Here at Reverb Machine, I usually cover sound design, but for this article, I’d like to deviate slightly and cover another side of music-making: composition. Even with the best sounding patches, and the tightest production, boring compositions will still sound boring. I’ll start out by discussing chord progressions and how to make your chord arrangements sound more interesting.

There are several ways to approach building chord progressions, such as stumbling upon sequences while jamming, or by working out the music we hear in our heads. Sometimes though, you might just want to sit down and start working on some new music from scratch, and it can help to have some harmonic techniques up your sleeve to get things sound fresh. Some artists frequently use the same basic chord movements to underpin their songs, and as you find your own sound you’ll figure out which chord progressions you relate to. For the examples below I’ll work in the key of C Major, and I’ll use the progression IV – I – vi – V, which in the key of C is F – C – Am – G. Experiment with different progressions and keys in your own music, as there is a huge wealth of harmonic options to explore. Don’t be afraid to lift chord progressions from other songs, as there is no copyright on simple chord progressions.

“One of the first things I did was I looked in my spotify playlist, that is a collection of songs I’ve heard that have cool chord progressions. I’m gonna go back and basically farm those songs for cool chord progressions. So I Iooked in there and there’s a song called “Walk Away Renee“ by the Left Banke. And then I kinda go back and replay it Weezer style, with my distorted guitar.” – Rivers Cuomo (Weezer)

How does chordal harmony work? Every chord has a root note, usually played by the bass instrument, that acts as the foundation of the chord. Every other note in the key has a relation to the root note, expressed as an interval, such a second, third or fourth, which all refer to its position within the scale. An interval will have the same harmonic ‘flavour’ in every key.