Altered chords are chords that have been changed by having the pitch of one or more notes in the chord sharpened or flattened by a semitone. Altering a chord in this way can have a big effect on its ...

A lot of the elements that make pop music successful relate to it being catchy and familiar. As a songwriter, there are many ways to engender this feeling in listeners, to do with song structure, ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Popular music can be categorised into a multitude of genres, but probably the broadest are ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Believe it or not, this isn’t breaking copyright law: anyone can lift a chord sequence from a song and use it to kick-start a new ...

When composing a song, not only the melody but also the chord progressions that support that melody are extremely important. However, there are countless chord progression patterns, and searching and ...

To celebrate the 30th anniversary issue of American Songwriter (Jan/Feb 2015), “Measure for Measure” served up a smorgasbord of 30 handpicked, solid gold chord progressions. This e-book supplements ...

From swapping chord notes for fresh sounds to using digital songbooks and chord finder apps, today’s guitarists have more tools than ever to refine their playing. Modern software lets you identify, ...

Almost every song in the pop charts is built around the same four chords. And it's nothing new – they're the same three chords that Pachelbel used in his famous Canon. But why do we keep coming back ...

From the circle of fifths to creative chord substitutions, mastering chord progressions can transform your playing from basic to breathtaking. Understanding how chords connect, resolve, and transition ...