How To CREATE Your Own Chord Progressions

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In this beginners lesson, I show you how to create your own chord progressions on the piano. This is done using the knowledge that every note from a major scale has a chord built from it. Every major scale has the same sequence of chords built from it.
The sequence is as follows: Major, Minor, Minor, Major, Major, Minor, Diminished.
If we take any random combination of these chords we have a chord progression. There are literally an infinite amount of progression we could come up with.
Use this knowledge to come up with your own progressions. Play around with the rhythm, change the chord inversions and add some passing notes to make it sound more original.
For some common progressions using this same knowledge, check out this video: • Common Chord Progressi...
If you have any questions just leave a comment below!
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[@HarrisTheHypnotist]

6 years in learning the piano and I’ve finally decided to study music theory, I’m tired of just reading sheet music

[@Piano_Pig]

Good decision, you won't regret it 😎

[@ali-cy6wg]

Same, 6 years and now doing theory

[@samuelbeltrami5647]

Same man

[@praises1135]

YellowBirb me too

[@Tortualex]

??, I'm pretty sure that in classical training they teach you music theory and it is obligatory

[@maxlox4169]

“Piano playing is just pressing the right keys”

[@imdux]

That's not true

[@imnotasher4892]

@@imdux that's the point boi

[@imnotasher4892]

@@imdux yeah that's the point he was being sarcastic

[@apollospyrol7168]

@@imdux how hard is it

[@aleeyamaisarah4306]

@@apollospyrol7168 it's not like real hard but its hard when u need to play with both hands (playing different notes simultaneously) , when u are trying to strech ur finger to reach the other note(which is kinda far from the previous note), when u try to play 2 or more short notes and trying to avoid it to sound like staccato,when u need to focus on the notes but u also need to know if there are instructions for u to play it gradually louder and suddenly gradually softer or from fast to slow or walk speed or from the the first octave to the other octave or changing ur finger and many more Some people might think that these stuff are easy but for me it's kinda complicated bcs im not a master or a pro but that won't stop me from playing piano bcs that's what makes music beautiful. Oh and also these things won't make other instruments easy, every instruments have their own struggles to play

[@gracecoghlan4528]

Thank you for the help I’m struggling to write a song and this helped more than other videos I’ve watched I think I’m just in a stump tho.

[@cosmicrays5565]

Nirmit Panchal so are 223k people (the number of views)

[@gracecoghlan4528]

Nirmit Panchal that’s amazing I hope it goes well!

[@bootywarrior6958]

I’m just learning a lot of things so when I start I’ll just be able to have nothing holding me back from getting where I want my music to be

[@Blackjeans6002]

Nle Choppa before he was nle Choppa

[@robinvsdk]

Did you finish the song? 😁

[@reevekunwoo4771]

I was testing this out and accidentally made the music for geometry dash level one music (C,G,A,F)

[@aaronencinas6307]

XD

[@alomation3559]

Imma try dat >:3

[@superspaze9830]

stereo madness moment

[@maxwellwarren3888]

Wait i gotta try this

[@BeeSweetHon]

Not sounds good on piano, I tried it

[@jmfeal]

I have just discover you man. Your lessons are great. I've seen 5 or 6 and they are all excelent. I will definitely learn a lot with your videos. Congrats and thanks for sharing.

[@ganpatifastener6949]

Lesson was good but where do I use it I mean I which song

[@bearsubs]

2:57 no dude you just used that as an excuse to show off 😭😭😭😭

[@Alan-xe4st]

thAts What I ThouGht

[@J.S.4ever]

Yep. Right where he lost me too 🙄

[@deonnalively6993]

Lol I’m pretty sure no one watching this can do that😂

[@thegenevapace]

@@deonnalively6993 oh good 😭 I just thought I was dumb

[@deborahebhomien5588]

My brain is exhausted. I'll have to calm down and watch this again. I'll grab it slowly.👏👏 Thanks a lot

[@Xaforn]

That’s exactly how theory works, take a bite and chew on it for a while, come back and repeat

[@bibipororo]

03:03 Okay I wanna learn how to play piano like that.

[@jennykjojan]

I tried slowing the video down and still couldn't do it 😭😭

[@jadegrace4628]

@@jennykjojan samee 😭😭

[@icedtea9501]

It’s pretty easy if you make your own just add what feels right

[@John-ig7mj]

Me playing twinkle twinkle little star Also me: happines noise

[@thatbeatlesgirl]

I've played piano for many years but I'm just starting to get into songwriting. This video was extremely clear and helpful, and I'm so excited to start now! THANK YOU:)

[@raahilshammin7563]

Just to give some tips, here’s the way I make chord progressions. Let’s start with the chords at 3:47 as a template Am F Dm G Now something I like to do is replace minor chords with their major version. Here that turned it into: A F D G As I was playing this, the G chord sounded out of place, so I used another trick that I like where play a major chord and then after play the minor. Then we end up at: A F D Dm I was pretty happy with this. I think over time as you just play around with random chords, you’ll find what sounds good. That’s how I developed my tricks that I used here. I personally think it makes the chords more unique to me. Just another trick I use is is putting the root chord next to the major chord coming from the seventh note in the scale. For example in C major, I’d take the 7th note, B, and use it’s major chord. Then you’d get B major and C major. Here’s and example: G B C Cm As you see, I used B major right next to C major. I also used that other trick to get C major next to C minor. In general, as you play around with chords, you’ll find your own tricks to make and adjust chords to make them unique. Hope that helped!

[@emiko5592]

Wot

[@inevitabley]

I see video like this and most of the time they never mention inversions- so I keep wondering if I should use them or not?

[@raahilshammin7563]

Sonny Shock Inversions are wonderful! I use them a lot to make a chord progression sound less jumpy. I don’t really play piano too too much (I actually currently have been playing ukulele out of all things) so I’m not super well informed on them but I think you should definitely use inversions.

[@cactusowo1835]

"Just playing them all major A F D G" Alternating harmony is indeed one of these things you do when you're having fun with music, just nice

[@irfanrezai4775]

we had a test about createing our own song... and i got and A.... thx so much

[@Piano_Pig]

Well done! Hope I managed to help! :)

[@keep1xel]

The best chord progression video i've seen! It helped a lot!

[@musicalhamsa5892]

🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️ new emoji

[@nhatnam2038]

I'm a EDM producer , but sometimes I like to just play around and create random piano chords progression , this video really help 😉🎵🎶

[@Piano_Pig]

That's good to hear 😀

[@Bako751]

Now if only I could reach out of the 4 chord progression. That's the hardest for me. I can choose cords, split cords but for some reason it always ends up as a 4 chord progression

[@loganricherson]

Many great songs are only 4 chord progressions. A fun way to get out of the 4 chord progression though is by adding a bridge. Or, what you can do, is by making melodies and then finding chord progressions to fit them. They might sometimes sound clunky but you also might stumble across something that you like and learn something

[@aaralynsaria5870]

4:01 I started thinking of Miraculous Lady bug I’m sorry

[@kiequelle]

MochiJiminieJamsIG A.R.M.Y me too omg

[@emilylarimore127]

Hahah yes!!!!!!😂

[@constantlypanicked11]

Sameee

[@CesarMartinez-nu3if]

Bruh "simple" 💀

[@ryanfleming1611]

Trang Lam What does “Learn music” mean? Learn sheet music? Learn music theory? Something else? Lol

[@jordan6988]

Learn the basics and youll get this. Dont expect to come here and watch this knowing nothing and understand anything of what is being said. Try learning basics then come back it this video is very easy to follow

[@stiltz86]

learn the chords mentioned learn 1 or 2 inversions for each chord mentioned learn a basic piano rhythm follow the steps explained in the video simple

[@rickysld]

@@stiltz86 I know all the stuff that he mentioned in this video and I still couldn't come up with anything even close to sound as good as what he played. It needs practice. Theory is not enough.

[@vanessa-um1nd]

cäme llo why are you guys being so mean... he was just making a joke😳

[@asamiyashin444]

2:45, I instantly remembered the Neverending Story theme.

[@satishsarma9339]

Thanks now I can't unhear it

[@kiwipiwi22]

The boy in it died :(

[@Kaymeron]

Thanks for the video! The PDF diagram referred to in the video is not at the link the show notes. Where can we get it?

[@billboring7061]

Thanks so much great concept. I am 76 years old . Just learning how it goes together . 3:07 3:13

[@bridgetcharnock4987]

2:15 sorry just reminding myself

[@lunar1227]

What the...

[@user-pz8lb7hm2z]

Suicidal Potato Potato • 4 years ago the what...

[@lunar1227]

@@user-pz8lb7hm2z eht tahw

[@user-pz8lb7hm2z]

Suicidal Potato Potato • 4 years ago ...tahw eht

[@lunar1227]

@@user-pz8lb7hm2z ok

[@jepatawaran]

I like your channel and it's helping me a lot even though I don't play the piano. I play a piano with 6 keys Just kidding. I play the guitar. Thanks for your helpful videos!

[@chloebrown4572]

I understood until he said “chord inventions” 😂😂😭

[@bld-mn]

invertion?

[@saszy5198]

yes, a chord inversion is when u change the note placement up or down octaves but you're still playing the same chord as ur still keeping the relative notes, just placed differently on the keypad. It's just mixing up the order of notes played in the chord. In c major tri-add cord, u use note numbers 1, 3 and 5. (c, e, and g.) But an inversion would be, for example, 3, 5 and 1. The one being placed at the top of the chord. This is used to have a nicer flowing sound, sometimes placing melody notes at the top, and to create a better economy of motion throughout a chord progression.

[@saszy5198]

Vaz123 ??

[@saszy5198]

@@vaz123 whats wrong with my comment and why are u quoting 'tri-add'

[@RiZeLegiT]

bl00d-m00n inversion??

[@Ojini]

Thank you so much for this! You're a lifesaver.

[@Piano_Pig]

My pleasure bro!

[@annasediitss5467]

5:09 i cried through the entire thing

[@djajxdjsjjxks2271]

This man is a literal blessing oh my goodness. I’m so impressed that you were able to get so much information across so clearly and quickly, it would be foolish of me not to subscribe. THANK YOU SO MUCHHHHHHH

[@leohaugenwyller4468]

Me: thinks of adding a V chord after the minor 6th Him: adds a V chord Me: ... -daaaanm, I see future, yes

[@linlinlyrics6998]

This video was so helpful

[@khatesingson6444]

I can’t do this I’m confused 😣 Oof welp I’ll just try my best -w-

[@tobi9375]

don't worry, this is literally the simplest tutorial you will find on youtube...

[@pyx6987]

Khate Singson what about this confuses you

[@Davenunez01]

Nice video! can you do a video about tritones? R&b chord progressions? thanks!! Keep it up!!

[@Piano_Pig]

Thanks! Good suggestions - I will keep them in mind :)

[@trinityuwu4853]

1:20 very helpful :3

[@andresserrano2647]

Man the quality of your content is over the roof! I've been playing piano for more than a decade and I still found many of your videos really interesting. You explain everything in a way that's easy for everyone to understand, which isn't quite as common as I'd like to be, so keep it up man!

[@Piano_Pig]

Thanks for the awesome feedback man! It's great to hear you have been enjoying the videos :)

[@cakecakes31]

Pop artists: What's this *new* chords you speak of?

[@pranaveerettavoni2972]

I v iv vi biitchh

[@welcometovic]

YoU cAn JuSt UsE GaTaRgEbAnD tO wRiTe A sOnG

[@jarlfenrir]

Second progression sounds more like a Aminor rather than C major... so actually you ARE starting on a one chord ;)

[@thatbeatlesgirl]

Oh, are you saying that because A minor is the relative minor of C major?

[@jarlfenrir]

@@thatbeatlesgirl Probably yes ;)

[@Ott3rpup]

Just a heads up, you don't *have* to use only chords in the scale you've chosen. A well placed III chord in a major song can give a song a nice bit of flair

[@cwaxytea]

I have been playing piano for 2 years now and I started just because I wanted to learn a song and then I felt like I needed to learn more, for the past month I've been diving deeper into music theory so now I know everything from chords to the 3 types of minor scales, I've been getting into film music lately which this video will help me a lot on. Thank you.

[@mariapeskett3339]

Me oh that's so easy! *trys it* *death noises*😂☠️

[@briannarodriguez151]

Wait hold on what did you do with that left hand? It just came out of no where. What happened how that happen? How do I know what to do with my left hand those cords were easy. And now it’s all complicated with that left hand. My brain is glitching someone help me.

[@novideos...822]

God is true ....

[@rozaymiller2143]

Yes hope all is well with you and your love one's 💕

[@Hyazuncovered]

I don't even learnt any music related, how am I here, My class is too low for this XD

[@notyohan2092]

Thank you! I need this for my KZbin called: Dreams on You

[@hravv]

i cannot even begin to stress how damn helpful this was. thank you so much

[@johnomarlarnelladams9735]

Thanks for the video! I have made a chord progression in piano sheet music. I had based some on the D major scale started with a D chord and used various chords unrelated and related to D to make an irregular and structured piece of music.

[@Piano_Pig]

Sounds awesome!

[@v3getar1ancarr0t5]

Nice video, it really helps for beginners. My issue with it, though, is that random chord progressions usually don't work. Out of the 2401 possibilities for four-chord progressions, you usually won't get a well-structured progression: vii* vi iii ii for example is a really meh progression, so is iii V iii ii Just saying, it's easier to make nice chord progressions if you have a decent amount of beginner music theory under your belt.

[@poolemary]

Hi There, Useful tips. I do Piano Improvisation. What tips can you give me to be able to put notes from my improvisation onto manuscript paper. I have composed a short piano piece. Dancing Hot Water Bottles. Please can you get back to me. Many Thanks. Theodora Poole.

[@hufflepuffwannabe]

my professor has us use noteflight but I think flat.io is also easy to use

[@bukenstokk]

did six years of piano because i wanted to play songs and i got tired of the same old sheets and booklets full of classical so i quit but this- this is something else

[@ammu92]

WHAT THE APPLICATION YOU USED ON THE TOP OF THE REAL PIANO? PLEASE

[@anrylstudios]

Watches video Makes vii vii vii vii sound good Me: Master pianist

[@flhoneycomb5426]

😂

[@beebumble3248]

What do you play in between the chords?

[@isabelleshepard4576]

This tutorial gave me pure joy for the first time in a while. Music truly does heal.

[@Lordofbeings]

Hey man great videos! Can you please consider doing a tutorial on rhythm techniques? Thanks!

[@goldencookie5456]

Who else is doing this for their music composition assignment?

[@sethdupuis2470]

TOO FAR BUDDY

[@PbLuv]

Absolutely loved this video! How do you learn those chord inversions??

[@Piano_Pig]

Go through them systematically and practice them over and over again!

[@knowledgefinder1]

Awesome video! Where's the PDF sheet?

[@eloisespencer6805]

So useful!! I have loads of lyric ideas but whenever I tried to write the backing, it was never working but I can't wait to try again now!!!

[@adityabairagi5954]

Please make a video for rhythm types and how to set an arpeggio according to that one.How to do that thing? Please make such type of video because it is very important for me to understand all these things.

[@justkiolmao9841]

I am really pleased with how much this gave me and no other pianist channel has done this so I am grateful I found this channel 💞

[@Piano_Pig]

Thanks for checking out the channel! Great to hear you've been finding it useful :)

[@aldenthrasher130]

Thanks man this really helped! I now started my own song thanks to you!

[@ElliottSargent]

4:28 I SWEAR this is Rock and Roll Nerd. Am I going crazy?

[@charlieashfieldbennett174]

Quarantine boys where are you?

[@coke8077]

not sure if i understand this but i think what you do is, you find the root note of the chord you want, plug in the notes using the scale you are using (i.e. using the 1st, 3rd, 5th notes of minor for a D minor chord) and then using the same scale for another root note for the next chord to make a chord progression. Someone tell me if i’m wrong but i’ve been doing this and it sounds good to my ears.

[@scrums4748]

that first chord progressions was so sappy it made me irrationally annoyed. i like what it turned into, amazing how much you changed it without changing the chords.

[@jeffreyhuang3814]

I used to think that all good music has been composed already. Because of this video I realized how wrong I was.

[@justanotherbassslapper217]

I love all your videos. My composing gets better and better watching your videos

[@interestingvids-hx2sq]

Hi one qa When you compose a music but only with white keys is this also acceptable in music ?? Or you have to use black keys in your compositions?? I watched the movie Mozart with Tom Hal’s and in the film Mozart played the 1700 piano only with white keys there were no sharp keys then I suppose

[@cocospops9351]

Your first chord progression is Oasis, All Around the World. Also sounds very Beatle-esque. Not surprising as they were a big influence on Oasis 😊

[@melvinjohnson306]

Thank you for the video. I want slow movement from 3:01 to 3:18 .How to play that chord inversions. Sounds good!!

[@bennyjones1502]

If you click on the little "Settings" cog in the lower-right hand corner of the screen, then click "Playback speed", you can select from 0.25, 0.5 or 0.75 speed options. Hopefully that will be of some use.

[@farrahs_lifestyle]

When you try to take advice from this video but you use garage band-

[@teddytadd7457]

Simon, this is better than crazy jazz! Got more like this!? Hope to see more tips, pop and standard!

[@nytricZ]

Usually i pick the same chords but switch them around lol

[@rnbsteenstar]

Remember, since nothing new is under the sun, you're about to stumble into something that's a copy of something else.

[@tonybartonemusic]

What do all these bits and pieces have to do with playing the piano ?

[@jettgivens3739]

This guy has such a fancy voice 😂

[@neilhumphrey7644]

When creating your own progression, how do you know what chords sound good together?

[@Piano_Pig]

Use your ears!

[@neilhumphrey7644]

@@Piano_Pig Ill give it a try. Thank you!

[@xisotopex]

play them, if it doesnt sound good together....uhhh then it doesnt sound good?

[@drnarwhal2888]

Depends on what vibe you want. You should look up "primary progressions" and "secondary progressions"

[@depressprincess2492]

This is nice... Can i uhhh copy not more like copy or use but can I copy/use the same tone for my Song??? Is this ok wth u... This is reaalllly USEFUL AND NICE.... I LOVE IT REALLY LOVE IT im a singer btw but cant compose a song cuz its hard when making a tone-like? For my i donnu wat u call dis but I hope u know wat I meann... Really grateful cuz I found this useful vid.

[@mickwiz4345]

Was that last chord progression part of a song??

[@zahraaregalado7874]

Finally i can learn, playing the piano for 9 years thank you now i can make a song

[@PositiveTherapy1]

Him: That was a relatively simple process-- Me: *Utterly confuzzled* ;^; (ill grasp it at some point lol)

[@swordgz]

Thanks for sharing!

[@adambischoff128]

You mean. How to "find" your own chord progressions. You can't own chord progressions.

[@shaban82]

No correct rhythm the correct sound the notes you have to have the correct rhythm the correct sound you have to have the correct fingering stuff so you can know you have to have exams

[@SportMinsitry]

I already subscribe, I am a producer and I want to study more on how to create a song melody

[@rabbiltube]

As this video intro rolled in I heard: “M-m-m-m-mmm-Maybach Music…” 😂🤓

[@Bucketboy717]

Trying to make a game. I need a soundtrack and i find it very difficult to make something thats not a song already or sounds good.

[@yogalifemagazine4223]

It wld rly help if u replied to this.....my friend and I r writing a song and we’re doing a mash between guitar and piano and our song is kinda up beat... and the chords were using is Bm , A , D & G.... and I’m rly lost onto how I shld play it cuz she sent me her guitar recording and I’m trying to get the piano to fit it but it’s not coming...

[@LerLoons]

how do you know when to go down or up in the progression ? is it to do with the number number in the scale ?

[@jewelthompson4210]

Thank you so much! This was incredibly helpful!

[@MrMrMrMrT]

What’s the difference between this and a melody. Or How would you add a melody ontop of this

[@chhunukhadkascookingchanne9070]

Bro can you make it slow and easy cause i wanted to use this to write my song but anyhow thanks for the great video really enjoyed it but i hade to adjust the speed button a couple of times good night God bless

[@NKYHC]

I feel like I learned something just from the highlighting of which notes you were playing at which point in time. Or maybe the particular rhythm had something to do with it because it’s not uncommon for people to do in KZbin videos but it felt like an aha moment. I guess I’ll tinker around in a piano roll and see how hard I’ve actually bumped my head.

[@latestk.update6275]

Bonus tips for those who don't understand this video : You must have knowledge of circles of fifth for understanding this video

[@mattforte2664]

I noticed that whatever the main note of the chord is, you're playing that note an octave lower. Is this how you decide what bass notes to play? Like could you write all the bass notes like that? I'm learning to write songs rn so I'm interesting in knowing how to write even the things that I cannot personally perform.

[@pranavpsgaming4497]

Great sir big fan

[@honeydoksy]

My mom always say that i should always practice playing piano beacause i'm lazy but the truth why I don't wanna play the piano because i'm noisy and our neighbor is old and needed to rest😊

[@LUGG824]

Where is the PDF?

[@fuhkayew4651]

Quality content! Woo

[@ciarakelly8299]

i don’t even know how to play piano but i have a keyboard idk how to play and i’m way to lazy to learn so i’m attempting and probably going to quit immediately

[@staruki]

OH MY GOSH I AGREE WITH ALL THE PEOPLE BELOW ME!!! I’VE NEVER LEARNED ANYTHING IN MY LIFE AND I’VE BEEN PLAYING THE PIANO FOR 6 YEARS!!!!