The_Complete_Idiot%27s_Guide_To_Music_Theory

130
Part 3: Tunes
Note
These examples use slash
notation, where each
slash (/) equals one beat.
Measures are separated
by spaces.
continued
Key Signature Chords
B ***INSERT FIGURE 10FIG14
C♭ ***INSERT FIGURE 10FIG15
Creating a Progression
Let’s see how you can use these Roman numerals to create a chord progression.
For the time being we won’t pay attention to the underlying harmonic theory;
we’ll just concentrate on the mechanics of creating a progression.
I mentioned earlier the popularity of the G, C, and D chords. In the key of G
Major, these chords happen to fall on the first (G), fourth (C), and fifth (d)
notes of the scale. This makes these the I, IV, and V chords—or, more technically,
the tonic, subdominant, and dominant.
If you’ve ever played any folk songs, you know that one of the more common
chord progressions goes like this:
G / / / C / / / G / / / D / / /
(Naturally, the progression repeats—or ends with a final G chord.)
Because you know that the G = I, C = IV, and D = V, it’s easy to figure out the
Roman numeral notation. It looks like this:
I IV I V
There—you’ve just written your first chord progression!
The benefit of using this type of notation is you can apply the chord progression
to other keys. Let’s say you want to play this I-IV-I-V progression in the
key of C. Referring back to the Scale-Based Chords table earlier in this chapter,
you can translate the progression to these specific chords:
C / / / F / / / C / / / G / / /
This definitely makes things simpler.
It’s All About Getting Home
The goal of most major chord progressions is to get back to the home chord—
the tonic chord, or I. All the other chords in the progression exist as part of a
roadmap to deliver you back to the I chord. The route can be simple (just a
chord or two) or complex (lots and lots of different chords), but ultimately you
want to end up back on I.