Real World Music Theory

Unusual Chord Progressions You Need to Know

Discover five unusual chord progressions that can elevate your music to new heights. Explore how these unique sequences from classical, rock, metal, reggae, and minimalism genres create different moods and emotions. Unleash your creativity by incorporating these progressions into your compositions.

Relative minor blues pentatonic over major (soloing trick #37)

Discover a versatile soloing trick to instantly elevate your playing. Learn how using the relative minor blues pentatonic scale over major chord progressions can make your solos sound more professional by avoiding scale running. Transform your improvisation and focus on creativity.

Ballad intro I-VI-ii-V – great for songs in major

As a musician and songwriter, expanding your repertoire of intros and outros is essential. Discover a beautiful ballad intro using the I-VI-ii-V chord progression, perfect for songs in a major key. Learn how to use arpeggios and altered chords to create a captivating start to your music.

A great intro for ballad songs

Every musician and songwriter needs a bunch of intros and outros for songs. Whether you tag them onto your own compositions or use them when covering other musician’s songs, well crafted intros and outros make a performance much more sophisticated.

The magic of the major 7 in ABBA's Dancing Queen

The 7th scale degree in a major key is magic! We often use it to make the tonic chord sound very lush and sophisticated. But the 7th also a wonderful melodic choice that can make a song iconic. A good example of this is ABBA's classic hit song "Dancing Queen".

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