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The "Alternating 7ths & m7th Chords"
Chord Progression
Back
a few lessons we learned about the circle of keys -- also
called the circle of 4ths, or the circle of 5ths.
 Let's
take a review of that:
If you've ever heard of the "circle of 4ths" or the "circle
of 5ths," they are the same thing as the "circle of keys."
It just depends on whether you're moving clockwise or counter-clockwise
around the circle.
All
the major keys that you can play in -- 12 of 'em -- are
listed in this circle. Take a look for yourself:
Major Keys:
C F Bb
Eb Ab Db Gb B E A D G
So "C" is at the top of your circle, and Gb
(same as F#)
is at the bottom of your circle.
Now
memorize that circle. You'll soon notice that each letter
is a 4th above the previous letter -- hence, the "circle
of 4ths." Or, if you go the other way, you'll soon notice
that each letter is a 5th above the previous letter -- hence,
the "circle of 5ths."
This
is the way chords "want" to move -- up a 4th. Or up a 5th.
You will find those to be the most common chord progression
of all -- up a 4th from the previous chord, or up a 5th
from the previous chord.
For example, if the chord you are playing is C, the most
likely chord to occur next is either F or G. You will notice
that F comes directly to the right of C on the circle, and
G directly to the left. (And you do remember, don't you,
that C, F, and G are the "family chords" of the Key of C?
-- the primary chords -- therefore, the most likely chords
to occur? -- Now you know why!)
So
that means that at any point on the circle you can immediately
know the most likely chords -- the chord to the left, and
the chord to the right! Here's a quiz:
What are the 3 most likely chords in the key of Db?
Right!
Db
(of course), plus the chords on either side of it -- Ab
and Gb.
So what we come out with is this -- the most likely chords
in each key:
Do
you see what an enormous advantage this gives you? You
have a highly educated
guess what chords are going to occur in the song you are playing
based on the key that the song is written in. Not only
that, you now know that chords like to either move up a 4th
or a 5th (or down a 4th or 5th -- same thing).
And so as we begin learning chord progressions, this is
the first step -- memorize the circle above until you can
say it forward and backward and upside down and in your
sleep! If I were you, I would print it out and stick
it up on your piano or bathroom mirror or wherever you would
see it often -- it's that important.
But
there are also 12 minor keys in which songs can be written,
so there must also be a circle of minor keys. It's
not as well known as the circle of major keys, but it works
the same way. Here it is:
It works the same way as the major
circle of keys, with one exception:
When figuring the 3 most likely chords in any key, you still
look left and look right, but because of the fact that most
songs written in the western hemisphere use the harmonic
minor scale instead of the natural minor scale (which is
much too involved to get into here -- if you want to know
about that in detail you'll need to get a course on scales),
the chord to the left is usually a MAJOR chord instead
of a minor chord.
So
in the key of Am, the 3 most likely chords would be Am,
Dm, and E major -- not E minor! There are some exceptions
to that, but not many.
So what we come out with
is this -- the most likely chords in each minor key:
So
-- to repeat what I said:
Do
you see what an enormous advantage this gives you? You have
a highly educated guess what chords are going to
occur in the song you are playing based on the key that
the song is written in. Not only that, you now know that
chords like to either move up a 4th or a 5th (or down a
4th or 5th -- same thing).
Now what we are going
to do is combine the two circles and add 7ths to
each chord:
You'll notice that between each of
the 12 chords there is a 7th chord which connects one chord
to the next chord as you move around the circle counter-clockwise.
There is also a minor 7th chord which could be played as an
alternative to the major chord.
Now
-- here's the deal:
Thousands and thousands and
thousands of songs have a section of this circle embedded
in them! Not all the circle -- just part of the circle.
For example, in the song
"All The Things You Are," the right-hand part of the circle
is being used from F to Db. Go to your piano and play these
chords:
Fm7
Bbm7
Eb7
Ab
Db
You will recognize those chords
as the chord progression used in that particular song. The
progression simply followed the circle around 5/12th of
the way! If you knew about the circle of keys, that
would be completely logical to you, and you would pick it
up in a flash. If you didn't know the circle, you might
think they were just random chords!
Can you begin to see and
understand why knowing chords and chord progressions is
so critically important?
Then in the very next phrase
of the same song the progression goes like this:
Cm7
Fm7 Bb7
E b
Ab
Hmmm. Does that ring a bell?
Sure. Another progression moving 5/12th
of the way around the circle.
That's
how songs are made -- combining one progression with another.
Usually, though, songs only have 3 or 4 sets of progressions,
and those progressions usually repeat within the song. So
if you grasp the progression the first time it happens,
you are looking for it to occur again, and you won't be
surprised when it happens.
Do
you know the old song "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm
Gone"? It uses this same progression. Here's the theme:
Ab
C7 F7 Bb7
Eb7 Ab
After starting on Ab, the composer
jumps across the circle to C7, then predictably follows the
circle 5/12ths of the way around the circle.
If you're wondering if this only happens in popular music,
get a copy of "Liebestraum" by Lizst, and you'll find exactly
the same chord progression! In fact, you could play
that section of Liebestraum at the same time you're playing
"Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone," and the
chords would match perfectly. (I'm not suggesting
you do this except at home -- taste is a different matter!)
We have a great
course available that goes into all this in great depth
-- we've just scratched the surface here -- so if you're
interested, be sure and take a look at "Chord
Progressions & The Runs & Riffs That Flow Out Of
Them !"
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