Current hit songs in all mainstream commercial genres tend to stick to a few basic chords and lean heavily on the repetition of simple chord progressions. If you’re racking your brain trying to come up with complicated chord progressions, you may be better off limiting your chords to I – IV – V and VI, for instance, C, F, G, and Am.
You can hear these chords used as repetitive progressions in big hits like OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).” These are just two Top 10 hits that rely on a basic, repetitive chord palette. There are dozens more.
So, how does that work? Why do listeners like these songs? Why don’t these repeated progressions become boring?
The secret sauce of simple chord progressions
The secret to successfully using today’s repetitive chord progressions lies in the way the melody relates to them. The chord progression provides a solid, steady foundation on which a rhythmically interesting melody can be built.
Beyoncé’s Pop/R&B hit “Halo” is a great example of a rock-steady, repeated four-chord pattern with melodic phrases that begin in between the chord changes. This is one trick that keeps these repetitive chord progressions interesting: The melody doesn’t always emphasize the beat on which the chords change.
Break the habit
If you write your songs while playing chords on guitar or piano, there’s a natural tendency to start singing a melody/lyric line when you change a chord. Try it for yourself. Sit down with your guitar or at your keyboard and play an F chord for four beats, then a G chord, then resolve to the C chord for eight beats, changing (and playing) the chord on the first beat of the measure, like this:
| F / / / | G / / / | C / / / | C / / / |
Now sing any melody – just make something up. Play the chords as you sing, always playing or changing the chord on the first beat of the measure. As you continue to play and sing, notice the tendency to start a melody phrase when you change a chord.
This is a habit you want to break. Sure, you’ll still start some melody lines at the same time as you change a chord, but you want to give yourself a choice. Now, play the same chord progression in the same way but start your melody on the Beat 3 or Beat 4. Do this a few times, then mix in a couple of short phrases that begin on Beat 2. Practice until you feel comfortable starting your melodic phrases on a variety of different beats.
Add color to your chord progression
That simple three-chord progression you’ve been playing is probably starting to sound a little toooo simple by now, so how about adding a little texture and color. Instead of a basic three-note chord you’re used to, try adding another note to one of the chords–how about adding a D note to the C chord. This note will fill in the space between the C and E notes, giving the chord a more complex, interesting sound. You can also try playing a D minor chord instead of the G chord.
To play around with chords, go online and look for a “chord finder.” They’re free and they’re fun. A chord finder will show you how to play many different chords with different textures and colorations. Don’t stray from a basic repetitive chord progression but add a few extra notes to the chords to create some added interest.
Sing a note that’s not in the chord
Besides locking the phrasing of the melody into the chord changes, we often fall into another habit: starting a melody on one of the notes in the chord, or emphasizing the notes in the chord in the melody.
This is another habit you can break. It will help you add excitement and a fresh sound to your melody. Try emphasizing a note (holding a note or starting a phrase on a note) that ISN’T in the chord. It might be the note that’s between two notes of the chord or just above or below one of the notes in the chord.
You can hear this in the refrain lines of Sarah Bettens’s “Rescue Me.” This is a song that seems simple and has a very simple chord progression but there’s something compelling and interesting about the melody. You can also hear it in “River Man” by Nick Drake. The most important lines feature notes that are outside the basic three notes of the accompanying chord.
Genre can make a difference
Your song’s genre can also make a difference in the chords you choose. The Rock, Country, and Pop genres all tend to feature basic 3-or 4-note chords in repeated progressions. The R&B genre, however, will often lean more heavily on chords that have four or even five notes, creating a rich textured feel. It’s not uncommon to hear an R&B chord progression with a major 7th, a minor 7th, and a 9th or 13th in a chord. R&B songs also tend to change up the chord progression more often. You can hear a great example in”Good Thing” by Zedd featuring Kehlani.
Try it now!
To check out the way melodies and chords relate to each other in today’s hit songs, learn to play and sing a couple of recent hit songs in a genre you’re interested in.
- On which beat do the chords change?
- When does the chord progression repeat?
- When does it change to a different progression?
- Where do melody/lyric phrases begin and end in relation to the chord progression?
Here’s a list of recent hit songs with simple chord progressions. Choose one that’s in a genre you want to write in. Listen to the song and try playing along. Write a song with a similar chord progression. These repetitive, basic songwriter progressions are not copyrighted, so you’re free to use them. Or check out this page of song starters. You’ll find several basic but very successful chord progressions you can use. Just scroll about two-thirds of the way down the page.