Members scooter Posted March 30, 2010 Members Share Posted March 30, 2010 I'm trying to write a tune for so long but I can't get beyond the 1st two chords which are F#min and Amaj7. I know this could put it in E major but nothing else chordwise in E fits to my ears. What else could I use ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted March 30, 2010 Members Share Posted March 30, 2010 Tons of possibilities..but if you want to stick to a "key"..I'd see that more as a vi I in AMaj...rather than a ii IV in E..so DMaj or E7 would work or any of the other chords in AMaj really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gennation Posted March 30, 2010 Members Share Posted March 30, 2010 Not knowing where the progression ends yet I will assume you are in either the Key of F# Minor or A Major. In this case an E chord could lead you back to the Amaj7 more so than the F#m chord, because E is the V of A Major. But you can use chord from both F# Minor and A Major to create your progression(s): F# Minor - F#m G#mb5 A Bm C#m (or C#7) D E A Major - A Bm C#m D E F#m G#mb5 You can also try some of the borrowed or modal chords from their opposite Keys: F# Major - F# G#m A#m B C# D#m Emb5 A Minor - Am Bmb5 C Dm Em (or E7) F G Depending on which one you might borrow from depends on whether you can define your original Key as F# Minor or A Major. But, go ahead and try all these chords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted March 30, 2010 Members Share Posted March 30, 2010 Could also be iii V in D Major. It's such an open ended question, there's so many ways to go with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gennation Posted March 30, 2010 Members Share Posted March 30, 2010 Could also be iii V in D Major.It's such an open ended question, there's so many ways to go with it. Very true in a sense. If the A was either just A or if it was A7, that would point you to look at D Major. But, since he's specified the Amaj7 and not A or A7, F# Minor or A Major would be closer to the "assumed" Key. Again, we only have two chord and even the OP doesn't know where it's going yet...but to replace A7 in the Key of D would point to something more modal than any Diatonic Key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted March 30, 2010 Members Share Posted March 30, 2010 True, I missed the Maj7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gennation Posted March 30, 2010 Members Share Posted March 30, 2010 True, I missed the Maj7 No biggie. Who knows, once he gets the next few chords he my find A7 sounds better than Amaj7 then and he could be in D. I know I've written a few pieces of a song and then had the song take off and write itself so to speak, resulting in changing a few things along the way to make the whole thing better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted March 30, 2010 Members Share Posted March 30, 2010 No biggie. Who knows, once he gets the next few chords he my find A7 sounds better than Amaj7 then and he could be in D. I know I've written a few pieces of a song and then had the song take off and write itself so to speak, resulting in changing a few things along the way to make the whole thing better. Personally, I don't like Maj7 chords.. so would make that an A7 for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meganutt7 Posted March 30, 2010 Members Share Posted March 30, 2010 In addition to the chords all the guys suggested, whic hare all excellent choices, you can also use "modal interchange" chords, which in the key of A major would be: Bbmaj7 - the bIImaj7Cmaj7 - the bIIImaj7Fmaj7 - the bVImaj7G7 - the bVII7D7 - the IV7Dm7(orDmMaj7) - The IVm This is just a short list, but these make you go out into a different relative mode of an A tonality... They are all related to an A note somehow.... Another great thing you can do is use slash chords, keeping inmind what Mike (Gennation) suggested, where you take the chords of A major and F# major, but put them over a single pedal tone in the bass, like, for instance, an A note... so then you can get these really interesting, potentially idssonant structures, like and F#/A or C#/A, G#m/A, etc. (those three are out of F#major) then you can combine them with slash chords out of A major, like D/A, E/A, C#m/A, etc. The possibilities are endless, so it's really a matter of personal aesthetics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gennation Posted March 31, 2010 Members Share Posted March 31, 2010 Personally, I don't like Maj7 chords.. so would make that an A7 for sure. Mos, something you might want to check out if you don't like maj7 chords is...the "6" chord. Just think of it as R M3 5 6. Years before the maj7 was popular the extension of choice for a "I chord" was the "I6 chord". This chord is a very nice relief from playing a Imaj7 every time for a "I chord". If you look at old show tune charts or versions of songs before Bop and the Realbook took them, you'll see a wider use of 6 chords. You also see it a lot in the basic RnR Rhythm or Rockabilly where the 5 to the 6 to the 5 or b7 happens. Think Rock Around the Clock, Once Bitten Twice Shy, Keep Your Hands to Yourself, Johnny B Goode, etc... The other thing is it fits as an alternative for either the maj7 or the dom7 chord. As a replacement for a Imaj7 chord it sounds very bright. For dom7 chord it's usually more of a passing chord on your way from the 5 to the b7, or the b7 to the 5, but if you hang on the chord instead of use it as a passing tone it falls into the "13th" chord type sound. Try it, you might like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted March 31, 2010 Members Share Posted March 31, 2010 Mos, something you might want to check out if you don't like maj7 chords is...the "6" chord. Just think of it as R M3 5 6. Years before the maj7 was popular the extension of choice for a "I chord" was the "I6 chord". This chord is a very nice relief from playing a Imaj7 every time for a "I chord". If you look at old show tune charts or versions of songs before Bop and the Realbook took them, you'll see a wider use of 6 chords. You also see it a lot in the basic RnR Rhythm or Rockabilly where the 5 to the 6 to the 5 or b7 happens. Think Rock Around the Clock, Once Bitten Twice Shy, Keep Your Hands to Yourself, Johnny B Goode, etc... The other thing is it fits as an alternative for either the maj7 or the dom7 chord. As a replacement for a Imaj7 chord it sounds very bright. For dom7 chord it's usually more of a passing chord on your way from the 5 to the b7, or the b7 to the 5, but if you hang on the chord instead of use it as a passing tone it falls into the "13th" chord type sound. Try it, you might like it. Cool, will do..I know that chord..but I hadn't thought about using it instead of a Maj7.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meganutt7 Posted March 31, 2010 Members Share Posted March 31, 2010 Mo, if you analyze it from a note perspective, a Major6 chord is the same as a minor7 chord... For instance: C6 = C,E,G,A... then Am7 = A,C,E,G... The major7 sound is a bit more distinct in its' "defining" the sound of a major mode (Ionian or Lydian) whereas a Major6 chord could be played under a Dominant sound (with a natural 6/13, of course...) So, you could sub it for a Dominant 7 chord as well.... If you don't like Major7 chords, you could also just play major triads with extra extensions... Like the 9, or #11... Those create a nice color... Or just use the major7 chords in a different context. Just one idea as an example... If you take a Cmaj7 (C,E,G,B) and then play those four notes over an A root, you get a beautiful Am9 chord... If you played that same chord over an F bass note, you would get a sort of Fmaj7#11 sound (without the third, which still gives the sound abit of ambiguity...) You can look for other functions that that Cmaj7 chord might serve (over a D bassnote, it would yield a great D13sus4 type sound... a grea tsubstitution for a D7 chord) I thin kthe key is not having a like/dislike relationship with a chrod type, but rather the aesthetics of some of it's APPLICATIONS.... Just because you are playing a maj7 chord, doesn't mean that it IS a major7 chord... That depends on the bass player, other guitarist, etc. It's all relative, man!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted March 31, 2010 Members Share Posted March 31, 2010 Mo, if you analyze it from a note perspective, a Major6 chord is the same as a minor7 chord... For instance: C6 = C,E,G,A... then Am7 = A,C,E,G... The major7 sound is a bit more distinct in its' "defining" the sound of a major mode (Ionian or Lydian) whereas a Major6 chord could be played under a Dominant sound (with a natural 6/13, of course...) So, you could sub it for a Dominant 7 chord as well....If you don't like Major7 chords, you could also just play major triads with extra extensions... Like the 9, or #11... Those create a nice color... Or just use the major7 chords in a different context.Just one idea as an example...If you take a Cmaj7 (C,E,G,B) and then play those four notes over an A root, you get a beautiful Am9 chord... If you played that same chord over an F bass note, you would get a sort of Fmaj7#11 sound (without the third, which still gives the sound abit of ambiguity...)You can look for other functions that that Cmaj7 chord might serve (over a D bassnote, it would yield a great D13sus4 type sound... a grea tsubstitution for a D7 chord)I thin kthe key is not having a like/dislike relationship with a chrod type, but rather the aesthetics of some of it's APPLICATIONS....Just because you are playing a maj7 chord, doesn't mean that it IS a major7 chord... That depends on the bass player, other guitarist, etc.It's all relative, man!! Cool, thanks Danny, this is the type of thing I need to spend some more time on. All my playing comes from trying to rip off Blackmore/Schenker and then having my head turned by Fripp/Zappa...but I don't always understand why things work. The thing with the Maj7 is I think I always associate it with slushy ballads..which I hate..but yeah, that's a very narrow view I know. I mean, I love "Something" with the whole Maj/Maj7/Dom7 move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meganutt7 Posted March 31, 2010 Members Share Posted March 31, 2010 Cool, thanks Danny, this is the type of thing I need to spend some more time on. All my playing comes from trying to rip off Blackmore/Schenker and then having my head turned by Fripp/Zappa...but I don't always understand why things work. The thing with the Maj7 is I think I always associate it with slushy ballads..which I hate..but yeah, that's a very narrow view I know. I mean, I love "Something" with the whole Maj/Maj7/Dom7 move. Or, think of the chorus to STP's "Plush".... There's a major7 chord there too, bro... And in Pink Floyd's "Time" (during the "chorus" part)... There are lots of applications to that chord you may be missing out on that you may love!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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