Chord Progressions
By Molly Leikin
Emmy nominee, Songwriting Consultant
A melody is a series of single notes with rhythm. It’s what you sing in the shower. It’s what you whistle and hum. But it’s not a chord progression.
There are lots of developing songwriters who prefer writing chord progressions first, then digging for the melody later. I tell my private clients if it works, and they’re on the charts, getting cuts and label deals, keep doing it.
But many of you get stuck, from using the same chord progressions over and over and end up with the same melodies. I hear you. And I have a simple solution.
Starting with your chorus, deliberately choose the individual notes of your melody, one note at a time. No chords at all. Keep your left hand behind your back at the keyboard. Then do the same thing with your verse melody – choosing each note deliberately, one note at a time, again, with your left hand behind your back.
Your first try may not find you the final notes you love and want to dance to, so don’t get impatient. Revise those single notes until the little hairs on the back of your neck stick up.
When you have the individual melody line you want to keep for your verse and chorus melodies, THEN add the chords. See, when you play a chord, your melody note has to fit inside it. That’s very limiting. But when you choose the note first, you can put any chord around it. So you have ‘way more choices.
I’ve suggested this chord progression process to all twelve of my Grammy-winners and nineteen Grammy-nominees, plus the 7501 clients I’ve mentored, who, with my help, have placed their work in movies, TV shows, in video games, and commercials. I hope you’re next.
© 2022 Molly Leikin