Ok, here are my keeping-it-simple progressions:
Key of C
Verse: iii-IV-IV-iii (Em-F-F-Em)
iii-IV-IV-V (Em-F-F-G)
Chorus: vi-ii-vi-ii (Am-Dm-Am-Dm)
I-iii-V-I (C-Em-G-C)
The key of G bit I understand but not understanding the bit from âbut your not emphasising âŚâ. What do you mean by give tension, etc.
Thought Justin had said if it sounds good it is, and it sounded OK to me!
Hi Richard,
thanks for checking out all the progressions including mine and providing some valuable feedback. 
After reading you comment, I sat down and played the progression over and over and tend to agree to your observation. The chorus feels a little more like Am, but just like a tad bit. As you said, being relatives distinction is difficult and might be a matter of mood and vibe of the whole piece or even the listener. Whenever Iâm about to develop it further, I will keep your hint in mind and see, if it might change directions. Thanks again, much appreciated.
That last bit is a truism and I hope you have not taken my comments as criticism.
I was merely commenting that your G chord does not start or end the progression in either verse or chorus and that the dominant D chord follows it rather than precedes it. Dominant to tonic releases tension and embeds the tonic as home base. The other way round creates tension.
Should it?
Again, should it?
I understand the words but not in in the sequence you have them. Now I understand what a dominant chord is as we did them in Grade 2, module 13, but not sure how it works here as I donât have any 7th chords in my progression. No idea what a tonic is!
You may well be right. May be Iâm as thick as a brick but I donât get what you are saying.
There no rules that determine it should.
So, no is the answer.
Again, should it?
Again, no. There is no âshouldâ.
I understand what a dominant chord is ⌠but not sure how it works here as I donât have any 7th chords in my progression.
Dominant refers to the V chord whether it be a simple major or a 7 or a 9 etc.
It is the chord whose root note is the 5th scale degree of the key.
Key of G âŚ
G major scale:
G, A, B, C, D, E, F#
Chords in the key:
G (tonic), Am, Bm, C, D (dominant), Em, F#dim
No idea what a tonic is!
See above.
I donât get what you are saying.
You like the sound if your progressions. Therefore they are good. I was merely trying to help you understand some simple analysis based on the learing in the theory course.
If you are unsure what a tonic is or what a dominant is and how it functions it may be worth revisiting the modules.
And thank you for that. Still doesnât mean that I understand it though. I suppose itâs going to be a lot easier if youâve been doing it 30 years and not one!
Could you remind me which lesson in PMT modules 1-3 that dominants & tonics are discussed. Iâve had another quick look and couldnât see anything.
Ah. Ok. If youâre only up to module 3 you have not arrived there yet. It is up ahead in module 5.
That will be it then. At this rate module 5 is about 2 years away!
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@Richard_close2u sometime I you forget that most people on this forum are beginners and 90% of what you say goes over their head. You chastised me for explaining something using the mixolydian mode in one sentance, then went on to write over 6 paragraghs with picture and arrows (to quote Arlo Guthrie) and thought that was a simple explaination. I know youâre a good teacher but I think youâve lost touch with most of Justin students.
I slept on it all night after reading this and thatâs a good thing, so now I just want to say that it still hurts me a little when I read this, and that in my opinion the majority of students completely disagree with this.
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Wow, tough call. I cherish Richardâs input.
All good in your use of Roman numerals and playing only chords in the key. There is a rider to that. Youâre saying the key of C which is fine for the chorus. Note that you have no C chord in your verse progression anywhere. Does it sound to you, when you play it through multiple times, as though it is floating a little and not coming back down to earth? Without going into uncharted territory you maybe have inadvertently composed a modal progression not in C major but in E Phrygian. They are related. And no more need be said right now as modes and modal progressions are some way over the horizon of the theory course. Plus, going forward, using the C major scale for any additional work with your progression will work out.
Well, I did the same as Rogier (sleep on it ), but Iâm still like, âWow, thatâs harsh.â. I have not (yet) subscribed to the music theory course, Iâm stille in grade 1 of the guitar course and Iâm not a native English speaker. The only thing I can rely on, is the remnants of the music theory I learned in school, some 35+ years ago. Still, even though there are a lot of points in this thread that I miss because of a lack of background knowledge, Iâm finding it useful, because 1) I have picked up several bits of knowledge thanks to Richard and others explaining things to the les experienced and 2)it allows me to learn the English music vocabulary, which Iâve only ever known about in Dutch.
And yes, Richardâs explanation can sometimes be over the head of the student he is explaining something to. But can we really expect him to know, for each and every one here, at which stade in his/her learning proces he/she is? Doesnât seem reasonable to me, to be honest.
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Stuart. I wanted to check so have re-watched the Live Class video recording. Justin does demonstrate and describe dominant to tonic as tension and release. If you go to a few seconds after the 44 minute mark Justin plays E7 (dominant) to A (tonic) (5 to 1).
The effect is even greater when dominant is played as dominant 7. Using Roman numerals
V â I is dominant to tonic ⌠a resolution, a homecoming
V7 â I is dominant 7 to tonic ⌠a really strong resolution, a super satisfying homecoming.
No matter if played with or without the â7â ⌠the 5 chord is always called the dominant.
I can see that although due to my ears not really hearing it. He also plays them different to what I know for an E7 or A.
I now even more confused as my key chart doesnât have any 7 chords listed! Why is it OK to suddenly start using 7th chords?
So, as my progression was in G, are you saying I can use the D7 chord (V) instead of just D?
Still donât understand the resolution bit. I even Googled the meaning of resolve to see if I had missed anything here but that didnât really help. What are we resolving?
Play a D7 or an A7 or a G7 on its own and stay there for several bars.
Compare and contrast.
Now play D7 for several bars before going to G and play A7 going to D and play G7 going to C in similar fashion. Listen carefully. Hopefully you can hear a finality in the sound. That is resolution. The sound of instability in the 7 chord is smoothed out and brings a happy feeling when the tonic arrives.
Musicians have made use of this quality in chord movement for centuries.
Some chords are just inherently stable in sound. You can stay there for a long, long time. Others are less stable and sound like they want to move to another chord, to close the chapter as it were. Hanging around or ending on those chords somehow doesnât quite sit right in our ears. Dominant 7 chords are in the unstable camp.
This is what he plays - two four string chords.
The E7 is the same shape as a regular D7 moved up two frets. The A is the same as a regular G on the thinnest four strings only, moved up two frets (the barre replaces the three open stringss of a G chord.
Any chord can be extended to a 7th if you want to, if you like the sound of it. Each chord in a key takes a certain type of 7th extension.
I â major 7
ii â minor 7
iii â minor 7
IV â major 7
V â 7 (dominant 7)
vi â minor 7
vii (ignore for now)
You can yes. Remember though that your tonic chord of G does not follow it so you wonât necessarily hear the full benefit of the stronger resolution. It only works fully as described when going 5 to 1.
Took me a while to sit down and do the homework (flashback to college days 
)
Here is my simple chord progression in C:
8 bars, 1 bar each chord for verse I iii iv V
C E F G, where F and G are bar chords
8 bars, 1 bar each chord except 8th bar has 3 beats G 1 beat C for chorus
G G F G and G G F G C
the strum is 1, 2, 3 + 4 throughout. The last bar for the chorus the change to C starts on the +.
Well I hear the difference but wouldnât associate this with resolution!
OK. Thanks. Are these options going to be added to the chord library?
Need to go back and revisit!
Thanks for your feedback, Richard. I did indeed notice the verse like it didnât touch ground (almost like a bird riding air currents) and was wondering what your response would be. I stuck with it because thatâs how I was feeling that day - lots of thoughts rolling around my head, not finding a resting place. Enter the chorus: my realization that sometimes things will feel like that; I can change my focus, redirect energy to something that can resolve. Is that an appropriate approach - to creating music, I mean? 
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