Playing Along with Chord Progressions

When you're using a video in YouTube, you can change...

    the video-length (right-click and then click "Loop"), and 

    the video-tempo (with speeds from .25 thru 1.00 to 2.00) by clicking the “gear” icon, and

    your keyboard-key by using its Transposing Feature (how?) that lets you “play in C” but “hear in E” or any other key, to match the key of a non-C video).

Five useful chord progressions are simple – blues and (with a minor chord) 50's – common – jazz.

Some youtube videos have backing tracks that provide harmony and rhythm, so you can “play along” by improvising melodies.

Musicians use a wide variety of chord progressions.  Below you'll see some common progressions, and there are others.  Probably you should begin with...

chord progressions with only Major Chords:

a simple chord progression — red-blue-green-red that is C-F-G-C in Key of C, and generally is I-IV-V-I , aka 1451 — has “backing track” videos from ImprovisingHarpist (it's only 1:48 so do Loop) – Garret's – AppliedTheory – ChuanMusic – simple-keyboard – simple-piano.

12-Bar Blues is a chord progression – used in jazz, rock, R&B,... – that's much more common.  The basic form is (CCCCFFCCGFCC).  But usually it's done with variations, mainly with a turnaround ending (the most common is CCCCFFCCGFCG), but also a quick-change beginning (that is CFCCFFCCGFCG when it ends with the common turnaround).     { Early in my experiences with music improvising I was excited-and-motivated by "recognizing that by using music theory [in the chord progression of 12-Bar Blues] we could create interesting music, and it was fun." }

Three videos that show the chords (to help you “hear the progression” and learn it) are Freddie Edwards & A Vos Grattes (both are Standard Turnaround) and Now You Shred (Quick Change with Turnaround)

• basic — AUsher (Rock n Roll -

• ending with a Turnaround (by changing ...CC to ...CG) is more common — Cliff Smith (RockinBlues - Blues) — Marc Guitar (Shuffle - ) — TCDG Guitar — Garret's —

• ending with a Turnaround (using small variations of ...CG) — AUsher (RockinShuffle - ClassicBlues - Rock n Roll - RockinBluesShuffle).

• less commonly used is beginning with a Quick Change (when CCCC... is replaced by CFCC... so the chord quickly changes from C to F) — A Usher (smooth slow with a turnaround-variation) —

• 12-Bar Blues in other keys, so you can practice using the transposing feature of your keyboard.

plus Minor Blues in A Minor — AUsher — [[ and soon I'll link to more ]] -- [also do C Minor?]

reminders:  You can change a video's length & tempo, and change your keyboard's key.

single-chord videos  (with no chord progression)

These are useful when you're focusing on

single-chord videos with rhythm:  Now I'm making links to only Jack's Guitar Trax – the ones I like best* – for chords of...  red-C major – blue-F major – green-G major  —  red-A minor – blue-D minor – green-E Minor — and also C Minor - [plus F Minor - G Minor]?   But I have found other videos, and later will link to them.    /    * But of course it's difficult (impossible?) to be “musically interesting” while playing only one chord instead of a chord progression.     {also, with 7th Chords for E7-A7-B7 you can “play” in C, but “hear” in E with +4 transposing.}

single-chord videos without rhythm:  Here are two videos for each chord, for... red-C Major – blue-F Major – green-G Major — red-A Minor – blue-D Minor – green-E Minor — and by searching you can find other chord-drones, including some for 7th chords;  or note-drones for C - F - G - etc.     { explanations of why it's useful to practice using videos with rhythm and without rhythm.

Improving your improvising skills will be easier if you begin with the progressions above (simple and 12-Bar Blues) that have only major chords, before moving on to...

chord progressions with a Minor Chord:

50s Progression (I-vi-IV-V, e.g. C-Am-F-G) requires skillfully improvising melodies using the chord-notes of Am (A Minor) that are the two upper rows of red bars on my colorized keyboard.  How?  An effective way to improve your skill is to practice with a single-chord video (in A Minor);  and you can sing without words to inspire intuitive melodic creativity.   /   What?  Videos that show the chords — it's helpful while you're learning to “hear the progression” – are Northville Guitar – Musician's Guide – Reinhold – My Backing Track – Pier Gonella – Chusss Music – TGuitar.   Two of my favorites – with a “sound and feeling” of 50s Music – are by John Alex.

a related popular progression (I-V-vi-IV, 1564, as in C-G-Am-F) has the same chords, but a different sequence.  In videos with graphics (and sometimes “animation”) to show the chords, Guitar Jam – Rock Factory – Chuss Music – Pier Gonella (ballad & pop rock) – TGuitar – Guitarphile –

common jazz progressions (ii-V-I, aka 251, e.g. Dm-G-C-C),  Etienne de Loriol – Albert Scarano Musica – Jon MacLennan – Quist – Backing Tracks Channel – plus many more in C and other keys including A Minor.

also:

chord progressions in popular songs

iou – In mid-May I'll find songs (in recordings & karaoke) that use each chord progression – simple, blues, 50s, popular, jazz – with the help of wikipedia's lists of popular songs that use each common progression.  For each song I will find "the key" when necessary (if the video doesn't provide it, and usually it won't be C) so you can "play in C" but "hear in the song's key" by using the transposing feature of your keyboard.  And if necessary because the song isn't tuned to the standard A=440, you can use the keyboard's tuning feature.

backing tracks with distinctive rhythms

iou – And I'll look for these, with "drum tracks" and metronome-type tracks, etc.

Your keyboard's transposing feature lets you “play in C” but “hear in the video's key” so you're playing in-tune with the video.

This table shows the transposing-number when you know the key, like when it's in the title of a youtube video.  The color-coding shows rarely-used keys, and keys that are commonly used by wind instruments (trumpet, saxophone,...) and guitar players.

If you don't know the key, you can find it with a program (sometimes) or (always) by using an old-fashioned strategy.  How?  If you're “playing in C” and you notice that you must play B-flat (instead of B) and E-flat (instead of E), you know the key has two flats;  it's "2b" in the table below, so its transposing-number is +10 or –2.   Or if you must use F-sharp (instead of F) and also C-sharp and G-sharp, you know the key has "3#" so its transposing-number is +9 or –3.  When using this strategy, it's useful to understand The Circle of Fifths.

[[ iou – This paragraph used to be in the section for "simple progressions" but I think it's better if players move on to CP's that are more popular, like Blues & 50's/Common/Jazz.

another simple progression – red-blue-red-green (C-F-C-G) – is musically-useful by itself, and as the first half of (C-F-C-G-C-F-G-C) with 8 chords.   /   Although I haven't found any 8-chord progressions (just the 2nd half and 1st half), after you “internalize” each of the progressions, you can combine them by yourself, by playing chord-based melodies without a backing track.

[[ musical quality of "simple" vs the four others:  or instead of "playing chord-based melodies without a backing track" you can play along with the more-common CP's – blues, 50's, 1645, jazz – that have more-artistic videos.  /  soon, the Summary Page will describe my "simple progression" as an Aesop's CP that is mainly used to illustrate a principle, to teach specific strategies, similar to my Aesop's Examples. t.htm#stacp

Here is the "simple progression" and two others:

    red-blue-red-green-red-blue-green-red

    red-blue-red-green-red-blue-green-red

    red-blue-red-green-red-blue-green-red

The first CP (4 bars) and third CP (8 bars) are both “musically conclusive (and satisfying)” because they end on the home-chord (C) that is C in the Key of C.  By contrast, the second CP (4 bars) ends on another chord (green) instead of the home-chord.

[[ iou – Soon I also will be linking to two other "first half" CP's, CFGF and CGFG. ]]

How can a non-rhythmic drone be useful for practicing?  Because it's simple, is a single chord (or note) without any rhythm.  This can be useful for slow playing that lets you have plenty of time, to encourage (and even just to allow) free creativity.  A drone has no rhythm, so – unlike the tracks above, with rhythm that's difficult to ignore – a drone lets you comfortably take as much time as you want to creatively explore.  But having rhythm IS useful for helping you develop rhythmic continuity. (and I prefer it musically, although personal tastes vary, and may depend on your mood)   /   a summary:  slow playing (using videos with drones) gives you time to be creative;   faster playing (using videos with rhythm) is useful for improving rhythmic continuity.     [[ iou – in mid-May, I'll revise my two sections – short & longer – about "slow playing & faster playing (for creativity & continuity)" in the main page;  and here, I'll say a little more (with more coherence) about how each kind of video (without rhythm for slow playing, or with rhythm for faster playing) is useful in different ways. ]]