Two weeks ago we discussed triads. This week we will show some examples of how you can use the triads to create a CHORD PROGRESSION. A Chord Progression is simply a series of chords played in a composition. Any composition that contains two or more chords has a chord progression. In this lecture I will sometimes use the term "chord progression" to mean the change from one chord to another while at other times I will use the term "chord progression" to mean a series of chords. You're smart, you'll be able to figure out which one I mean.
We've already seen the diatonic triads of the major scale two weeks ago. I'll repeat them again.
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII |
| Major | Minor | Minor | Major | Major | Minor | Diminished |
These chords can be used to harmonize a melody created from the notes of the scale. If you create a melody using C major, then these chords can be used to harmonize that melody. They are not the only choices but they are the basic choices. Many popular songs have been written using only the diatonic chords. Here is an example in the key of A. The song "The Weight" by the Band uses a repeating progression in the verse of I - III - IV - I, each chord lasts for two counts. This translates to the chords A, C#m, D, A. These chords harmonize all of the melody notes of the verse. The same chords are used during the chorus but the harmonic rhythm is different. During the chorus the A and C#m chords last for one count each and the D lasts for two counts. This four beat pattern is repeated during the chorus.
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Here's a repeat of the triads in the three forms of Minor.
| Tonic | Supertonic | Mediant | Subdominant | Dominant | Submediant | Subtonic |
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII |
| Minor | Diminished | Major | Minor | Minor | Major | Major |
Here are the triads in C natural minor:
For harmonic minor, the diatonic chords are as follows:
| Tonic | Supertonic | Mediant | Subdominant | Dominant | Submediant | Leading tone |
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII |
| Minor | Diminished | Augmented | Minor | Major | Major | Diminished |
Here are the triads in C harmonic minor. A natural sign is needed to raise the 7th scale degree. Notice that the III chord is augmented.
For melodic minor, the diatonic chords are as follows:
| Tonic | Supertonic | Mediant | Subdominant | Dominant | Submediant | Leading tone |
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII |
| Minor | Minor | Augmented | Major | Major | Diminished | Diminished |
Here are the triads in C melodic minor. A natural sign is needed to raise both the 6th and the 7th scale degrees to create the melodic minor form. Once again the III chord is augmented.
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The first chord progressions we will study are the traditional harmonic cadences. These progressions often occur at musical phrase endings. These cadences are often used in classical music and are quite common in other styles as well. In addition to being used at phrase endings, these progressions can be chained together to form longer chord progressions. Consider these cadences to be the first harmonic progressions you put in your "bag of harmonic tricks".
Authentic Cadence (V-I) (1 beep)
The authentic cadence provides a convincing harmonic conclusion to a musical phrase. It is sometimes referred to as a "Dominant to Tonic" progression. Most classical pieces end with an authentic cadence. Beethoven would sometimes go on for pages with authentic cadences. The authentic cadence is fundamental to what we call "functional harmony". The essence of function harmony is the expectation of the V chord moving to the I chord. The V chord doesn't always move to the I chord, but it is so common in classical music that when the V chord doesn't resolve to the I chord we call it a "deceptive cadence" (see below)
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Plagal Cadence (IV-I) (2 beeps)
The plagal cadence occurs when a IV chord resolves to a I chord. This cadence is sometimes called a "Church Cadence" or "Amen Cadence" because many church hymns have a IV-I progression at the end as the choir is singing "Amen"
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Deceptive Cadence (V-VI) (3 beeps)
As mentioned above the V chord (dominant) moving to the I chord (tonic) is so common that when the V chord goes elsewhere it is said to be "deceptive". The mindset is this: I heard the V chord, I expected to hear the I chord next but I heard something else and I've been deceived. But it's not a bad thing. It is my favorite cadence. The most common place other than the I chord for the V chord to move to, is the VI chord. Other "deceptive destinations" for the V chord include the IV chord or the II chord. Technically, a resolution to any chord but the I chord is considered a "deceptive resolution", but the most common deceptive cadence is to the VI chord. The deceptive cadence is a welcome relief from the much used authentic cadence.
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Half Cadence (I-V) (4 beeps)
The half cadence is rarely the last cadence in a composition. It lands on the V chord and provides an unresolved harmonic feeling that begs for another phrase with a more convincing final cadence such as authentic or plagal. If you know the song "Jambalaya" by Hank Williams Sr. you have heard half cadences. That entire song is comprised of only two chords: the I chord and the V chord. The first phrase is a half cadence (I - V), the next phrase is an authentic cadence (V - I). Throughout the entire song each phrase alternates between a half cadence and an authentic cadence. I'm not sure if Hank Williams used these terms when thinking of his music but his harmonic intent was clear and can be discussed using these harmonic cadence names. The V chord can be preceeded by any chord (not just the I chord), the essential characteristic of the half cadence is that it ends on the V chord. The II-V progression is also commonly used for a half cadence.
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The following MIDI files contain the basic harmonic cadences. First the tonic chord is played for reference, then the two chord cadence is played. The order is as listed above and the "beep" numbering system is used in the MIDI file. The first MIDI file is in major, the second is in minor.
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We can catagorize the movement of one chord to another with respect to the interval of the root movement. For example, if a C major chord moves to a D minor chord, the root movement is a 2nd (the interval between C and D is a 2nd). If the D minor chord then moves to a G major chord, the root movement of that progression is a 4th (the interval between D and G is a 4th). When using diatonic chords (the chords found within a single scale) we can draw some conclusions with regard to COMMON TONES between the chords. A common tone is a note that is common to both chords played in succession. Below the characteristics of the possible diatonic progressions are listed.
Fourths (cycle progressions)
The root movement of a 4th is very common in music. When the root movement is UP 4th it is sometimes called a cycle (or circle) progression because it generally follows the notes found in adjacent locations when moving counterclockwise in the circle of fifths. In the circle of 5ths, all of the adjacent locations are either a P4th higher or lower (depending on whether you are moving clockwise or counterclockwise). Why do I say that the intervals between adjacent locations of the circle of 5ths are actually 4ths? Hopefully you recall that the inversion of a P5th is a P4th. So if you move up a P5th you will arrive at the same letter name as you would if you move down a P4th. I prefer using 4ths instead of 5ths because it is a shorter distance to calculate. As an example, if you move UP a P4th from D you arrive at G, if you move DOWN a P5th from D you arrive at G. Either way you land on a G. The Authentic cadence is an example of a cycle progression
So, a root movement UP a 4th is sometimes called a "cycle progression". When the root movement is DOWN a 4th it is sometimes called a "backcycle progression". The Plagal cadence is an example of a backcycle progression.
Now that we have some terminology out of the way, let's look at the common tone characteristics of progression of a 4th (Up or Down).
There is one common tone in diatonic chord progressions using root movement of a fourth . The other two chord tones of the triad must move one scale degree to become the correct chord tones for the second chord. Here is an example, consider the progression of C major to F major (the I to IV chords in the key of C major). The root movement is a P4th up (or if you prefer, a P5th down). According to the above statement there should be one common tone between these chords. The notes of the C major chord are C, E and G. The F major chord contains the notes F, A and C. The note C is common to both chords. So far, so good. Now the other chord tones of the C triad (E and G) should each move one scale degree to become chord tones of the F triad. The E moves up to F and the G moves up to A. It all works as advertised.
This next example doesn't use ties lines but the common tones are still there. Do you see them?
As it turns out this is true of all diatonic chord progressions whose root movement is up or down a 4th. I'm sure you remember that most of the 4ths in a major scale are perfect 4ths, except for one augmented 4th. The single common tone principle is true for ALL of the root movements of 4ths regardless of whether it is a P4th or an A4th. The root movement of a 4th is extremely common in music. I could bet that it is the most commonly used progression without too much fear of losing my money.
Here is one fact about diatonic chord progressions:
Root movement of a 4th = One common tone.
You should memorize this fact.
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Thirds
What about root movement of a third (up or down)? We know that the major and minor scales contain both major and minor thirds (you knew that didn't you?) and it is common to move from one chord to another whose root is a 3rd away (maybe you didn't know this, that's why I'm telling you now). Let's examine the characteristics of that type of progression. Consider the progression from A minor to F major (the I chord to VI chord in A minor). It has a root movement of down a 3rd (specifically a Ma3). The notes of the A minor triad are A, C and E. The F major triad contains F, A and C. Wow, two common tones C and E. That means all we would have to do to change from an A minor triad to a F triad is change to note E (from the A minor triad) to the note F (it becomes the root of the F major triad). Pretty Slick. This type of common tone principle creates the smoothest possible voiceleading between chords. An exception to this might occur in a minor key when using a chord from one minor form followed by a chord from a different minor form. In these cases there will only be one common tone.
Root Movement down a 3rd in Major.
Root Movement Up a 3rd in Minor.
Here is another fact about diatonic chord progressions:
Root movement of a 3rd = Two common tones.
You should memorize this fact also.
It is not required that you always use this common tone principle but you should be aware of the possiblities. On occasion however you may want to ignore the common tone possibilities and simply move everything in parallel motion to the next chord. If you want to do something like the following, it is legal in the continental United States (maybe elsewhere too), although it is discouraged in most college music theory courses I've taken. It has to do with an objection to parallel fifths, I talked a little about it in the lecture on triads. This objection is a tired old concept of little merit as far as I'm concerned.
[MIDI file of root movement of 3rds]
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Seconds
The root movement of a second is simple. You just move up or down one scale degree. There are no common tones in progressions with a root movement of a 2nd. None. The most obvious voiceleading is to move all voices one scale degree in the same direction as the root movement. This creates a chord movement using "parallel motion". If the interval of a Perfect 5th is involved (as would be if the chords were in root position) then the potential for "parallel 5ths" is present. As mentioned previously, parallel 5ths have been considered undesirable within the context of traditional music theory voiceleading principles (go figure, it makes no sense to me). There are some strategies for avoiding parallel 5ths if that is your mission. Regardless of your voiceleading politics these "contrary motion" voiceleading principles are worth examining. Let's take an example of a F major chord moving to a G major chord (IV - V in C major). It is a root movement up a 2nd (specifically a Ma2). If the F chord is in root position and we move all three voices up one scale degree we arrive at the G major chord. It sounds fine to me. But it does contain a parallel fifth. The interval of F to C (in the F triad) is a Perfect 5th and both of those notes move in parallel motion to another perfect 5th, (G to D from the G triad). As I said, it never bothered me personally but I had to learn to avoid this type of voiceleading so I could get "A's" on my homework and tests when I was taking traditional music theory courses. As it turns out the solution is worth knowing without regard to the parallel 5th issue. Why? Because Mmm Mmm, it sounds good. Shown below are two ways of "voicing" the F to G progression. The first way uses a parallel voicing and the second moves the voices in the opposite direction of the root movement. If this is not clear, think of the fact that moving from an F to G is UP, yet in the second voicing all three notes of the F chord move DOWN to notes of the G chord. Perhaps surprising is that although there are no common tones, the movement between the chords is very smooth. Two of the notes move only a 2nd the other note moves a 3rd. That is nearly the same scalewise motion you would get with a parallel voiceleading of the same chords.
Root Movement up a 2nd in Major.
Most of the chords in the following example follow a root movement up a 2nd.
Root Movement down a 2nd in Minor.
Most of the chords in the following example follow a root movement down a 2nd.
Here is a third fact about diatonic chord progressions:
Root movement of a 2nd = NO common tones.
Did you know that?
If not, you should memorize this fact also.
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Line progressions
The term "Line Progression" is used to describe a progression of several chords in which a scalewise "line" is embedded. The line can be either part of a diatonic scale, often beginning on the tonic and moving down the scale, or the line can be part of chromatic scale, especially true in some minor key progressions that use both the natural and raised sixth and seventh scale degrees (remember, the three forms of minor vary in their sixth and seventh scale degrees). In line progressions the root movement is not really the issue as some line progressions utilize cycle progression and other root movements, while other line progressions are essentially a single chord with one moving voice that creates the line.
The diatonic line is extremely common in Major keys. The song "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge is a good example. The bass line of this song is a descending major scale beginning on the tonic. For the first five chords the bass line descends creating a line that helps "glue" the chord progression together.
C G/B Am C/G F G C G
A familiar line progression in a minor key involves a descending chromatic scale starting on the tonic. There are several variations on this idea. Some of the compositions that use this type of chromatic line include My Funny Valentine, Masquerade, Stairway to Heaven, and Chopin's Prelude in Em. The following example has the chromatic line in the bass although sometimes the line is used as an inner voice.
Cm Cm/B Cm/Bb Cm/A Cm/Ab Cm/G Fm G
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The chord progression shown in this section are frequently used in popular music. Included are both the chord name and a roman numeral analysis of the chords whithin the context of the key.
Eb Cm Fm Bb I VI II V
Major - 50's Do Wop music
C F G F I IV V IV
Major - Good Lovin', La Bamba
C C+ C6 C7 I I+ I6 I7
Major - Baby Hold On to Me, Hooked on a Feeling
Minor - James Bond, Secret Agent Man
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Backcycle progressions
These next two chord progressions can be described as containing "backcycle" progressions. Do you see why?
Backcycle in Major
Pachelbel's canon
D A Bm F#m G D G A I V VI III IV I IV V
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Backcycle in Minor
Hotel California
(verse)
||: Bm F# A E G D Em F# :||
I V VII IV VI III IV V
(chorus)
G D F# Bm G D Em F#
VI III V I VI III IV V
(_IV___I_) (_IV___I_)
(in D) (in D)
Notice that both the verse and the chorus end on a half cadence (V chord). There is one authentic cadence located half way through the chorus (F# to Bm) as the 8 bar chorus is built on two 4 bar phrases. The Eagles studio recording of this song ends with a fade out on a guitar solo over the chords of the verse.
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Back cycles are common to Rock & Roll. Some songs that come to mind are Gloria (Them), Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix), You Wreck Me (Tom Petty) and Jumpin' Jack Flash (Rolling Stones)
This last one is based on cycle progressions. Do you see them?
Minor - Autumn Leaves
There are two way to look at this progressions. One way is to analyze all of the chords in the minor key. That analysis is the first one listed below. In that analysis you should be aware that the VII chord is Major and diatonic to the natural minor form. The V chord is also Major yet it is diatonic to the Harmonic minor form not the Natural minor form. A second view of the chord progression is recognizing that the first four chords comprise a II-V-I-IV progression in the relative major key. The II-V-I progression is one of the VIP's (Very Important Progressions) and it is common for a jazz tune to have some cycle progressions in a variety of keys. This is one of the many examples. The 8 bar analysis is this: Relative major key for the first four bar and then in the minor key for the last 4 bars. The final key is minor therefore the song is considered to be in a minor key.
1) Am D G C F#o B Em IV VII III VI II V I (------ in E minor --------) 2) Am D G C F#o B Em II V I IV II V I (--- G major ---) ( E minor )
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By the way, Pachelbel's canon and Hotel California are both called backcycles because the 1st-2nd, 3rd-4th, 5th-6th chords are related by a root movement of Down a 4th (or, if you prefer, Up a 5th). Note that not all of the root movements in these examples are backcycles but enough of them are backcycles for the term to apply.
Additionally, Autumn Leaves is a cycle progression because the root movement of all of the chords of the verse section are related by a root movement of Up a 4th (or Down a 5th). This is a rare example from the literature that uses ALL of the chords of the key in a cycle progression. Most examples of cycle progressions are limited to fewer chords in a row. Certainly II-V-I is popular and you don't have to look too far to find III-VI-II-V, it's quite familiar to those who play Jazz standards, but Autumn Leaves is an extreme example of cycle progressions. This song is a lock as a first ballot member of the "Cycle Progression Hall of Fame".
Let's use the chords we have learned in this course to harmonize a melody. A commonly known christmas carol "Joy to the World" is an easy example to use. The opening phrase is a descending major scale starting on the tonic and moving down one full octave.. The second phrase contains one leap then a scalewise motion back up to the high tonic. Using only these two phrases, we'll harmonize them a few different ways to hear what happens.
First is a harmonization using the primary chords (I, IV, V). This is an example of a simple yet traditional harmonization of this tune.
Next is a harmonization of every melody note using primarily parallel motion. The bass sustains "pedal tones" in the first two measures. A pedal tone (also called a pedal point) is a bass note sustained or repeated while chords are changing so that sometimes the pedal tone is not a member of the triad being played above it.
The rest of the harmonizations are more advanced than we have learned in this course. They represent some of the possibilities that these melody notes provide.
The third harmonization has an unusual first phrase that descends downward and settles on the IV chord. The second phrase ends with a deceptive cadence. Were you deceived?
The fourth harmonization begins on the IV chord similar to "Let It Be" by the Beatles. It uses a deceptive cadence in the second measure and an even stronger pull to the Am chord in the last measure. Notice that the last chord is preceeded by an E major chord. E major is the V chord in A minor. The last two chords make up an authentic cadence in Am minor. This is one way that you can modulate to different keys by using an authentic cadence in the new key. This technique works well when there is a chord that can connect the two keys, some chord that is diatonic to both the old key and the new key. In this case the common chord is the F chord that preceeds the E chord. The F chord exists as a IV chord in the key of C and also as a VI chord in the key of A minor. It is at the F chord at the beginning of measure 3 that the key pivots away from C and towards A minor. This technique of modulation is called "Common Chord Modulation" and in this case the F chord is the common chord (also called the pivot chord). This is an advanced harmonic idea, it won't be on any test, if you were wondering. You're Welcome.
The last one is way beyond the course work. The first three chords are a II-V-I in E minor. It sounds a little like Mendelsohn's Bridal March don't you think? The reason this E minor chord progression is possible even though the melody is actually in C major is because the first four melody notes (C, B, A and G) are also in the E minor scale.
Below is a Roman numeral representation of the harmonies. Capital Roman numerals represent diatonic chords. Non-diatonic chords are shown with an extension added.
Below is a roman numeral analysis of the different harmonic variations. This sort of analysis is a little deep for this course. It won't show up on any test.
4 measure phrase
beats
|----|----|----|
|1 2 3 4 |1 2 3 4 |1 2 3 4 |1 2 3 4 |
1) I V I IV I V I IV V I
2) I VII VI V IV III II I II V I
ped.C----- G------------- C
3) I VII III VII VI V IV II V VI
4) IV III II I II I V VI IV IIIma VI
(_VI_____V____I_)
VI
5) #ivo VIIMa III VII I V VI IV IIo bVI bVII I
(_II____V____I_ )
III
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This is a little beyond the scope of this course, so I'll present just a small taste of this type of harmonic treatment. The last example of the previous section contains a chord (the E major chord) that is non-diatonic to the key of C but is actually diatonic to the situation (the modulation to A minor) This section will present two different non-diatonic examples. The first uses minor chords only. This type of emphasis on a specific chord quality is sometimes used in film scoring and other situations where you want to create a certain ambience or mood.
Assuming any one of these triads is the tonic triad, none of the others exist as diatonic triads in that key. Put another way, the A minor triad is not diatonic to the keys of C minor, Eb minor or F# minor. Notice the root movement of this chord progression. Each adjacent root is a minor 3rd (or enharmonic equivalent) apart.
Am Cm Ebm F#m Am Cm Ebm F#m Am
The next example uses mostly major triads. It starts and ends with a C triad but most of the triads are outside of the C major scale.
C Cdim B G A F# Ab Bb C
Although these are only two of the multitude of possible examples, they demonstrate how this more vague and wandering sound of non-diatonic harmony differs from diatonic harmony.
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