Amin - Gmaj - Dmin - Emaj?

[Thared33]

Without typing 5,000 words, how does this progression work?

If you're in Amin, then play a Gmaj, then a Dmin, the E should also be a minor, right? Well, there's a song I'm listening to that goes to E Major and you think it'd be a minor since A Minor is the key.


I swear, I'm never going to learn this stuff...

[Thared33]

Is it because it starts out with A minor and then goes to A HARMONIC minor? I think you can switch it up and go from natural to harmonic minor when done right, correct?

[MelodyMan]

Originally Posted by Thared33

Without typing 5,000 words, how does this progression work?

If you're in Amin, then play a Gmaj, then a Dmin, the E should also be a minor, right? Well, there's a song I'm listening to that goes to E Major and you think it'd be a minor since A Minor is the key.


I swear, I'm never going to learn this stuff...

Don't get down on yourself...you've got it right...if this song was only in NATURAL MINOR.

If it was in natural minor the whole time, yes the E would be an Em, but what is happening (and it happens a lot with minor keys) is that it switches to A HARMONIC MINOR, which is the same as natural minor scale except with a raised 7th, which makes the V chord or Em into E major.

So:

Natural Minor: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8 or in the key of Am: A B C D E F G A
Harmonic Minor: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 8 or in A Harm Minor: A B C D E F G# A

Get it? If you have any questions, please ask.

[Thared33]

I figured it out right before you posted =)

I played the triads/arpeggios of it, kind of played a scale through it and realized that it went from a whole step (natural) to a raised 7th/half step back to A, so I figured that's what it was -- I'm proud of myself for figuring this out!


I've got scales and stuff covered, so now it's time to start working on chord progressions. Chord progressions, making music 'flow' and connecting everything together is definitely my weak spot, so I'll have to learn how all of it works.


I can definitely write little pieces and put some simple bass notes under it, but chord progressions/patterns and changing keys is where I'm absolutely terrible.

[Thared33]

Oh yeah.. I do have a question.


When you have the numbers for chord progressions (I-IV-V for example), is the 1 always relevant to the major scale, or say, if you're in Amin (like above), the 1 would be a Aminor (not a VI/6)? Or can it even work both ways?

[MelodyMan]

Awesome - glad you figured it out!

Yeah, just keep at it - there's a lot of theory out there, but bit by bit you can start to understand how it all works together.

If you haven't already, you should check out Dave Weiner's "Riff of the Week" series on youtube. He's got quite a few vids on chords, progressions, soloing over changes etc.

[MelodyMan]

Originally Posted by Thared33

Oh yeah.. I do have a question.


When you have the numbers for chord progressions (I-IV-V for example), is the 1 always relevant to the major scale, or say, if you're in Amin (like above), the 1 would be a Aminor (not a VI/6)? Or can it even work both ways?

I think people may look at this different ways, but I always look at the one as being the tonic, or root note, of that key.

So in a major key the chords are: I ii iii IV V vi vii(diminished) I
In a natural minor key: i ii(dim) III iv v VI VII i

[Thared33]

Thanks for the info! I'll check out those vids on youtube soon as well.


I really need to start studying this and experimenting with different chord progressions; I want to do my best to try and not be limited to where everything sounds the same.


The above progression that I typed would be...

i-VII-VI-V(major V because of raised 7th) for minor, and... if you were to say it in the relevant major key, it'd be something like vi-V-IV-III(major V because of raised 7th), correct?

[MelodyMan]

Close. In the relevant major key you would say vi-V-ii-III.

The Dm would be the ii chord in C Major.

[Wild_Child]

Just out of interest, what song is this from?

I'm slightly intreiged by the harmonic possibilities of a melody over this progression. I was just wondering if the raised 7th was introduced over the Dmin in the melody, and how that would sound coming straight from a Gmaj.

[nikster]

for the a and G play A dorian, that will imply G Major overall, then go into A harmonic minor or E major for the d and E chords. so find common tones from each chord. sorry if you know this and i'm insulting your intelligence

learning theory is sometimes a pain in the butt, but well worth it!

a minor = a c e
g = g b d
d minor = d f a
e =e g# b

[Thared33]

I'm an experienced player, but definitely not an experienced theory guy. Since I've started this thread, I guess I'll go ahead and ask a few more questions that may have nothing to do with anything, but it's about time I learn this stuff =)


Is an augmented chord even useful? Maybe for something like atonal or really dissonant music (death metal), but I found out that an augmented chord exists by playing the triads of the harmonic minor; it would be the 3rd note (if in the key of Amin, it would be C augmented). When I play this, it creates tension and sounds nice if you revert back to the natural minor (it would be C Major then) -- like something out of a movie.


Where is it appropriate to start a diminished arpeggio? In a minor key, you can just go up a whole step and play a diminished arpeggio there (since the minor is the 6th of the major and the diminished is the 7th), but from the way it's working out (I have my guitar in my hands right now), the harmonic minor would have two diminished triads, right? They would be G# and B (in the key of A), right?


My assumption is that chord progressions with different scales will always be different -- a 1-4-5 progression might not work if say, you're in the hungarian minor scale...


Playing a simple I-IV-V is good for getting things started, but where do you go from there? Of course I wouldn't want to be stuck playing a I-IV-V the entire song, so I'd either have to add another progression in the key that I'm in (something other than I-IV-V) to have another part of a song (like I-IV-V being the intro and then adding another one for a chorus), or change the key. I'm not experienced with doing either =/

[nikster]

if your using augmented chords and they sound good for you, use them!! i use them as arpeggios/ tapped arpeggios but NEVER strummed with overdrive or distortion lol

i made learning theory a priority and have VERY good teachers

[kelmaur]

Thared33.......................there are only 4 diminished chords in any given key..and all you have to do is memorize one of them becaus eall 4 (minor third apart) have the same notes...in other words one main dim chord and three inversions

[Davey]

When I saw the thread title I thought it was going to be about the local Indian's kitchen staff