SONGWRITING
A VALUABLE CHORD TRICK MAJOR HIT SONGWRITERS USE | Dave Kelly
The vast majority of songwriters begin their Almost 50% of all the hit songs released over old 5 or 6 chords. So, you can understand why
composing life depending on the same 4, 5, or the past seventy years, were composed using there are so many songs written that way, when
if they are really adventurous, 6 chords. Those only diatonic chords. I’m sure you probably trying anything else is likely to make you sound
chords are technically called “diatonics”, and know many of these songs. They tend to sound like you don’t know what you’re doing.
they’re the chords built on the first six notes of very similar to each other.
any major scale. There is also a 7 th chord that
The valuable chord trick we are covering today
technically should be added to the set, but it But what if you want your song to sound a bit is one that every major hit songwriter uses. I
has been considered a troublemaker for years, more interesting than the run-of-the-mill song encourage you to experiment with ways to
so we’ll come back to that in a moment. you hear everybody else writing? Well, officially insert it into your own songwriting. It involves
that’s easy. You just need to add in one or more the 7 th chord that we left out of our original
For now, check if any of your songs are limited of the 18 chords not included in the diatonics list of diatonic chords at the beginning of this
to using only two or more of these 6 chords. list. But knowing which one to add, and where article. Officially, the 7 th chord in this list is called
Include checking through any songs you play to add it is what separates the semi-pros from a diminished chord. In the key of C this would
that were written by other people. the super pros. be a Bdim, and would be added to the other
six we’ve discussed already, if, that is, it didn’t
Key of C – C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am It’s also dangerous, because the moment sound so odd to the ear of the general public.
Key of D – D, Em, F#m, G, A, Bm you leave the safety and familiarity of the key Because
Key of E – E, F#m, G#m, A, B, C#m chords, you risk sounding strange, jazzy, diminished chord has been replaced within
Key of G – G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em progressive, scary, discordant, unpleasant or popular music over the past 70 years, by the
Key of A – A, Bm, C#m, D, E, F#m worse, amateur. And that’s enough to stop most far more appealing and pleasant sounding
composers from venturing beyond the same “flattened seven chord (b7 major).” In the key
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March 2020
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