I have a question, why do you call moving from (Am - C) a (i - bIII) shouldn't it be just a (i - III) since C major occurs in the natural A minor scale?
For those that want to try some spicy two chord progressions, here is a subjective list : Imaj7 III - Epic I II - Protagonism I bV - Outer space I bVI - Fantastical I iii - Sadness I iv - Romantic i IV - Wonder i II - Mystery i bII - Spooky i VII - Dramatic i bV - Antagonism, danger i bvi - Evil
The great thing about i-IV or i-ii chords is that great Dorian sound, lifting you every so delicately away from the somber Aeolian mode. See "Down by the River" by Neil Young, "Moondance" by Van Morrison for some classic rock examples.
David, please never stop making these. You are helping us understand complex ideas with your simplistic approach. My new single was inspired by watching your videos and trying my best to make a perfect chord progression. I hope I can buy you a pint someday.
@@pedroaffonso82 Pink Floyd is full of i - IV ... Breathe, Any Colour You Like, Great Gig in the Sky, Shine on you Crazy Diamond, even Money and Another Brick in the Wall from verse to chorus... it's their signature chord progression almost
@@olivarionline I guess that works well for their style. Also, isn’t also something about them often being in the key of G? Or is it C? There is a key that many of their songs are in, I’m fairly sure all of Wish You Were Here (the album) is in G.
@@NBrixH true Roger Waters most probably writes on acoustic and a lot of his songs are on G major. Shine On is on Gm though with a very different mood from the rest of the album.
A progression that I believe it's missing there is i to II, that means, minor one to major two. It's a very strong progression being II the secondary dominant of V grade. There's an example by a famous composer of my country, Argentina, the great Astor Piazzolla, in one of his most known songs "Libertango".
Something In The Way (4:30) is one of the most haunting and beautiful songs to me. Brings me to tears sometimes... Even though it’s only two chords, Kurt’s voice and gift for melody, gives me chills every time I hear that song.
Just in case some of these might also help y’all- i - V Smooth (verse) i - iv Moondance (pre chorus, although it technically is iv - i repeated) i - IV Moondance (chorus) i - ii Moondance (verse) i - VI Californication (verse and pre chorus)
Another good show, David Bennett Piano! I always find myself watching your channel over the old man's stuff ( Rick Beato) more times than not. Have a great day.
I don't have perfect pitch or anything, but I think it's fascinating how I'm able to sing a random song, and it's always the right pitch, or how I can guess a note by comparing the distance/interval between said note and the note of a song in my head. It's weird, but it works!
Good video! Another example of the major to minor progression (I - i - I) is Strauss' Thus Spoke Zarathustra (aka the opening to 2001). It may be less familiar but personally I find it clearer.
Dude! Another 10-minute video that took me an hour to digest and explore...thanks a million!!! Plus, an unexpected Simon & Garfunkel nod and a "penultimate" usage...keep it the great work!
i - I blew my mind; didn't know you could have variance in the tonic, but I guess that's what determines if it's a minor or major key and why that's the main division we work with in Western music even though major and minor are only two of the modes.....Damn, that just taught me a whole damn lot
I would argue that relative major and minor keys are actually the same key, because they're not really the key of the root notes, but more so a system of notes consisting of a dissonant tritone resolving to a consonant major third which is shared by both chords, making them tonic. This would mean that the same chord function would have a different name depending on the chord used as reference for the key, basically whether you're "in the relative major" or "in the relative minor," even though they're the same key. For example, the first chord function you talk about, V in minor, would be the same as III in major; so in C major or A minor, it would be the E chord; and you can really hear it too, it's the same sound.
Just a small point; In The Beatles bumper songbook Because is in the key of C sharp minor but the second chord is is described as F sharp minor 6 which I think is to make it easier to play on the guitar however if you look at the notes that are played in the bass in the sheet music the chord is d sharp half diminished. Apparently the 2 half diminished chord is diatonic in minor keys.
@William C thank you for sharing. I just checked it out. However, it isn't a i-VI. It is a i-bVI then a melodic run from bVI yo bVII to i in Fminor (you can hear the Db and Eb leading back to the F tonic in the last bar of the loop). It's diatonic. i-VI (one minor to natural six major as you have it listed) isn't strictly in any one key, which this song is; also, i-VI isn't native to major, melodic minor, nor harmonic minor minimally (I'm not familiar with harmonic major nor double harmonic major so I can't say for certain there). I appreciate you sharing an example nonetheless.
@@Arycke I misspoke I meant bVI which I realize is native to melodic minor. My apologies. Glad you got the chance to check out the song and do some analysis on it though!
An interesting version of the flat second chord one is First It Giveth by Queens Of The Stone Age. The first two chords of the verses are Bb (power chord) and B major, but the vocal melody starts on an F on the B major chord and gives it an unusual sound.
THANKS for these excellent breakdowns of common chord progressions, very useful for teaching basic songwriting. Great examples too, although I think the last one “Comfortably Numb” is a bit of a stretch, since that movement at the beginning could be interpreted in so many ways. Ah, the greatness of the Floyd!
I think a great example of the i - bII progression is For the Love of God by Steve Vai, as the song spends a good amount of time shifting between Em and F.
Bm to F# (or the same up and down the neck) is just something you do if you play barre chords on guitar . Lol. U know a lot more about music than most songwriters.
Question on practical value/limitations on Nashville Numbering system....Can you do a video on the pros/cons of using Nashville Number system? I'm a relative newbie to theory, but find a practical value in referencing everything to the diatonic scale & just presuming any number could serve as the root (depending on the mode)...that would make the Billie Eilish tune a "vi-III", simply rooted on the "vi" of the diatonic... I don't know the cons to this, but definitely find it orienting when non-diatomic chords are used....it helps me more easily remember the quality of the movement between chords, especially when non-diatonic chords or less common modes are used (again, presuming the root chord is contingent on the relative mode, not the names #). I have not found many videos that explore this.
Ngl the IV in the minor key sounds just as good as iv in Major. When you played that chord i instantly thought of Eric Whitacre - Seal Lullaby, it was my favourite choir song when i sang in high school
I would love to see you do videos about chromatic and non-functional harmony. There are a lot of great songs that don’t neatly fit into the chord progressions that you described in your last two videos.
I don't know WHAT you would call this. But I've always loved this move..... Going from a minor chord....to the major chord a semitone below. So.... F minor to E major, for example. It's jarring, yet they share the same note for each of their thirds. "Identify" by Natalie Imbruglia(written by Billy Corgan) begins with that. It just sounds....cool. :} Eerie in a way. But I _never_ see it discussed. I'd love a deep dive on what's going on....
Excellent example! I love that song..... The chords throughout are fascinating. So simple....yet eerie and odd and dreamy and powerful. And yeah, that major/minor vamp is super cool. It's almost confrontational in a way..
Three very unique chord progressions: bVIm - Octavarium by Dream Theater VIm - Light my fire by The Doors VII - Shine on You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd
Maybe 505 isn't a i - ii progression but a iv - v progression and the key would be Am? Makes more sense to me, the loop between Dm and Em generates tension that gets released when you arrive at Am
Usually your examples strike a chord (pun acknowleged!) with me, but I must be really old today, as none of the examples in the first 3+ minutes are familiar to me. Love your channel, by the way!
Generally; as though this video gives me more intruiging thorough the chord scale perspectiveness, As though to announced from myself, I've got previously taking with multiple-spectrum failures to guess this aligned notes with comparing from my overratio chord acquisitions into the entries of my multiple dilemma even though I've got properly aligned those 6 modes of melodic music not basically counted for melodic minor and the Harmonic Minor Scales as though the i IV I've also apprehended the intro of the hits named "Estranged" by Guns N' Roses
that comfortably numb thing never sounded to me like a im-i. the major third sounds like an uncanny tension over the minor chord, not like part of a major chord. i dont get the sense of brightness youd get from briefly stepping into major, its rather pretty dark sounding. its very interesting to hear you experience it differently though!
I feel like Comfortably Numb is a weird case where the example is more memorable and noteworthy because it's so tenuous and ambiguous. Because it's a slide guitar gradually changing the third degree from minor to major, the rest of the chord being held separately from that change, it keeps the minor sound. The result is that even the major chord tones sound eerie and kind of fake (assuming the slide even goes to the major third - I'm not entirely sure it even does, at least not for more than a brief moment). And especially given the lyrical themes of the song, that fits perfectly - a hollow version of the major tonic that is pretty transparently a façade for the true minor tonic beneath it.
Test your chord comprehension skills with this video on my 2nd channel: ruclips.net/video/Bw93sQRh_rQ/видео.html 😁
First
Great video as ever David - brilliant explanations, ^oo^
David - could you do some analysis videos on the music of Tame Impala. I know you're a fan so it shouldn't be too arduous :)
I have a question, why do you call moving from (Am - C) a (i - bIII) shouldn't it be just a (i - III) since C major occurs in the natural A minor scale?
just an addendum - pretty sure that 'Mad World' is originally by Tears for Fears.
For those that want to try some spicy two chord progressions, here is a subjective list :
Imaj7 III - Epic
I II - Protagonism
I bV - Outer space
I bVI - Fantastical
I iii - Sadness
I iv - Romantic
i IV - Wonder
i II - Mystery
i bII - Spooky
i VII - Dramatic
i bV - Antagonism, danger
i bvi - Evil
I'm intrigued what you'd label i - V as
i - bII Italian Drama
This is a fantastic game. What are your thoughts on I bIII?
I would like this, but it's at 69 thumbs up!
@@thfump I've thought that sounds bluesy, because it's a borrowed chord from parallel minor
The great thing about i-IV or i-ii chords is that great Dorian sound, lifting you every so delicately away from the somber Aeolian mode. See "Down by the River" by Neil Young, "Moondance" by Van Morrison for some classic rock examples.
i-IV: "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson
I love it in my sweet lord. The whole song is based of that i-IV... also the pre-chorus in here there and everywhere is i-IV
i-IV is also great given the melodic minor context it can fill as well
BREATHE IN THE AIR
I love i-IV! My favorite example is OIngo Boingo's "Water" ruclips.net/video/-jTXsx2mymE/видео.html
I’m a simple man… I see Alex Turner, I click. Thanks for all your vids! Much easier to absorb musical ideas using music I love.
Thank you once more in teaching me in ten minutes what would have taken me hours to learn otherwise. You're a legend!
Thank you!
This channel is such a blessing. You couldn't imagine how helpful these videos are to me
Anyone else loving how 'something in the way' by nirvana has the same chord progression as 'funeral march' by Chopin
David, please never stop making these. You are helping us understand complex ideas with your simplistic approach. My new single was inspired by watching your videos and trying my best to make a perfect chord progression. I hope I can buy you a pint someday.
Ew, it's you.
Please don't break my wine glasses.
Gross
I asked and you delivered!!! BLESS YOU!!
As a Pink Floyd fan I am very glad that you included Comfortably Numb.
But he completely missed that the best example of a i - IV change is Breathe
@@pedroaffonso82 Pink Floyd is full of i - IV ... Breathe, Any Colour You Like, Great Gig in the Sky, Shine on you Crazy Diamond, even Money and Another Brick in the Wall from verse to chorus... it's their signature chord progression almost
@@pedroaffonso82 He has to limit the amount of examples. I’m sure he didn’t miss it, but chose comfortably numb instead.
@@olivarionline I guess that works well for their style. Also, isn’t also something about them often being in the key of G? Or is it C? There is a key that many of their songs are in, I’m fairly sure all of Wish You Were Here (the album) is in G.
@@NBrixH true Roger Waters most probably writes on acoustic and a lot of his songs are on G major. Shine On is on Gm though with a very different mood from the rest of the album.
7:55 i absolutely adore it in songs, as well as going from a major chord to a minor one. it adds some ✨spice✨
There's something truly magical about that i - IV progression. If I could live in a bed made entirely of alternating Bm - E chords, I would.
It's that dorian sound! I love it too!!
Fascinating! I mean that seriously. That’s a very unique way to describe something!
I always think about My Sweet Lord
Dorian is so cool, I always think it sounds autumnal and mysterious. i - ii implies Dorian too and feels great to play with as well.
Breeeeathe, breathe in the aaair
A progression that I believe it's missing there is i to II, that means, minor one to major two. It's a very strong progression being II the secondary dominant of V grade. There's an example by a famous composer of my country, Argentina, the great Astor Piazzolla, in one of his most known songs "Libertango".
Something In The Way (4:30) is one of the most haunting and beautiful songs to me. Brings me to tears sometimes... Even though it’s only two chords, Kurt’s voice and gift for melody, gives me chills every time I hear that song.
Agreed.
Interestingly.....I've always thought of it as....
iii - I
But that's just me. Maybe I'm wrong? Or not?
Just in case some of these might also help y’all-
i - V Smooth (verse)
i - iv Moondance (pre chorus, although it technically is iv - i repeated)
i - IV Moondance (chorus)
i - ii Moondance (verse)
i - VI Californication (verse and pre chorus)
Another good show, David Bennett Piano! I always find myself watching your channel over the old man's stuff ( Rick Beato) more times than not. Have a great day.
Excellent, I always learn something from your videos. Thank you, David.
Thanks Peter! 😀😀
You should make a video on hearing progressions that don’t start on the 1 chord! I always have a hard time with those
I agree, and besides a 2-5-1 progression, because that is so typical in jazz.
I don't even play piano but your content is just really watchable and understandable to people who have never learned anything about music.
I like the way the colors in your attire match the guitars hanging in the background.
I don't have perfect pitch or anything, but I think it's fascinating how I'm able to sing a random song, and it's always the right pitch, or how I can guess a note by comparing the distance/interval between said note and the note of a song in my head. It's weird, but it works!
I'm a simple man I see the album "Nevermind" I click
5:05 I recognized it immediately!
hah he started playing the 1 to 2 progression from 505 and that organey sound on his keyboard was so perfectly accurate I got the song instantly
You are the best music teacher ever!
Yooo, something in the way has been my reference for i-bVI for a long time! Great video!
One of my favorite examples of i-vi progression is in the theme from Being John Malkovich. It's utterly haunting.
Thank you saying penultimate. I use it when I can too. Thank you for the content too, I learned quite a bit in a short amount of time.
I learn more about music from your channel than any other. Thank you so much.
Thanks!
I never thought I'd see Alex on one of your videos.... an instant click
Morning Bell (Radiohead) also goes from minor tonic to major tonic.
Good video!
Another example of the major to minor progression (I - i - I) is Strauss' Thus Spoke Zarathustra (aka the opening to 2001). It may be less familiar but personally I find it clearer.
Dude! Another 10-minute video that took me an hour to digest and explore...thanks a million!!! Plus, an unexpected Simon & Garfunkel nod and a "penultimate" usage...keep it the great work!
Nice lesson. I also particularly enjoyed your pronunciation of garFUNKel.
i - I blew my mind; didn't know you could have variance in the tonic, but I guess that's what determines if it's a minor or major key and why that's the main division we work with in Western music even though major and minor are only two of the modes.....Damn, that just taught me a whole damn lot
You're a very good explainer.
The intro and verses of hotel california is also a good example of a i - V sound (bm - F#)
The number 1 music guru on youtube!
Ok. The songs used in this video as examples would make a fantastic playlist.
So clairifying. Thanks! Great video yet again!
When he played the flat sixth one and played it multiple times I was like “play something in the way already bro” anyway amazing video!!
Underrated, this is mad helpful
Wonderfully helpful, as always. Thanks, David! 👍😊
I've watched all your videos over the past 3 years 😅 all still great
The second he played that minor ii I heard 505 instantly
Yeah right
Arctic Fockin' Monkeys
Always a highlight to follow your explanations. Thanks for sharing your huge knowledge.
yes!! a new vid from David! ❤️
😀😀
precious job mate!
I would argue that relative major and minor keys are actually the same key, because they're not really the key of the root notes, but more so a system of notes consisting of a dissonant tritone resolving to a consonant major third which is shared by both chords, making them tonic. This would mean that the same chord function would have a different name depending on the chord used as reference for the key, basically whether you're "in the relative major" or "in the relative minor," even though they're the same key.
For example, the first chord function you talk about, V in minor, would be the same as III in major; so in C major or A minor, it would be the E chord; and you can really hear it too, it's the same sound.
Another brilliant video man! I appreciate you so much!
Just a small point; In The Beatles bumper songbook Because is in the key of C sharp minor but the second chord is is described as F sharp minor 6 which I think is to make it easier to play on the guitar however if you look at the notes that are played in the bass in the sheet music the chord is d sharp half diminished. Apparently the 2 half diminished chord is diatonic in minor keys.
When you played Dm to Em i immediately heard 505 🤩
E Major Scale
3:19 Sub-Mediant (vii) 3:23 Leading Tone (viii°)
Really loving these videos, I’d love to see more examples from hip hop (eg a lot of contemporary songs in this genre use i-bvi i-v i-V, etc)
Can you suggest the examples from contemporary songs you speak of please?
@@Arycke eg i-VI bandit by juice wrld
@William C thank you for sharing. I just checked it out.
However, it isn't a i-VI. It is a i-bVI then a melodic run from bVI yo bVII to i in Fminor (you can hear the Db and Eb leading back to the F tonic in the last bar of the loop). It's diatonic. i-VI (one minor to natural six major as you have it listed) isn't strictly in any one key, which this song is; also, i-VI isn't native to major, melodic minor, nor harmonic minor minimally (I'm not familiar with harmonic major nor double harmonic major so I can't say for certain there).
I appreciate you sharing an example nonetheless.
@@Arycke I misspoke I meant bVI which I realize is native to melodic minor. My apologies. Glad you got the chance to check out the song and do some analysis on it though!
melodic rap tends to lean pretty heavily on the bVI because of its generally emotional sound
A good example of the bII is the intro/verse to jailhouse rock by Elvis Presley
Thank you very much for this series lessons :)
Thanks 😊
David, your videos are more interesting than you realize. Terrific.
An interesting version of the flat second chord one is First It Giveth by Queens Of The Stone Age. The first two chords of the verses are Bb (power chord) and B major, but the vocal melody starts on an F on the B major chord and gives it an unusual sound.
Good timing for this video! I just discovered “Something in the way” in the new Batman movie soundtrack
THANKS for these excellent breakdowns of common chord progressions, very useful for teaching basic songwriting. Great examples too, although I think the last one “Comfortably Numb” is a bit of a stretch, since that movement at the beginning could be interpreted in so many ways. Ah, the greatness of the Floyd!
I think a great example of the i - bII progression is For the Love of God by Steve Vai, as the song spends a good amount of time shifting between Em and F.
Bm to F# (or the same up and down the neck) is just something you do if you play barre chords on guitar . Lol. U know a lot more about music than most songwriters.
Seriously one of the best music related videos I’ve seen. Keep it up!!
Very well illustrated concept.
Congratulations for your lessons!
Yay! Thank you! I have been so excited to learn more about chord function thanks to your channel. Super grateful and inspired by your offerings.
Question on practical value/limitations on Nashville Numbering system....Can you do a video on the pros/cons of using Nashville Number system? I'm a relative newbie to theory, but find a practical value in referencing everything to the diatonic scale & just presuming any number could serve as the root (depending on the mode)...that would make the Billie Eilish tune a "vi-III", simply rooted on the "vi" of the diatonic...
I don't know the cons to this, but definitely find it orienting when non-diatomic chords are used....it helps me more easily remember the quality of the movement between chords, especially when non-diatonic chords or less common modes are used (again, presuming the root chord is contingent on the relative mode, not the names #).
I have not found many videos that explore this.
Great video as always much love❤️
Ngl the IV in the minor key sounds just as good as iv in Major. When you played that chord i instantly thought of Eric Whitacre - Seal Lullaby, it was my favourite choir song when i sang in high school
Also the bII reminded me of Nightmare before Christmas. Can't remember which song exactly, think it was one Sally sung
I would love to see you do videos about chromatic and non-functional harmony. There are a lot of great songs that don’t neatly fit into the chord progressions that you described in your last two videos.
He played the first chords and I thought immediately thought of let it be
These vids are great thanks keep up the good work! And I love all the radiohead references!
Thanks!
I don't know WHAT you would call this. But I've always loved this move.....
Going from a minor chord....to the major chord a semitone below. So.... F minor to E major, for example. It's jarring, yet they share the same note for each of their thirds. "Identify" by Natalie Imbruglia(written by Billy Corgan) begins with that.
It just sounds....cool. :} Eerie in a way. But I _never_ see it discussed. I'd love a deep dive on what's going on....
5:42
That's also the intro for Nuvole Bianche
probablly one of the most helpful videos any amateur pianist or musician could find! golden bro
edit: golden bruv* lol cheers
Cheers!
@@DavidBennettPiano and may I add,: Lifelong musicians as well. Good work
even for not so amateur musicians it's good
In "The Shock of the Lightning" by Oasis, the verse goes back and forth between the i-I chords.
Excellent example!
I love that song..... The chords throughout are fascinating. So simple....yet eerie and odd and dreamy and powerful. And yeah, that major/minor vamp is super cool. It's almost confrontational in a way..
Fantastic content
Excellent! Thanks!
Great, David :-) cool examples, many I didn't know :-)
Thanks!
Okay Exit music for a film is an amazing song. It’s really what got me into RH originally.
great examples!!
we could have also substituted the ii dim to Neopolitan 6th chord in the i -ii progression. Gives the tonality a minor to major movement
Three very unique chord progressions:
bVIm - Octavarium by Dream Theater
VIm - Light my fire by The Doors
VII - Shine on You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd
Nice examples!
another awesome lesson. your channel is so good.
Thank you!
Tremendously helpful to me! Big thx :)
A good example of minor to major is ending of Astronomy Domine by Pink Floyd.
2:11 : The Hives - Well All Right!
1:20 wait ok this is very enlightening thank you now I clearly know what crowd I’ve joined 💀
Another Great Video Dave
I definitely learned something new with this. Very interesting topic!
2:21 Breathe by Pink Floyd is particularly delicious.
Maybe 505 isn't a i - ii progression but a iv - v progression and the key would be Am? Makes more sense to me, the loop between Dm and Em generates tension that gets released when you arrive at Am
on guitar I to V is really easy if youre playing a chord on the A string the the same fret on the E string is the V.
A nice follow up to this would be: songs to help recognise different cadences.
The best! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Usually your examples strike a chord (pun acknowleged!) with me, but I must be really old today, as none of the examples in the first 3+ minutes are familiar to me. Love your channel, by the way!
Glad I stuck it out! Thanks again!
Really great stuff bro. Keep up that good work
another one for the bVI chord could be iridescent by linkin park which in the beginning as well as in a couple other places goes between am and f
Awesome stuff!!! 🙏🏼
Another exemple of a song with I-i
is The Shock of the Lightning by Oasis, alternating between B to Bm
Generally;
as though this video gives me more intruiging thorough the chord scale perspectiveness, As though to announced from myself, I've got previously taking with multiple-spectrum failures to guess this aligned notes with comparing from my overratio chord acquisitions into the entries of my multiple dilemma even though I've got properly aligned those 6 modes of melodic music
not basically counted for melodic minor and the Harmonic Minor Scales
as though the i IV I've also apprehended the intro of the hits named "Estranged" by Guns N' Roses
Thanks for doing the minor-key version! Looking forward to videos for the other five modes, esp. Locrian 😜
that comfortably numb thing never sounded to me like a im-i. the major third sounds like an uncanny tension over the minor chord, not like part of a major chord. i dont get the sense of brightness youd get from briefly stepping into major, its rather pretty dark sounding. its very interesting to hear you experience it differently though!
I feel like Comfortably Numb is a weird case where the example is more memorable and noteworthy because it's so tenuous and ambiguous. Because it's a slide guitar gradually changing the third degree from minor to major, the rest of the chord being held separately from that change, it keeps the minor sound. The result is that even the major chord tones sound eerie and kind of fake (assuming the slide even goes to the major third - I'm not entirely sure it even does, at least not for more than a brief moment). And especially given the lyrical themes of the song, that fits perfectly - a hollow version of the major tonic that is pretty transparently a façade for the true minor tonic beneath it.
Agree, sounds like a minor 3rd sliding up to the 5th to me lol
It touches, very briefly, on the B major, but I wouldn't say it's a i - I. More like a slide guitar that happens to suggest that chord for a second.