Hey Gang - this is another instance of  I,  IV,  V & VIm being used but with a couple cool twists. The progression:
I  /  /  /  V6/3  /  /  /  VIm7  /  /  /   IV /  /  /   repeats through out the song as mostly 'broken chords' i.e. arpeggios. The key of E is used. The 4 common chords are done as a descending bass of the keynote to 7 to 6 to 4. The other cool twist is to keep the 3rd of the I chord "suspended" into the V chord thus making V into a V6 chord having an inversion of the root-3rd-5th AND 6th. The VIm chord has a seventh but a simpler way of remembering it is as a I chord with the 6 of the key added below it. Try this in other keys or steal it putting your own variation on it then record and release it into the world of the ever slightly changing world of the pop "whalesong."   In E:   I=E-G sharp-B      V6/3=D sharp-F sharp-G sharp-B    VIm7=C sharp-E-G sharp-B       IV=A-C sharp-E-A

Link to audio/video on Rolling Stone.
The 'audio' version is cleaner.
This song has a unique "in 5" (5/4) groove which puts it in with very few songs most notably "Take Five" a big Dave Brubeck/Paul Desmond hit in the 60's.
Im-IV-Vm with one and five as "minor" chords makes it a progression based on the "Dorian" mode (or scale). Before you freak out too much, "Dorian" is just a major scale with a b3 (instead of 3) and a b7 (instead of 7). Scales info.
The chords eventually wander away from the Dorian creating a darker, 'outside' sound one of which is Im-IVm-Vm from the 'minor' key.
The key of most all of the song is Ab. This writer was able to play it along with the counter melody guitar line (5-4-5, 6-5-6, b7-6-b7, 6-5-4) using a capo at the 4th fret and playing the counter melody on the 3rd string while still playing the chords underneath!






Please spread the word about this blog and know that I am looking to recruit new students from throughout mid-Michigan. Beginners/intermediates are most welcome! More info link. Lansing, MI "Craigslist" online classifieds also has my listing. Hoping also to also catch some of the MSU students who can enjoy some day hour discounts! THANKS.

The Google spreadsheet of hundreds of 3 chord songs doesn't JUST mean play super boring with ONLY 3 chords. (Certainly with cool rhythms much can be done when strictly restricting oneself to those basic chords.) I'll try to list these in order of use starting with very traditional "moves" from way back that vary the strict I-IV-V. These chord moves are so common (outside of much "pop" 'flavor of the month' music) that playing them will recall parts of hundreds of thousands of songs through many genres! If you're not just centered on whatever's hot now you'll undoubtedly hear some of these moves from your music history. Train your ear to hear these moves. Try them on some of those songs you happen to already know well, especially if you know well the melody. The Google spreadsheet of hundreds of 3 chord songs would likely have songs you know that you can try these on. Have fun adding to and spicing up what could be otherwise just a dreary I-IV-V progression!
* V - V7 - I   (e.g.  . . .V / / / V7 / / / I / / / . . .  this is very classic going back hundreds of years yet still used. 1,2 or 3 beats per chord are variations. V / / / V / V7 / I / / / is another variation.)
* V7 - I
* I - I7 - IV  (e.g.  . . . I / / / I7 / / / IV / / / . . .  this 7th chord is NOT the Imaj7 that one might expect in major keys. It is a country music cliche. Also common in older pop. As above, other chord rhythms are optional.)
* I7 - IV7 - V7  (e.g. . . . as with "blues" progressions)
* I7 - IV7  (e.g. . . . as a traditional "Gospel/Blues" and later "Soul Music" breakdown. The ending of "I'm A Believer" at the end of the movie "Shrek.")
* V7 - Isus4 - I  (e.g. . . . a classical move that's cliche for hymns. Isus4 uses a Root-4th-5th rather than a root-3rd-5th of a basic major chord)

I-IV-V in 8 common Keys:
Keys: I   IV  V
Eb:   Eb  Ab  Bb
Bb:   Bb  Eb  F
F:    F   Bb  C
C:    C   F   G
G:    G   C   D
D:    D   G   A
A:    A   D   E
E:    E   A   B

The Chord's notes:
Name: Root 3rd      5th
A:    A    C sharp  E
Bb:   Bb   D        F
B:    B    D sharp  F sharp
C:    C    E        G
D:    D    F sharp  A
Eb:   Eb   G        Bb
E:    E    G sharp  B
F:    F    A        C
G:    G    B        D
Ab:   Ab   C        Eb

(sharp has to be written out since the shift+3 key doesn't work here)

Next to rhythm and melody bass is tops as a VERY important element in ALL music, no matter the style. It is most often the very quickest cue for what the chord is as you're learning to hear chords as "sounds" of their own. If you're turning up the music and turning down the treble and STILL not getting the bass on the downbeats (which is 1 of  the 1 - 2 - 3 - 4  of the even and typical 4 beats of music) TRY stepping out of the room! Often you'll catch it right away. An old record player (turntable) trick was to play the record at a faster speed and the faster, higher bass would THEN be much easier to pick up. Nowadays with the free 'open source' "Audacity" audio tool one can slide an mp3 into the program and do the same but without speeding it up! This program will also let you select a hard section and   S  T  R  E  T  C  H    I T    for honing in on fast passages!

Remember that BASS is a line of single notes one after another and thus is like a real low melody that nearly always plays the chord roots (i.e. bass note=chord names) on the downbeats then plays rhytmically or other chord notes without overlapping any notes (or sounding one bass note at the same time over another). Of course, as with any generalities there ARE exceptions. For bass it's the "on bass" chords written like  C/E  or   Eb/Bb.  One bass technique overlaps notes an 'octave and a 3rd' apart BUT agin these are exceptions (and exceptional when done well!).

Google spreadsheet has hundreds of 3 chord songs! Since you'll likely know some well (out of 300) you'll be able to dial in that "I" chord sprinkling in some rhythm, sing, whistle or hum and when that chord doesn't work anymore flip a coin for the "IV" or the "V" chord. When THAT doesn't work anymore flip the coin again.

Why be able to play in more than one key (if the I-IV-V sounds alike in all keys)? WELL, if you whistle, hum or sing BUT it's too high or too low . . . .

Keep this up for long enough and the 'coin flip' becomes quite intelligent and not just guesses. Guess what? When that happens you'll have a better and better EAR!!!!  You'll be able to put that coin back in your piggy bank.

For background see earlier blogs and:
DenisBach.com/Chords

www.DenisBach.com/CheeryTheory

is the nearly completed new Music Theory Primer
page WITH audio!

(This will eventually take over the "Music Theory Primer" page).

To help you from being scared of basic practical music theory as it applies to using one's ear for faster song learning (and writing). Nobody advances faster than complete BEGINNERS yet remember that no matter your level moving forward always has room since music offers such an incredibly vast wonderland of continual discovery! Even THREE chords + timing can produce new ideas! It's very humbling to ponder the seemingly infinite universe of music especially when we hear and see music performed with obvious "gold medal" excellence and hear compositions that evade easy analysis. Fortunately (for us learners) the music we most often gravitate towards tends toward a 'directness' and simplicity where it is quite rewarding to get a greater grasp of what is happening and how THAT relates to other music, our ears and instruments. Theory is a great friend to this discovery AS LONG as it stays practical with ties to the ear, instrument and ultimately, the "soul."

I think EVERYONE (even non musicians) hears the patterns in music (perhaps more subconsciously). It's a big part of what makes a song sound like a song rather than a meandering series of chords without any form. By looking closely at those patterns one can recognize them and connect much quicker to one's instrument and to broader music in general. One can I.D. familiar sounds then apply that I.D. to another song as one begins to see these sound patterns (sound "stamps") that cross from song to song. For example, after working with many I-IV-V songs you will eventually I.D. the I or IV or V successfully way more often than not. I see this all the time with students. Remember to venture through the various blogs here. Surely the "old" blogs are NOT old if you haven't used them yet. Perhaps eventually they'll be ordered as an offshoot of my "Cheery Theory" web page.

DenisBach.com/Instruction

. . . so "low" in bitrate that they will stream EVEN for dial-up users! The distortion you hear is due to the low, low bitrate YET the ideas DO get through anyways. I'm able to record those very quickly automagically through "Google Talk" and post them on "divShare" all within a couple minutes of recording them!! Such is the 'convenience' that makes this blog practical to do and keep up.

Looking to record "audios" for some of the former blogs and perhaps begin weaving it into my "chords" page at DenisBach.com AND to add audios to my "Music Theory Primer" page (Cheery Theory). Surely the "old" blogs are NOT old if you haven't used them yet.

Last Sat I went "out there" with a Satriani chord progression totally 'off the wall' from the relatively simple ideas being put forward in this blog for your positive ear progress. Today I won't go that far but I will indulge a brief venture into relatively advanced chord progression ideas.

I had a brief discussion with a musician I ran into this week. It was regarding the "augmented" chord that has a  Root, 3rd and a sharped 5. Other than for special effects, like for a movie soundtrack, the chord popularily functions as a variation of the V chord. The intro to a popular Beatles song (can't think of it off the top of my head) and Freddy Fender's hit "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" use the Vaug (V+) chord. In the key of C play Gaug (G-b-d sharp-G) then C (g-C-e-g) and think of other songs in which you might have heard that telltale sound. There are quite a few I've heard over the years. Perhaps you'll recall some, too, once you put this I.D. stamp on that sound for your ear.

Inspired by this I came up with a real flowing jazzy 4 measure section. It has 2 chords per measure:

I6        /    Vaug(add9)  /   I7(add6)  /  VIm7b5   /
IIm7b5  /   I/5th bass    /   Vaug       /   Vaug(add9)  /  repeats

Before you freak out too much this can be done pretty smoothly thanks to "voice leading" which is a fancy way of saying try not to move too far from one chord to another. An easier way of thinking about it is have the top note move little, ditto for the note just below and so on. The bass will move the most unless one does more of a "walking bass" style. So here's the "secret" voicings in "G"* for keyboards (2 beats each; bass=left hand/right):

G6 = G bass/G-b-d-e              Daug(add9)=D bass/f sharp-a sharp-d-e
G7(add6)=G bass/f-b-d-e         Em7b5 = E bass/g-bb-d-e
Am7b5 = A bass/g-c-eb             G/D = d bass/G-b-d
Daug=D bass/f sharp-a sharp-d    Daug(add9)=D bass/f sharp-a sharp-d-e   (repeats)

As long as you land the bass note as a new chord plays you can walk up or down to the next chord with its starting bass note.


On guitar I used drop D (6th=D) tuning and kept it with basses:
G6=5x0000   Daug(add9)=0x4330   G7(add6)=5x3x00   Em7b5 =2x2333
Am7b5=x0554x   G/D=0x543x   Daug=x5433x   Daug(add9)=0x435x
(chord=frets played strings 6-1)

If the guitar doesn't have to be concerned about bass (like when with a bassist or keyboard covering) the freedom around the neck is greater.

*The value of NOT being stuck in particular keys came up today. I "wrote" the progression in the key of "F" but by the time I finished I liked it best with my voicings moved up to the key of "G."

Perhaps because some rock/pop is a direct descendent of blues/gospel one sees those inluences evolving into new directions. In the last blog (Wed. Sept. 5, 2007) I mentioned the bVII chord used quickly as the "IV" of the IV as a classic gospel move. My hunch is that the bVII chord came out of that influence. In Nashville circles they call that the "mountain seven" chord. The root of the chord is NOT on the 7th from the major scale as expected so they gave this "odd" chord a special name. In classical analysis they simply regard it as a chord "borrowed" from the same minor key (a.k.a. 'parallel' minor key).

Perhaps the MOST popularly heard example of this progression is on the classic "Sweet Home Alabama." Since this song has even made it to TV commercials you've heard this whether you wanted to or not.   I  /  bVII  /  IV  /  /  /  (original in the key of "D" = D-C-G)
http://www.deezer.com
( copy-paste or type the title into the search box )
Google spreadsheet of hundreds of 3 chord songs is beginning to include I - bVII - IV  songs.

A week and a half ago I fired up this blog from a many months long sleep. Seeing the last Sun to Sat (yesterday) one week page "hit" count at 300 and seeing each day rack up many hits (this blog builder has nice stat capabilities) and the total now over 600 lets me know that the use of this blog far exceeded my expectations!

Needless to say that such interest along with my own enthusiasm for this oft neglected skill (even among many accomplished musicians) has beautifully conspired to draw out this long latent desire to advance the popular "Music Theory Primer" and the study of basic chords (LINK) in relation to each other and the recognizable (regardless of key) sounds of identical chord patterns!

This study of 'audio pattern recognition' recently prompted one of my students FROM HIS KEYBOARD to successfully relate these ideas to a very accomplished guitar player who was unaware of this but caught on quickly! That is rewarding to hear!

Nevertheless, I would never assume that this is as good as its potential thus YOUR feedback or need for greater clarity would be very welcome. While the scope of this work assumes a base of knowledge if there is anything I can do to better integrate 'audio pattern recognition' into that base of knowledge I will do so. I come across many different learning styles. Having audio examples is sort of the equivalent of a 'how to' book with many pictures. It allows a pure academic read (and reading with your instrument to try the examples) to cross over into more learning styles and thus be relevant to more people.

Let me know how I might be able to help YOUR issue and it just might help me to further communicate these across more learning styles.      denisbach@gmail.com

If you sit down next time to your instrument and notice how a pattern (sound) in one key can NOW be used in another when you're improvising or writing then that simple awareness has opened new possibilities!

denisbach@gmail.com

Thanks again for making this more fun!
Denis 

It's Sat and it's time to indulge a bit from one of my favorite guitarists and 'instrumentals' composer, Joe Satriani.
A very, very cool outer space sounding progression is 3 bizarre chords that loop through Joe Satriani's "Not Of This Earth" the 'title' song from his first album.
http://www.deezer.com
( copy-paste or type the title into the search box )

In the Key of "E" the first chord uses the notes 1,3,6,7 from the major scale (or lydian) then ditto from the minor scale (i.e. 1,b3,b6,b7) then back to 1,3,6,7 then 1,4,b7,1 from the dorian (or mixolydian) scale. Of course, the "E" 'pedal' tone holds these together. The three notes that aren't '1' all move chromatically which keeps it somehow glued together as a spacey unity. TRY the idea in other keys. Vary it. Heaven forbid that you might come up with some offshoot that becomes a NEW song!

Guitar:     0x664x    0x553x    0x664x    0x775x     (frets on 6th-1st)

ENJOY ! ! !

Please spread the word about this blog and know that I am looking to recruit new students from throughout mid-Michigan. Beginners/intermediates are most welcome! More info link.

THEY ARE!!!

The jam "Hey Joe" (best known version from Jimi Hendrix) and "Hush" (an early Deep Purple hit in the part with "na,__ na, na ,na ...")  have the same progressions:
bVI  /  bIII  /  bVII  /  IV  /  I  / / /  I  / / /   repeat

I'd been looking for the song "Hush" for a long time and before I came upon it I sung the "na,__ na, na, na . . ." melody and hunched that it was major chords moving backward through the circle 5ths when I started and lo and behold it worked just as far as "Hey Joe" goes through the circle. When I was able to finally hear it sure enough it was so exactly like "Hey Joe" (even the longer 'I' chord) but merely in a different key. The B3 and the Strat in that song holds up very well ! !

"Hey Joe - Hendrix" is in the key of "E"
C / G / D / A / E / / / E / / / :
http://www.deezer.com
( copy-paste or type the title into the search box )

"Hush - Deep Purple" is in the key of "C"
Ab / Eb / Bb / F / C / / / C / / / :
http://www.deezer.com
( copy-paste or type the title into the search box )


See:       www.DenisBach.com/MusicTheoryPrimer.htm
(and links there) for the basics behind this info.

If you know that well enough move on to:

www.DenisBach.com/Chords.htm