Topic: One chord pattern to rule them all (for better or for worse)

Does'nt this chord pattern get overused again and again

I     V    VI    IV

its in almost every pop song u hear on the radio

i prefer this altenative

I    V     VII     IV

[url=http://www.myspace.com/rdxfunk]www.myspace.com/rdxfunk[/url]

Re: One chord pattern to rule them all (for better or for worse)

Well, it's certainly popular, and has been going back the baroque period.  But there are reasons for that.  It's relatively easy to play, it resolves well, and provides a simple framework for improvisation.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with mixing it up as you do.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

Re: One chord pattern to rule them all (for better or for worse)

Just because a pattern is used alot doesn't mean you should avoid it. This is the mistake jazz made when it went all be-bop. The more obscure the scale the more unusual the time signature the better for the free-blowers... Errm except for their listeners...

Popular progressions have a natural feel. Like the 12 bar blues, once you learn it you can instinctively feel the changes coming up.

Music has fashions and sometimes the audience does tire of the classics. So in the early 80s we get alot of songs in odd keys with awkward, spikey beats. These are interesting but often hard/unsatisfying to play. By the end of the 80s the audience hard returned to good ole rock.

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'

Re: One chord pattern to rule them all (for better or for worse)

cytania wrote:

Just because a pattern is used alot doesn't mean you should avoid it. This is the mistake jazz made when it went all be-bop. The more obscure the scale the more unusual the time signature the better for the free-blowers... Errm except for their listeners...

Popular progressions have a natural feel. Like the 12 bar blues, once you learn it you can instinctively feel the changes coming up.

Jazz is a thousand chords for three people.  Blues is three chords for a thousand people.  big_smile

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

5 (edited by NELA 2008-08-20 22:27:18)

Re: One chord pattern to rule them all (for better or for worse)

Altex wrote:

Does'nt this chord pattern get overused again and again

I     V    VI    IV

its in almost every pop song u hear on the radio

i prefer this altenative

I    V     VII     IV

Is the 1st pattern you mention a 1..5..6..4 pattern such as G..D..Em..C..G?
If so try it as 1..6..4..5..1.  G..Em..C..D..G


Is the alternative pattern a 1..5..7..4 pattern such as G..D..F#dim..C..G? Or should it have been - 1..5..57..4.  G..D..D7..C?
If so try it as 1..4..5..57..1.  G..C..D..D7..G.


Or have I had way too much to drink, today? The way I was taught was that any 7th chord will always lead you back to the 1 chord (key).


Nela

Re: One chord pattern to rule them all (for better or for worse)

Never and always are 2 words one should really try to avoid when dealing with ART.

Give everything but up.

Re: One chord pattern to rule them all (for better or for worse)

SouthPaw41L wrote:

Never and always are 2 words one should really try to avoid when dealing with ART.

It's fair to say that you can always resolve to the I from the VII when dealing with major keys.   That's fundamental modal theory.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]