Chord Progressions... Stuck?

SouthernSounds

SouthernSounds

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Hello Folks!

I was enjoying Louise, today, practicing some fingerpicking and then suddenly I felt stucked and unable to continue the chord progression... :?

I had the capo on the 5th fret and was I playing from a C#m to an Amaj7 (Am & Fmaj7 patterns) -in standard tuning, btw- and I can't resolve or discover which chord would be a natural progression or an appropiated sound. I don't know. It's kind a tough thing to try to express what I feel in a foreing language... :oops:

Anyway, my question, dear folks, is:

When you're in a situation like this (assuming you've been there): what do you do? How you continue? Are all this stuff related with how much domain of the theory you have? or is it something else that I missed?

This is not new, btw. The difference right now is that I'm open to ask and to try to solve this sad situation...

Thanks for your help, tips, impressions and opinions! :wink:

All the best,
B.

P.S. Have I mentioned how nice is Louise? Wow... There is no comparisson between Louise and my first guitar. The sounds that you obtain, even in my hands, are so nice that you have a continuos motivation to practice and to try to improve your technique and skills.
 
griehund

griehund

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SouthernSounds said:
Hello Folks!

I was enjoying Louise, today, practicing some fingerpicking and then suddenly I felt stucked and unable to continue the chord progression... :?

I had the capo on the 5th fret and was I playing from a C#m to an Amaj7 (Am & Fmaj7 patterns) -in standard tuning, btw- and I can't resolve or discover which chord would be a natural progression or an appropiated sound. I don't know. It's kind a tough thing to try to express what I feel in a foreing language... :oops:

Anyway, my question, dear folks, is:

When you're in a situation like this (assuming you've been there): what do you do? How you continue? Are all this stuff related with how much domain of the theory you have? or is it something else that I missed?

This is not new, btw. The difference right now is that I'm open to ask and to try to solve this sad situation...

Thanks for your help, tips, impressions and opinions! :wink:

All the best,
B.

P.S. Have I mentioned how nice is Louise? Wow... There is no comparisson between Louise and my first guitar. The sounds that you obtain, even in my hands, are so nice that you have a continuos motivation to practice and to try to improve your technique and skills.
Click to expand...

Are you doing the "Blue Moon" progression? C, Am, Dm, G? 1.6,4,5?
 
griehund

griehund

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SouthernSounds said:
Well, not really... I was just toying with the capo and some chords and then: I got stuck :shock: :roll: :lol:

B.
Click to expand...

I guess I would be going to the 4 or the 2 in some form or other. I use the trial and anger method. :)
 
D

dapmdave

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charliea said:
What's a C#m?
Click to expand...

Charliea,

There are several other ways to play it, but here's what I usually play for C#m:

chord.gif


Dave :D
 
griehund

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I guess it really depends on what you're trying to do. You kind of need a melody before you lay a chord pattern over it. :)
 
SouthernSounds

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Thanks for your responses, folks: I really appreciate them! :D

griehund said:
I use the trial and anger method. :)
Click to expand...
Sometimes I do it, too... But, now, I would like to try some other options first :roll:

ladytexan said:
This site provides progression maps which I find helpful at times (I'm a visual learner, and I need to 'see' it) ;)
Click to expand...
Thanks for that site & your kindly words, Toni. I'll take a look at it! :D

Ravon said:
C#m Amajor7 Bmajor C#m
  • C#m F#m Abm C#m
Click to expand...
I have a question for you, Ravon: How do you know how to "close" the progression? How do you know the chords that could sound fine?

I don't know if I'm expressed good when I formulated the question. I know it's a little bit naive my question, because it sounds like If I were asking almost for a recipe to play the rights chords in whatever scale... I know that such thing doesn't exist, but I guess there is something that I missing to can "resolve" a progression. Is, like Griehund says, trial & error? or Is it theory? or Knowlegde that you gathered from the years?... A mixture, most probably. I don't know.

griehund said:
I guess it really depends on what you're trying to do. You kind of need a melody before you lay a chord pattern over it. :)
Click to expand...
Well I would say that the melody, in my case, come from the chords and the mood that they gave me, if that makes any sense...

Thanks Dave: your post made me realize I was wrong about the name of the chords that I was playing... Capo in 5th fret, makes that C#m a Dm chord and that Amaj7 an Amaj... Anyway...

Thank you Folks! :D

All the best,
B.
 
R

Ravon

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Bruno, I just listen to the lowest bass notes (or the highest notes) and if those notes sound fine together as a progression then play those root notes as either a maj. or a minor chord (whatever sounds good to you). Whats funny is that I had worked out a cool chord progression that's taken weeks for me to resolve. Has some cool jazz 4-note chords and was really happy with it , but it sounded so..... familiar. And tonight I realize I was just repeating the theme of 'The Simpsons'! And all along I thought I was being so original and innovative :lol: :cry:
 
walrus

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I'll take that as a compliment, default, but I teach Business courses, and the occasional elective course on the Beatles and/or rock music. But this chord theory stuff is a little above my head!

Although I am learning something from the question and everyone's answers.

walrus
 
griehund

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SouthernSounds said:
Thanks for your responses, folks: I really appreciate them! :D

griehund said:
I use the trial and anger method. :)
Click to expand...
Sometimes I do it, too... But, now, I would like to try some other options first :roll:

ladytexan said:
This site provides progression maps which I find helpful at times (I'm a visual learner, and I need to 'see' it) ;)
Click to expand...
Thanks for that site & your kindly words, Toni. I'll take a look at it! :D

Ravon said:
C#m Amajor7 Bmajor C#m
  • C#m F#m Abm C#m
Click to expand...
I have a question for you, Ravon: How do you know how to "close" the progression? How do you know the chords that could sound fine?

I don't know if I'm expressed good when I formulated the question. I know it's a little bit naive my question, because it sounds like If I were asking almost for a recipe to play the rights chords in whatever scale... I know that such thing doesn't exist, but I guess there is something that I missing to can "resolve" a progression. Is, like Griehund says, trial & error? or Is it theory? or Knowlegde that you gathered from the years?... A mixture, most probably. I don't know.

griehund said:
I guess it really depends on what you're trying to do. You kind of need a melody before you lay a chord pattern over it. :)
Click to expand...
Well I would say that the melody, in my case, come from the chords and the mood that they gave me, if that makes any sense...

Thanks Dave: your post made me realize I was wrong about the name of the chords that I was playing... Capo in 5th fret, makes that C#m a Dm chord and that Amaj7 an Amaj... Anyway...

Thank you Folks! :D

All the best,
B.
Click to expand...

A safe place to start is to define the genre. Folk, blues, rock, jazz etc. Each genre has a typical structure. Most modern blues and rock is constructed in 12 bars using the I, IV, V progression. Those three chords can be demolished, polluted, corrupted and dismantled to one's personal taste but they are most usually there. In a typical jam session each player knows exactly where they are at all times because they have committed to playing within that structure. Between each 12th bar and the beginning of the next first bar there is a transition. As long as the pattern is repeated, the transition takes you back to the beginning. At the end, the transition takes you to some sort of ending like TA DA that's all folks.

Of course after you figure out the music structure, then you have to set up a lyric structure.
Verse, verse, chorus, verse would be A, A, B, A.
Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, would be A,B,A,B.
One of my favorite blues songs goes A, A, B, solo, B, A, A.

Which comes first the melody or the chords? The answer to that one is always yes. :lol:

Hopes this helps :wink:
 
fronobulax

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SouthernSounds said:
a recipe to play the rights chords in whatever scale
Click to expand...

"Western" music has enough theory behind it that you could study music theory and get some pretty good recipes for what notes and chords do, and do not, work together. That said, a lot of interesting and innovative music breaks the theoretical rules but in this case it is probably more useful to know the rules before you set out to break them.

If you are more concerned with progressions than chords, follow the bass or the root of the chords and ask which bass note might sound good as the next one.
 
Bill Ashton

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I am way late for the sacrifice, but I thought the OP was looking for help with the chords to "Louise," which I have on the shelf to learn myself...but trying to follow Leo Kottke is not as easy as trying to follow Frosty... :wink:

But, I understand my error. Any chance anyone knows "Louise?" Leo seems to do it tuned down a half step, maybe in dropped D, but it might be some other tuning I cannot fathom... :?
 
C

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Bill Ashton said:
I am way late for the sacrifice, but I thought the OP was looking for help with the chords to "Louise," which I have on the shelf to learn myself...but trying to follow Leo Kottke is not as easy as trying to follow Frosty... :wink:

But, I understand my error. Any chance anyone knows "Louise?" Leo seems to do it tuned down a half step, maybe in dropped D, but it might be some other tuning I cannot fathom... :?
Click to expand...

The Tab Pigs have what you want.
http://www.tabpigs.org/thetabs/leokottke.html
 
SouthernSounds

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Ravon said:
Bruno, I just listen to the lowest bass notes (or the highest notes) and if those notes sound fine together as a progression then play those root notes as either a maj. or a minor chord (whatever sounds good to you). Whats funny is that I had worked out a cool chord progression that's taken weeks for me to resolve. Has some cool jazz 4-note chords and was really happy with it , but it sounded so..... familiar. And tonight I realize I was just repeating the theme of 'The Simpsons'! And all along I thought I was being so original and innovative :lol: :cry:
Click to expand...
:lol:

Well, that's always an interesting and a difficult point: To be innovative & To not sound like a copy of someone else. Thanks for your suggestion, Ravon!

Thanks, GH: your ideas are something that I have to have in mind. Genre & Structure.

As Frono says: "Western" music has a lot of theory behind it and if you want to play that kind of music, there are certain things that you have to learn. But there is a difuse line, between what is necessary and what is unuseful. I don't want to do a deep study of the theory. I just want to learn the fundamentals stuff and from there be creative and make my own path...

Bill: Sorry for have been confusing, but I was talking about my DV-52. Her name is Louise

Thanks guys: I still have some questions, but we'll see if the time, the trial & error and some practice and further study give me some light about all of this...

A hug & All the best,
B.
 
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