Now that you know what the chords are, the way you can use them is endless. The chart below shows both the chords to play and the pattern to play them in. The blues chord progression lasts 12 bars (thus the phrase вЂњ12-bar bluesвЂќ) that move in a familiar pattern using those three chords. (For the sake of brevity, IвЂ™ll only look at playing blues in the key of C). What a great way to amaze your friends and, most importantly, have hours of fun at the keyboard.Д®ssentially, the blues is a specific progression that uses the C7, F7, and G7 chords. ThatвЂ™s right, three! (Ahhh, so thatвЂ™s why there are so many blues bands out there вЂ¦) You talk about bang for your chord learning buck! Spend about 10 minutes learning three chords, and you will have learned the chords needed to play hundreds of tunes. In its simplest form, the blues has only three chords. If you are interested in viewing some of EdвЂ™s other articles in this series, please click one of the following links: inversions, pedal notes, chromatic alterations, chord extensions, suspended fourth chords, half-diminished seventh chords.IвЂ™ve got some great news to let out of the bag for anyone dying to have some fun at a piano or keyboard right away. And you might be surprised where your new harmonic palette takes you. When your next song calls for them.Д«ecause the key to mastering any technique as a songwriter is not just knowing about them, but about understanding them first hand вЂ“ using them enough times that you get an instinctive feel for what types of chords work where and what you have to do to make them work well. And as I say over and over again in The Art of Songwriting, the key to mastering these techniques is to try them out. Seven techniques you can use to write more interesting chord progressions.

Of course, there are other ways to make use of small-scale repetition within a chord progression вЂ“ and you should look out for them in your favourite songs вЂ“ but as usual, if youвЂ™re looking for a specific way to help you build a longer progression, this is a great one to try. That means a great way to construct a 16-bar progression is to start with a four-bar progression, repeat it identically, then start to repeat it again but let it lead somewhere new, like this: ThatвЂ™s another big idea in my book, The Art of Songwriting : structure, whether itвЂ™s the structure of an entire song, sixteen bars of a chord progression, or just the microstructure of one bar of melody, is about balancing variety (things that are different) with unity (things that repeat). To put it another way: not every bar in an 8- or 16-bar progression needs a different chord.

In longer chord progressions this usually means starting really simply and getting progressively more interesting and inventive as the progression, well, progresses. ThatвЂ™s essentially what a great chord progression is: a trip through a handful of different sounds that feel like different degrees of home. Learn from the things you donвЂ™t.ДЄt the same time вЂ“ try and take us on a journey. So when it comes to creating longer chord progressions вЂ“ or with any of the techniques weвЂ™ve looked at вЂ“ hereвЂ™s the most important tip: try things out. But on the flip side, a more adventurous chord progression, when done well, can take you places a simpler one canвЂ™t. You have to try out more different versions вЂ“ and reject more chord progressions that donвЂ™t quite work вЂ“ to come up with something thatвЂ™s really effective. The deal with creating longer or more irregular chord progressions is that they take more skill and more work than sticking with simple, four-chord progressions. Changing your chords more frequently also creates a stronger sense of forward momentum вЂ“ which can be useful in places like the last few bars of your verse as you create anticipation for your chorus. In fact, throwing in a few bars with more than one chord makes the harmonic rhythm more unpredictable and therefore interesting. Or even something more unusual like a 6-bar or 10-bar progression.ДЄnd sometimes, the harmonic rhythm вЂ“ the rate that the chord changes вЂ“ isnвЂ™t always one chord per bar. Sometimes you want to mix things up with an 8-bar or even 16-bar progression.

But it doesnвЂ™t always have to be that way. I get it: a lot of music today is made with samples, loop stations and on computers in general, four-bar, four-chord progressions have become the norm.Д«ut like I said right at the top of this article, thatвЂ™s fine. Before you draft that angry email, thatвЂ™s not a dig at anyone. One of the simplest but most effective ways of mixing up your chord progressions is to break out of the four-bar, four-chord rut weвЂ™ve sort of found ourselves in.

Between the bars piano chords