Learning chord progressions?

[mjnyc]

Relatively new to bass. Lots of good suggestions about how to learn chord progressions here (and elsewhere). Very difficult for me. Came up with a possible approach, wondering if anyone else does this.

I find I'm not bad at figuring out a simple tune and then memorizing it.

I can hear/know a tune and then pick it out on bass (or guitar or piano), at first with errors, then correctly after a few times, and can then memorize it after some practice. But I want to be able to do this with chord progressions as well, and find it very difficult. Most recommendations seem to suggest learning chord progressions, if possible by ear, and by number system, then beginning to recognize some common progressions. It seems like a difficult task for me. I hear melodies in my head, but not chord progressions (yet).

So I tried something based on the melody approach:

1. I find the chord progression for a song (usually from a chart).
2. I play the just the roots for each chord, so it's a chord progression by roots only.
3. Then I play those same notes, but fast (say 4 or more times as fast) so it becomes a melody.
4. Then I learn that melody, first at that fast speed, then play it slow. At the slow speed I can play the roots along with the original song. Granted, this doesn't give chord qualities, but it's a start for me.

I think I can start recognizing chord progressions better that way. Also, it makes it easier to transpose to a different key, since the chord "melody" stays the same in all keys.

Is it just me, or do many folks find learning chord progressions infinitely harder than learning melodies?

Michael

 

[mambo4]

Your approach is basically how I started to learn them, but I identify chord progressions much more easily than melodies now. but it does depend on the complexity of the progression / melody.

The fact is that for most styles there is actually a very narrow range of common chord progressions. Once you lean what I IV V sounds like ( in various orders) you know like 50% of all popular songs from the last 2 centuries.
Grab guitar or piano and play C F G in various combinations. sing "old timey" songs you might know over them.

 

[Malcolm35]

This may help. I came over from rhythm guitar where all we did was play the active chord in the progression to the beat the drummer set. Most of them were three chord wonders.

I started using fake chord sheet music which Google can find for you on most any song just by asking Google these search words -- chords, name of the song. Go ahead ask for some fake chord sheet music on one of your favorite easy songs.

OK you now have the lyrics with the chord's name that is active over those lyric words. Nine times out of ten, in dirt simple songs, a four line verse will start with the I chord and move to the IV sticking pretty close to the 12bar blues progression. That formet has written a zillion songs. So you will remember it look up the chord progression for a 12 bar blues progression.

The I-IV-V progression should get you started. From the fake chord sheet music you called up look at the whole verse to see how it all fits together.

 

[dreamadream99]

I believe you have to already have a well developed ear for melody before you can begin hearing progressions accurately. By well-developed ear, I mean you must be able to recognize all intervals both ascending and descending. Then you learn to identify chord quality (major, minor, augmented, diminished, and suspended). Next is extensions (seven, nine, 11, 13), and after that alterations. Now you’re ready for progressions.

As you listen to progressions you have to focus on the bass note in order to identify when and how the chord changes. For many musicians this is difficult to zero in on—but we are lucky. We already know how to zero in on the bass line.

I would also add, that I feel it is mandatory to know enough about theory to be able to organize the melodies you hear into a key, and organize the chords you hear into a progression.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

It might be helpful to know what kind of music you're talking about when you say "chord progressions"....

 

[mjnyc]

I was remiss in not discussing the style of music I was thinking of.

I've been trying to play both popular (rock/blues/soul) songs and some jazz standards. To varying degrees.

Memorizing the chord progressions to popular songs hasn't been a huge problem for me, especially blues. More recently I was working on Autumn Leaves and a few others, and my issue with learning chord progressions was really with these more complicated songs.

I'm not sure how vital it is for me to be able to play jazz standards without having a chord chart in front of me (not sure if/when I'll get beyond playing at home to recordings and backing tracks), but I would like to be able to do it. That was where my question was directed.

I read some great posts of yours, Ed, about learning and improvising to jazz standards. I will try to find those again.

As a beginner, I have frequent ah-ha moments that send me galloping in different directions...

Thanks!

Michael

 

[Ed Fuqua]

I've been trying to play both popular (rock/blues/soul) songs and some jazz standards. To varying degrees.

Well, as I'm sure you've discovered, it's two different worlds. Most show tunes, songs from the Great American Songbook, and jazz standards (and just to be clear, STANDARDS played by jazz musicians are mostly from the first two categories, JAZZ STANDARDS are compositions by jazz musicians that have become part of most jazz musicians' repertoire) written before 1959 are firmly in FUNCTIONAL HARMONY world; they set up patterns of resolution, imply secondary keys without actually transposing completely to the implied key and are open to using chord substitutions or out and out reharmonization to accompany the melody, which often is almost strictly diatonic to the key. Rock, blues, and soul CAN use functional harmony, but often they don't and are based on the depth and breadth of the harmonic vocabulary of the composer. So, particularly for some rock composers, if their harmonic vocabulary is limited (i.e. they only know how to play a select group of chords) they become pretty ingenious at how to utilize then to write a bunch of different music. And the chords may not follow the functional "patterns" of tension and resolution.

So I would suggest, rather than trying to memorize these as some sort of melody, rather start working on some ear training to be able to HEAR the function of these chords in relation to each other, hear the patterns of resolution, so that you aren't looking a discrete and separate entities, like separate "stars", but "constellations". In AUTUMN LEAVES, it's not a C minor 7, end of story. Then a F7, end of story. Then a Bbmaj 7, end of story. Hearing the ii chord setting up the dominant to resolve to the tonality center. I do suggest revisiting the REALLY Learning A Tune thread, those exercises really helped me get to a point that is past memorization.

 

[mjnyc]

Makes sense, will reread that thread.

There’s a big difficulty gap for me between being able to recognize and play a melody and recognizing chord progressions, but I’ll work on it.

Many thanks

Michael