The level of educational value here, God damn. The visuals, the charts, the examples being played, the simple yet effective delivery and the potent ideas... Such a great channel, we are blessed by this resource!

I chucked "one of the remaining 5" into a song once. However, because I had no idea about theory I was just like, "Whoa, what was that?" and never managed to do it again.😂

This is by far the best video I have ever seen you guys make.

@anthonywallace3830

3 ай бұрын

I was just thinking the exact same thing!

This filled in so many gaps in my understanding of how to apply this to songwriting. Thank you!

Not to be dramatic but it was actual divine intervention that I saw this video today! I have a degree in music and this fully explained a huge missing piece I’ve been struggling with in trying to write my musical. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

@jeffandersen7397

3 ай бұрын

Wait, we're not supposed to be dramatic in youtube comments.?!....this is Life Shattering and Absolutley Devastating news!

@maikeru01

2 ай бұрын

That's just the KZread algorithm. They're literally spying on you and then recommending videos based on your data. Please don't compare big tech to God. It's the opposite.

Lots of great advice in this video, thank you!! I've been struggling with learning to write chord progressions, and even when I've tried to not be fancy and just use the very standard progressions, I end up just strumming or picking in patterns I've already learned from other songs that use the same ones. The concepts of colors to paint these songs with the slight modifications is exactly what I needed to hear. 😊

Wow, this was fantastic. In the first half of the video I was thinking, "yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all of this already" but I still decided to watch the entire video because always learnt something from your videos. I am so glad I did! I love playing borrowed chords, but only stuck to familiar ones. Now you've given me a good system to experiment with now. Thanks!

Excellent and efficient chord substitution system, simplifying theory. Use of Chromatic Mediants, Secondary Dominants (Otis' V/V, where he plays A major instead of D major), and more are easily detailed for quick reference.. Cheers! 🍻 Just subscribed.

Brilliant, thanks. Is there by any chance a link to a tutorial on diminished chords? They’re a bit more difficult to get my head round, especially on guitar. Many thanks. 🙏

@SongSecretsMomNeverTaughtYou

3 ай бұрын

David Bennett has a great vid on using diminished chords in popular songs, but I'd also love to see a specific video on HTWS channel as well!

That was so clearly presented and useful! Thanks!

Wow! This is great information. I struggle all the time with my songs sounding the same and this will definitely help solve that problem. Thanks!

You guys are great!

Amazing! Best video on chord progressions I've seen! Thank you for sharing it! 😊

First time here. That was excellent information!

As comprehensive as it can get. Thank you!

This couldn't have dropped at a more perfect time. I'm beginning my exploration into borrowed chords these past few days and this flows nicely with learning the way to implement it into music.

Really like this video and many others. I think the VII degree in C is B half diminished (B D F A) = B7b5 Thx 🙏🏻

Thanks so much, I actually smiled and nodded while watching, as everything starting falling into place in my head ❤

So so useful, I'll be trying out a bunch of these techniques next time I write

Thank you for sharing this 🙏🏼

So relieved! Finally an explanation for how Bb major to E minor can work!!!! Thank you 🙏🕊️

Brilliant, thank you both. 🏆

Excelente!!!

Another tool in the belt… thx so much!

Thanks, it's really interesting!

Thank you

Great education and inspo here😊 I’ve naturally used borrowed chords (albeit rather haphazardly!) here and there without understanding what I was doing, basically because I was/am a huge Radiohead fan and have always loved throwing in a minor-major chord transition for feel😂 With more understanding I can be more deliberate and write more interesting progressions though. Thank you

Just Wow❤️❤️

Superbe vidéo ! J'ai découvert votre chaine hier et ai déjà regardé +20 vidéos ! Je comprend mieux pourquoi mes amis aiment tant quand je joue Nobody Knows You (when ur down). Une amie m'a dit que la musique moderne était construite sur 3 accord dominants : comme dans un blues. Mais je ne comprends pas bien ce que ça veut dire

Very informative 👍

Babe, wake up! There's a new 'How to Write Songs' video out!!!

It's probably worth clarifying that "Borrowed chords" typically only refers to chords that are diatonic to a parallel scale or mode (one with the same tonic or root note as your home key). There are plenty of other ways to derive non-diatonic chords, such as secondary dominants and chromatic mediants.

@Oleg_K.

3 ай бұрын

What are some other ways to derive non-diatonic chords?

@Moonless_Future

3 ай бұрын

@@Oleg_K. 1: Tonicization - not a full key change, but briefly treating a targeted chord as if it's a new key for 1-3 chords leading up to it. This is most commonly done by preceding the target chord with its V7 or viiº, but other options are available. This can even be done iteratively to successive chords, as we see in the example song with A7 tonicizing the D7 which itself tonicizes G. Chromatic mediant - move from your current chord to a non-diatonic chord whose root is up or down by a third. The quality of the chord stays the same if the root is diatonic and changes if the root is not. There's an example of a chromatic mediant provided in the video as the second chord in the "Creep" progression. This can also be done iteratively, like in Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights." Tritone substitution - A dominant 7 chord provides such effective tension and resolution because its 3rd and 7th degrees are a tritone apart and both resolve by semitones. If the root and the 5th of the chord are moved away by a tritone, those two notes stay the same and so does their resolution. Common tone - Follow a stable major or minor chord with a non-diatonic diminished 7 chord that has 1 or 2 tones in common. The common tones provide enough continuity to make it less jarring than sudden non-diatonic diminished 7 chords would otherwise be. This can resolve to a major or minor chord a semitone above any tone in the diminished 7th chord since its symmetrical nature allows any note to function as the root. Alternatively, you can resolve to a different common-tone chord, although this is less common. Even less common, try using an augmented chord instead of the diminished 7!

Awesome video. How often are diminished chords used in popular music?

@ThiagoSFFranco

3 ай бұрын

A lot. It is often used as a passing chord to release a lot of tension as soon as it resolves. In “Road Tripping” from RHCP they use the Triade in all its three inversions

@olearntz

3 ай бұрын

In common pop music - quite seldom, I would say. They are rather substituted by V7 (Dominant Seventh) chords, because diminished chords alone sounds quite unstable. However, there are a couple of examples... like "Smooth" by Carlos Santana (each third line of the verses has a diminished chord, I guess).

@SongSecretsMomNeverTaughtYou

3 ай бұрын

David Bennett has a video showing lots of great popular songs using diminished chords!

@scianteblues8601

3 ай бұрын

​@ThiagoSFFranco spot on! Frusciante is a big fan of using 'Borrowed Chords'. He spoke about in a recent interview with Rick Rubin.

@ThiagoSFFranco

3 ай бұрын

@@scianteblues8601 for sure! Takes sensibility to choose theses ones wisely and Frusciante surely is that kind of musician

What kind of guitar is that? It has a great sound.

🤞

Should have a degree symbol ° on the diminished chord … it has a b3, but diatonically, it’s not a minor triad (nor would it be a minor tetrad/seventh etc, diatonically)? This is a great lesson, though - especially for beginners … Wow. 🙂

You guys are awesome, but isn’t this just a complicated way of saying that within a given key: - There are ways to work in any of the chord types, based on any root note, into a song’s chord progression in a way that sounds good. - Learn from & build off songs that use some less common chords.

Next up. Parallel Chords.

Why do you keep playing a full diminished seventh chord on the 7th degree? This chord has a G sharp in it… Clearly not native to the key of C major for example. In every example, you play triads (NO 7th) all the way up to the seventh degree, then you switch to a seventh chord (??) In the key of C, yes… B is a diminished TRIAD (which you never played even once), but the SEVENTH chord is B-7(b5)otherwise known as B HALF diminished which has a G natural not a G sharp.

If you want to write a song, you have to start with a melody. The chord structure sits somewhere in the melody. Without it, you have no song at all