Harmonic Progressions

17 Comments to “Harmonic Progressions”

1. 

   Kelvin OngOctober 2, 2010 at 5:51 pm

   Hi, thanks for your website. These resources are excellent. I notice that your Second Inversion Harmonic Progressions links to all the scales are not working. Hope to see it up soon. Again thanks.
2. 

   BobOctober 3, 2010 at 12:44 pm

   Hi Kelvin,

   Thanks for the comment. I still haven’t had a chance to get those pdfs made for those progressions. I should have them up in the next couple of weeks.
3. 

   Kelvin OngOctober 3, 2010 at 8:22 pm

   hi Bob, thanks for your reply. One question on your chart with the circle of fifths with seventh chord (in the ). It seems that they are not actually using 7th chords. I was just looking at the C major scale and the 1(7th) chord does not have the B but merely repeats the C at the octave. Am I mistaken? Should a 1(7th) chord be C, E, G and B instead of C,E,G and C? Thanks.
   k
4. 

   BobOctober 3, 2010 at 9:38 pm

   Kelvin,

   You actually caught a mistake on the roman numerals! Thanks, I’ll have to fix that. The first and last chords of the progression are not 7th chords. Somehow I inadvertently typed “I7″ on the first chord of all the major keys. (Notice that I didn’t do that for the minor keys.)

   In the classical tradition, for the sake of stability, the first and last chords of a circle-of-fifths progression are usually triads, not 7th chords. All of the other chords (other than the first and last) are 7th chords. If you study the progressions carefully, you’ll notice that every other chord is what we call an “incomplete 7th” because the fifth is missing (it makes the voice leading smoother). I put the circle-of-fifths 7th chord progression online without much explanation because it is much more common (and more interesting) than the circle-of-fifths with triads. When I start posting more on 7th chords I’ll go back to it and explain it more thoroughly. If you haven’t already done so, read this article about sequences; it explains the progression to a certain extent:

   Harmonic Sequences Part 2

   In the jazz tradition all chords usually are 7ths, in which case the progression will start and end with 7th chords. Sometime in the future I’ll be putting some jazz progressions on the website. But for now, I’m gearing the site for people who are new to music theory.

   Thanks again for your interest and input. Keep those comments coming!
5. 

   Kelvin OngOctober 15, 2010 at 7:10 pm

   Dear Bob, thanks so much for taking the time to clarify the finer points of the progressions for the dominant 7th chords. The charts are very helpful for beginners like me struggling to work through progressions. One additional suggestion from my learning experience. As I am working with my piano teacher, I find that in most instances I am asked to realise the progressions in open chord format in SATB format. Additional charts with the progressions realized with SATB format thus would also be helpful, as it also takes us through the rules of voice-leading, doubling, range of the voices etc.

   And oh, apologies for the delayed response. And again, thanks so much.
   Kelvin
6. 

   BobOctober 17, 2010 at 3:25 pm

   Kelvin,
   Thanks for the input. While I might someday post the progressions in vocal scoring, I decided on keyboard scoring to make it easier for those who aren’t as fluent at the keyboard. Also it tends to be easier to see the chord structure when the upper voices are in close spacing. If you want to practice the progressions in vocal scoring, read the alto line down an octave and play it with the left hand along with the bass. When you do this, the alto becomes the tenor, and the tenor becomes the alto.

   The written out progressions are a reference and learning tool. The goal is to be able to play the progressions without the music. Once you understand the patterns and principles, they can be applied more readily in composing and improvising.
7. 

   Kelvin OngOctober 23, 2010 at 5:54 pm

   Thanks Bob, that’s a helpful tip indeed. Kelvin
8. 

   elvina jonesApril 5, 2011 at 6:35 am

   Hi Bob,

   Thanks for your website and sharing your knowledge -

   What about progressions that are ii – V7 – then a different chord than I or vi – eg dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7

   or Abm7 – Db7 – Ebmaj7 -

   They are in a jazz chart -

   Does it have to do with related dominated sevenths, i.e. sevenths that share the same diminished chord?

   Or is it internal resolutions?

   Thanks!
9. 

   elvina jonesApril 5, 2011 at 6:41 am

   Sorry – I don’t have the chart – I didn’t mean the first example which is just ii – V7 – I -

   I think it was Fm – Bb7 – Cmaj7 -

   this example is clearer to me because Bb to C is chromatic and I know about tritones –

   but the other example resolves a whole step below the 7th chord -

   Thanks for any enlightenment you can offer -
10. 

    BobApril 5, 2011 at 8:53 pm

    Hi Elvina,

    Thanks for the question. There are many possible resolutions of a V7 chord other than I or vi. For now, I’ve only been covering the most common (and most basic). When you get to jazz, there are all kinds of possible substitutions. In the early 20th century, composers such as Debussy and Ravel were fond of moving seventh chords in parallel motion, (sometimes referred to as “planing.” e.g., C7-D7-E7.) Planing tends to mitigate the tendency of the dominant seventh to resolve to its tonic. Jazz composers picked up on this idea, so you’ll see it in a lot of jazz charts. Hope this helps!
11. 

    elvina jonesMay 6, 2011 at 6:38 pm

    Thank you very much – you’re very generous to share your knowledge -
12. 

    BobMay 6, 2011 at 7:52 pm

    You are very welcome. I’m glad you find the lessons helpful.
13. 

    Paul RobertsMay 17, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    Thanks very much for putting this site together, Bob. It’s very helpful indeed.
14. 

    Mike CortinaNovember 7, 2011 at 7:12 am

    This site is absolutely wonderful ! Thank YOU SoOo much.
    Oh man, I`m going to love this !
    Bless you !
15. 

    Chris BellacoseNovember 7, 2011 at 11:47 am

    Your website is a fantastic resource. Thanks.

    Chris
16. 

    KamilNovember 22, 2011 at 7:48 am

    Hi!
    Your website is great. I’ve found it very useful. Thank you!
    Kamil
17. 

    JeffJanuary 2, 2012 at 9:30 am

    I’m a music novice. I’ve been learning bits and pieces here and there. It’s kind of like panning for gold; Every once in a while you find a small nugget. This site is like hitting the mother load. I’ve learned more in the last week reading and following your examples than I have in the last couple years. A real musical break through for me. Excellent, simply excellent. “Bite sized goodies” that culminate into realizing that I’ve learned some vey powerful and useful musical concepts. I join the others in saying thanks so much for the time and effort putting this site together.