct number of bars. (for this lesson we will work mostly with 4 or 8 bar chord progressions)
         
         
      2. Listen for the harmonic rhythm. How often chords change and put a blank for every change.
         
         
      3. Listen again and determine the quality of each chord (major or minor for now)
         
         
      4. Determine the key of the piece of music if you have not yet done so.
         A Major
      5. Using your knowledge of chords from a given key I ii iii IV V vi viidim and USING FINESSE, try to determine which chords pertain to which blank (major chords are likely I, IV or V and minor chords likely ii, iii or vi). For each blank, play the chord along with the recording to check that it fits.
         Please note that some chords may have extensions such as 6ths and 7ths. For now do not worry about hearing these extensions and instead pick the major or minor (or diminished) triad that fits best.
         
         
      6. Double check your answers by playing along with the piece of music – each chord where it comes. (Make sure you know how to play your major and minor chords correctly!) If you are not satisfied you need to go into further detail:
      7. Transcribe the bassline.
         
      8. Check that the notes from the bassline correspond to your chord roots. If not, either the chord is in inversion (we will not deal with inverted chords this lesson), the bassline is strange and does not outline the chords or the chord is simply incorrect. So try the chord rooted at your bass note. (if your bass note is D and your quality is major, try a D major chord)
      9. If you still are not satisfied with the chords you found, take a break and then repeat steps 2)-8) with fresh ears.
      10. If you are still stuck at a certain point, transcribe whatever you hear at that point. Sometimes additional melodies can help with deciphering the chords.
      11. Finally if you are stuck on one chord, with fresh ears, try all 12 major chords and then all 12 minor chords to see which one fits best (brute force).
      12. Check the chords that you have transcribed by playing them alongside the piece of music.

As much as I encourage you to go try to figure out the chords to your favorite pieces of music, that may present some difficulties which we will touch upon in further lessons.

To get you started, try out the following chord progressions:

Assignment 5.2: 

Transcribe the chord progression to the following pieces and their specified time intervals. (Do not write any repeats of the chord progression. Answers should be 2 or 4 bars long) 

The Steve Miller Band – The Joker (ignore 1.11-1.14 and 2.23-2.49)
-you have already done the bassline from last lesson

The Police – So Lonely (ignore after 2.05)
-the bassline will be helpful if you are getting stuck with this one

Pink Martini – Anna (El Negro Zumbon) (0.19 onwards)

In the previous pieces the first chord of the chord progression was the tonic chord, there were many melodies that clearly presented the pitch inventory, and aside from in Pink Martini – Anna (El Negro Zumbon), harmonic rhythm was easy to identify. In the following examples finding the key may be more difficult, however, once you have found it, finding the chord progression should be easy. 

Assignment 5.3: (in shared folder)

Transcribe Chord Progressions #1- #8 (audio files)

All of these are 4 – 8 bar chord progressions that could repeat 1-3 times. They are in a variety of keys, time signatures and styles. They are mostly solo piano excerpts so that should make it easy to hear the chords. They use almost exclusively major and minor chords from one key. These should prepare you to really focus on hearing the chords and not to get distracted by the melody. 

Assignment 5.4: (in shared folder)

Transcribe the chord progressions to these pieces of music: 

Set 1: 4-8 bars long, starting with tonic chord, chords exclusively from the major or (natural or harmonic) minor scale

Buena Vista Social Club – Chan Chan
Haddaway – What Is Love (ignore 3.03-3.10)
Bob Dylan –  Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (ignore 0.00-0.28)
Jean-Francois Paillard, Kanon Orchestre de Chambre – Canon In _____ (Pachelbel))

Set 2: 2-8 bars long, not necessarily starting on tonic chord, chords exclusively from the major or (natural or harmonic) minor scale

Sinach – Way Maker
Alpha Yaya Diallo – Cette Vie
Rihanna – Diamonds (ignore 0.00-0.40)
-you already have the key from HW1
Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive (ignore 2.30-2.38)
-hint: the second last chord is Esus4


Set 3: 2-8 bars long, starting on tonic chord, some chords outside the key 

Daft Punk – Get Lucky
Radiohead – Creep
-the bassline is helpful for this one!
Cee Lo Green – Forget You (ignore 2.46-3.16)

 

Set 4: 8-16 bars long, starting on tonic chord, some chords outside the key
Johnny Cash – You Are My Sunshine (ignore 2.30 onwards)
Leroy Carr – How Long Blues
hint: there are some 7th chords
Creedence Clearwater Revival – I Put a Spell on You (ignore 0.00-0.20, 2.10-2.19, 3.11-3.20, 4.14 onwards)