To answer this question, let’s look at how Flume is able to do this in Say It. In other words, how do you transition between two chord progression in a way that actually makes sense? Lately, I’ve had a lot of producers asking me this question: How do you effectively change progressions in a song? Transitioning from the Verse to the Pre-Chorus (If you want to learn more about chord voicing, check out my Madeon breakdown)ģ. In reality that’s all that’s going on.Īgain, the purpose behind this change is to add subtle interest and variation to keep the listener engaged. This achieves the effect of making the second half of the progression sound new, but familiar.Īll of this is a fancy way of saying Flume duplicated the progression and transposed some of the notes up/down. So although these chords may sound different, they’re in reality the exact same.

The second time through, it’s voiced C# – F# – A#. The only difference is how they are voiced.Īs you can see above, bars 3-4 and 7-8 are playing the same exact chords, but the way the notes are played is different.įor example, the first time through the A#m chord is voiced A# – C# – F#. Let’s listen to these played one after the other.Įven though the chords sound different, they’re actually the same exact chords. Voice LeadingĪfter the verse chord progression plays through once, Flume changes it slightly the second time around. You want to create just the right amount of tension before you resolve it. On the other side, you don’t want to go back to the one chord too soon. He starts with the one, then goes further and further away from it, eventually resolving back to it.īy the time the iv chord hits, the listener wants nothing more then to go home. What’s important to note about the verse progression in Say It is Flume strays away from the one chord for a “relatively” long amount of time. Now, what can you take away from this technique?ĭon’t be afraid to go back to the one chord at the end of a progression. Instead, it resolves within the progression itself. What’s interesting about the progression in Say It is that the resolution happens within the progression itself.īy starting and ending on the one chord, we’re not left waiting for the progression to loop and resolve. This is fairly typical in popular music, where the resolution doesn’t occur until the chord progression plays again. If I looped Progression 2, it would resolve every time it loops since it begins on C, which in this case is the “home” (i.e. Progression 2 leaves you hanging, since you expect it to go somewhere else. Progression 1 sounds better because it resolves. Which one of these two progressions makes you feel more comfortable? To show you how important the one chord is, let’s look at an example.

It’s that one chord that provides resolution, resolution from the tension created by other chords in the song. How you choose to get there is what defines the emotional quality of your song. You can think of chord progressions as an elaborate way to get back to the one chord. It sets both the melodic and emotional foundation of a track. Remember, the one chord is your home base. Verse Progression: i – v – VI – III – iv – i This progression starts and ends on the one chord.

All of the chords are diatonic to the key of D# minor, and they are all triads (three note chords). This progression is relatively straightforward. Let’s begin by breaking down what makes this chord progression work. Transitioning from the Pre-Chorus to the Chorus.Transitioning from the Verse to the Pre-Chorus.

Say it flume