Chord Progressions -- Part Three:

they are re-printed right below Part 3 for your convenience)

"Fake-Out-Modulations"

Last week we discussed the "2 kids at a piano" progression, otherwise known as the "Blue Moon" progression, among other names. It consisted of 4 chords: the I chord moving to the VI chord moving to the II chord moving to the V chord and then back to I to make the full circle.

We also showed how you could make variations out of that progression by using 1/2 step slides either up or down. For example, before playing the II chord, you could "slide into it" by playing the chord just 1/2 step south of the II chord, or just 1/2 step north of the II chord, then sliding in to the II chord. And you could do that on any or all of the chord if you wanted to.

This week I would like to show you a neat trick. It makes people think that you have changed keys, but in reality, it is a "pseudo-modulation" -- it doesn't go anywhere. Here's how it works:

Let's say you are playing in the Key of C and you are using the "2 kids at a piano" progression, which, as we have seen, is I - VI - II - V. We have also seen that the middle two chords in the progression are often minor chords, so in this case that would mean A minor and D minor. But we also have noted that 7ths can be added to all chord except the I chord. So our full-blown progression would then be:

C - Am7 - Dm7 - G7

So by using a half-step slide into Dm7 from above, we would be playing Ebm7, which is 1/2 step above Dm7. Then instead of sliding down into Dm7, move around the Circle of 4ths to the next chord, which of course is Ab7. Ab7 is just 1/2 step above G7, which is the next chord in the progression after Dm7 anyway, so you end up in the same place, but you have taken a different route to get there, creating some exciting new sounds on the way!

So why would you want to do this?

Simple. To create new and exciting chord progressions that add interest and flavor to your playing!

You could use exactly the same "trick" on the Am7 chord. Instead of playing it, play the chord that is 1/2 step below it, which is Ab7m. Where does that chord want to go on the Circle of 4ths? Correct! It wants to move to Db7, which is just 1/2 step away from Dm7, which is the next chord anyway!

See how that works? You're never more than 1/2 step away from the next chord in the progression, whether you slide up 1/2 step or slide down 1/2 step. So you can't really get lost, and you're creating some unexpected sounds that do wonders for an old tune.

This one "trick" (it's not really a trick, but a technique for chord substitutions based on your knowledge of chords and the Circle of 4ths) can keep you creating new progressions almost endlessly. I urge you to try it in all keys. Go back to the last newsletter, which is re-printed below, and apply it to the "2 kids at a piano" progression in all those keys.

(If you need to review the Circle of 4ths or anything we have covered before, you can access all past issues of this newsletter by going to www.keyboardchords.com and sliding down to the bottom of the page.) We also have a course on the subject, if you want to really master it:

How To Use The Circle of 4ths To Create Great Chord Progressions!