A NEW way to write Chord Progressions

We've all tried to come up with that perfect chord progression to make our chorus slap, but here's a new way to approach chord writing...ok, maybe it's pretty old, but not a lot of people seem to use it much anymore.
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[@JamesonNathanJones]

Oh here's that eBook if you wanna get horizontal: bit.ly/FREEcompositionguide

[@TraxtasyMedia]

deadmau5 needs to hear this.

[@lewisforsythe1403]

Well... you're helping. Thanks. The ambient synth thing you did on the last vid was so good, too. A little sonic linear journey of sorts.

[@BruceBalensiefer]

This is super legit. Sometimes I just write by following the voice leading of each part where it feels like it wants to go, and "discovering" the harmony that way.

[@sayelove2001]

ya i appreciate his effort and awesome content making skills... but tbh those chord progressions sound really muddy and the voicings (i.e. the structure of the chord) are a little too close (causing a bit too much of a rub... fine on a piano but not with that synth) which is causing the muddiness combined with the super long release. i appreciate the video tho... just wished he used a piano to explain it better instead of all the synths. but if i had that much analog gear i'd be doing the same lmfao.

[@noisemodule]

in which JNJ nonchalantly establishes that he would make an incredibly accomplished Melodic Techno, Ambient House, or Goa Trance producer...

[@beatjuggernauts3828]

I was really hoping for something innovative like a blockchain AI creatine infused chord method but I was nonetheless inspired by this video. Good work.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

😂 the “creatine infused” bit got me fam 🤣🤣

[@satanicconservative3935]

Using ai to create isn’t art. It’s a crutch.

[@Herfinnur]

Yeah, and for golly's sake, creatine is for lazy gosh darn dumbdumbs! Edit: Edited to less offensive words

[@docjoesweeney]

​@@satanicconservative3935 I hear that!!!. But, I am so old that I recall the same thing being said about synths! All the tools we use to make music are just that: tools. AI will create new options for experiments for some artists. For many, it will be just be used to deliver the same ol' rehash. Personally, I enjoy learning to do as much by hand as possible, which it why I love modular and custom synth setups. Making it hard makes it fun. But I also think anything that lets people play within music is a positive.

[@TheMattSwifts]

Are you not already using creatine chords?

[@brianlespoir6287]

I remember my first inversions, there was no internet and I didn't know a lot of music theory, I couldn't even remember what musicians tried to teach me, so I did all by myself. It was like playing triads and I wanted the notes closer together, so I started lowering notes. Before I even knew it I was adding bass notes and then I understood what everyone was trying to teach me. It's been a long time I took the time to find something interesting and will dig into these chord progressions, love not so familiar sound of these progressions.

[@normietwiceremoved]

Same here, I experiemented with inversions before knowing what they were when I was trying to play something by ear because I remember everything sounding so unnatural.

[@brianlespoir6287]

@@normietwiceremoved My father and sister are musicians and we had many over the floor, somehow I was deaf for their teachings, but not for their musical tones. I learned everything by ear and when I understood what they where trying to teach me I learned pretty fast. Now It is very easy for me to teach others.

[@J-MLindeMusic]

Four voices? Inversions? Heresy, in metal we only need two. Power chords go brrr. PS: The ending track indeed slaps.

[@SylphDS]

...I was actually reminded of the counterpoints on Opeth's Orchid while watching this video 🤔

[@TraxtasyMedia]

@@SylphDS or deadmau5 Coasted/Saturn

[@Hummelsbusch]

Great video! I am a fan of drastic chord changes to keep it interesting. I often add 4th/7th/11th/13th notes to my chords, delete the root or just add the super tonic and make the chord „diffuse“. Let the bass anker the „feeling“ of the progression. Then it is nice to change the root of the bass while keeping the same chord progression which adds tension.

[@marcus_ohreallyus]

I'm very new to song composition and I just recently finished my first ambient track. I barely know my way around a physical keyboard and I can play a little guitar. I've found the visual aspect of my DAW to be extremely helpful in writing music, as someone who isn't an expert instrument player. I started to notice that specific shapes of melodies (in the piano roll) were giving me the sound I was looking for...almost to the point where I was kind of painting a picture -- which had a mostly horizontal sweep and direction.

[@XCompWiz]

JNJ: "...the way that choirs work..." Me, a long time chamber choir member, hearing the music in the background: "Wait, that's Bogoroditse Devo." I've only found your channel recently, but I'm loving it. Thank you!

[@ryan.noakes]

My exact reaction!

[@LP6_yt]

Yup. Dance version slaps like all hell. Fantastic groove with lots of lovely intricate detail. Loved it. This is inspiring.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thanks Jim!

[@scottbyrne5271]

I have a degree in classical composition. The literal first rule of voice leading is aside from parallel fifths (which are fine for pop & contemporary anyway) is that notes should resolve to the nearest member of the new chord and notes should only be added to add 6/7/9 notes. But I guess it’s 2023 and I’m old now. Good chat everyone.

[@Bittamin]

I play a minor 7th, run it through a sampler, then just play E,G,F and instant banger 😂 I also make basic repetitive house tracks so, just found something that works for my novice self 😅

[@gabenght9316]

Would you be willing to point me to some sources on the matter you are talking about, please?

[@foljs5858]

@@gabenght9316 Try a harmony book, e.g. Walter Piston's is a classic one

[@albertoflanolombardo4155]

​@@foljs5858Man, Walter Piston is insanely dense and long for a newbie.

[@gabenght9316]

@@foljs5858 Thank you very much!

[@jeedmodorn5494]

Wonderfully instructive. Thank you, Jameson Nathan Jones.

[@tobytodelafontena]

NO ! I will continue coming up with chord progressions! I live my life as I want, you can't decide for me! Leave me aloooooooooooooooooone !!!

[@CapelloProductions]

You're my new favorite content creator. Been loving your videos, your humor is very natural and hilarious. Keep it up!

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Much appreciated, and welcome! 🙏

[@actualkevin]

Also French fried pertayters.

[@amsterdamned6209]

Fantastic sounds!!!

[@pixelbender5897]

7:40 has to be the coolest chord progression ever - oh how happy to see you toss the auto-chord methods where they belong. that is killing the creative potential of any producer/player behind a keyboard...thank you so much. SO inspired to start using my kicks to alter my pads...and...get a warm lightbulb to create with !

[@derrickmickle5491]

A fantastic and engaging illustration of voice leading. Well done!

[@TreyBruceable]

The shade thrown in this video 🎉 love your stuff!

[@jarkkokangas6150]

Really nice concept, thank you! Those choir and string quartet examples helped a lot.

[@stateazure]

Great video...Now I realise, I really need to learn how to write choral music. I feel like it would benefit me a great deal to study this. Thanks to the choral video you showed, I stumbled upon the 'Tenebrae Choir' channel here on YT, and I'm just blown away by how incredible their performances are and really got me thinking about how to bring this style into ambient.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Highly recommend any and all of the Rachmaninoff Vespers. Some of the most perfect music ever written imo.

[@jscj2066]

I love the Tenebrae Choir!

[@stateazure]

Amazing aren't they? Once I found them, I couldn't stop listening. Some of the most amazing group of vocalists. Their bass singers blow my mind. They have a playlist called 'Calming Music for Sleep' which is just incredible. Forget sleep, I'm studying the shit out of this stuff.@@jscj2066

[@WizardOfArc]

I've been writing canons with "normal" instruments playing them- your video is inspiring me to consider writing canons for synths and other non-traditional instruments

[@secretchefcollective444]

Thats cool, I'd just like to point out that synths have been around for about 100 years at this point, when do they become traditional :)

[@alexgrunde6682]

Another great technique as seen in the synth quartet example is, don’t have all the notes of the chord start and stop at the same time. It helps breath dynamics into the song and doesn’t feel amateurish like a series of whole note triads does.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Yep. More line independence which goes back to making them all feel more like individual melodies. While one voice holds, the other moves and vice versa 👍

[@tobcom3542]

Fantastico, the final song is great, and i hear the richness of the chord-melody variations. Great

[@alexr1632]

this actually is really helpful! I always made chords and then hoped and prayed that they'd work well together, but this is a far more consistent means of confirming that the chords will work together. Thanks!

[@martintf]

Loved this. Thank you very much!

[@darpsyxer]

Holy ssshhh... , that's a very cool way to teach some chords, from start to finish! awesome man thanks a lot for doing this

[@nightoftheavalon]

I have been producing electronic music for the past few years. Although it can be challenging to create something that satisfies me, I find your videos informative and appreciate your fresh perspective. For what it's worth, I really enjoyed the "standard cliche dance syncopation" part haha.

[@rodrigolaporte274]

This is excellent!

[@irradix213]

Thanks again for the insight

[@MythMakerMusik]

Oof! So lovely. The American Kiasmos. Lookin' forward to your full-length techno record that I am sure you are working on. Because it would be killer. For real.

[@fentanyljones6956]

Damn, i have a fairly good grasp of theory and this was extremely helpful and useful to me. Subscribing and downloading your book now!

[@alfasonicstudios]

Great content! Love the mix of Theory, Synths & Humor 👍

[@chambre466]

very cool and nice and all the good stuff. Great musician

[@somilgupta6666]

I found you yesterday and I want to say, I love you and your videos. They are so helpful and informative and perfect for where I’m at, thanks for being a great teacher!! :)

[@LondraCalibro9]

a very good lesson, thank you!

[@tonyrapa-tonyrapa]

Yes - that certainly jigged! Very nice work, indeed.

[@pick_nark]

You have inspired me. Thank you 🙏

[@DEADLINETV]

So good!

[@amarug]

very useful tips, especially for a beginner like me who feels kinda lost but knows there is no way to give up :D

[@krnflks]

Reading the section in the beginning of your ebook about voice leading rules brought me to an understanding of it that years of internet traversal could not. I love how in the example in the book (Chapter III) Bach is creating such a subtle bit of contrast by adding that 4th part which was almost like "introed" by the doubling. Looking at harmony with new eyes today because of you. Thanks. :D

[@Glandulf19]

That synth quartet reminded me a lot of some organ pieces Bach wrote that my harmony teacher had us study, great work! I don't think I was the intented target of this video, already knew all that, but still loved it and will share for sure ❤

[@rigbyb]

Thank you, this really helped 😊

[@andycordy5190]

I came back here, prompted by the end of your more recent video on the Arpeggiator, having forgotten that you'd contextualised this exceptionally well here. Both of these now make inspirational waves for me. I may even set to work😱

[@Joe-Frost]

Great video!

[@slimyelow]

The Ravel in F is one of my favorites.

[@remyvegamedia]

Dang that's crazy. The EDM thing you put together solved my annoyance with that style of music. Same with most electronic instrumental hip-hop. It almost never has any musical development besides dynamic changes. I play jazz music and so much of how I write is thinking of how to blend the harmony I want with fluid melodic lines. I've gotta find a way to do this with a more melodically minded approach like this so I've been studying Ravel and Chopin for the first time in my life. Wish me luck haha. I need help hahaha.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Love Ravel 🖤

[@michaelkonomos]

I spend too much time watching damn gear videos when this is what I should be watching. I have everything I need already to make great music - except the actual musical skills at this level! Thanks, this is super helpful.

[@actualkevin]

(Slaps own hand away from “buy” button again)

[@benjaminleahy2840]

I'm working in ableton and with hardware as well. What are you working in?

[@michaelkonomos]

@@benjaminleahy2840 Ableton also, with a bunch of Arturia VSTs

[@jimmyjam-vc6rf]

I am a guitar player and ive watched videos about chord progression changes in things like jazz. I have been thinking about chord progression like telling a story, then something unexpected happens, it gets resolved, etc... Well this is something else entirely and im glad you mentioned the monk chanting chorus. It can create some other worldly sounds, where it feels familiar, like down is down and up is up, but everything else about this world is like anything youve heard before.... Very cool to think about. I think tone is ultimately what attracts us to music and it can be presented in many ways such as simple effects. But i feel that this way of using chord progression also provides tonal structures like syllables in a word or inflection of certain syllables. Interesting to think about indeed!

[@Unison_Detune]

This content isn’t available anywhere else….. fantastic!

[@goldbergermusic863]

I just devoured your new e-book on Harmony. Played the examples. Learned a lot.

[@samuelivascu7633]

This takes me back when I was just a beginner on piano and it took me 2 months to get my first Bach piece down 😢 the words "Herliebster Jesu was hast du veebochen" are burned into my mind forever

[@JamesonNathanJones]

It’s a banger 😂

[@marvin902x]

"Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen." Sorry, but I am german and your words doesn't sounded right for my german brain. So I corrected it.

[@actualkevin]

You are CORRECT, SIR! (Ed McMahon reference, nevermind)

[@TrekStar11]

awesome stuff, earned my sub

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Welcome!

[@electrosonicnebula]

Sometimes clever voice leading is correctly ignored because for whatever reason the "color" needed is *not* to employ inversions. Those long leaps can be thought of as just another flavor. Just like a triad can work better than an extended chord. Also, if you're working with modular in particular you might think of your voices as the voices in a choir or a quartet and forget all about chords. You can sit there and analyze it later to see what you've done. Or not.

[@Wolfbabypuppylove]

Really like this content a thinking mans approach to composition/theory/production. You and Venus theory along with Benn Jordan rule the roost bravo excellent work.

[@KirklandWilliamsWorkout3000]

Love the synth Quartet. I grew up playing in sax quartet. This has actually helped me to arrange music on my 4 voice synth ms2000

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Great synth!

[@WizardOfArc]

I, too, wondered exactly what you meant when I came to that section of your book

[@scotty-sh7jq]

Mind blowing

[@balbinat]

Nice one! (Again) Thx! Also: can’t wait for next week’s topic!

[@nathanfinnegan522]

Good old fashioned counterpoint. Love it! 👍

[@goodcircuit4485]

I really love chord progression like that, deadmau5 vibe

[@twocanucksful]

Thanks!

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thank you!

[@Krung0401]

Great!

[@goldbergermusic863]

JNJ says, "No chord exists by itself." Yup, that's profound.🧠

[@CoffinNachtmahr]

Gonna go make myself use and borrow these techniques thank you 1000 times

[@bretdecelle3717]

This slaps. You just earned a subscriber :)

[@goldbergermusic863]

Hahahah! You made me laugh out loud with your creepy left hand at 4:36 and then sliding across the screen at 5:50. Hahahah.

[@BellsCuriosityShop]

I'm no keyboard player. Most of the time I play one note and let the DAW (Reaper in my case) create chords in key, or use Scaler 2 or suchlike (Chord Gun in Reaper sometimes). Occasionally I go into pianoroll and move notes about to change inversions, but not a lot. I like to do it more so when creating parts for an orchestral VST like BBCSO by Spitfire or Synchron Elite Strings by VSL. You've reopened my eyes. I thank you.

[@kostisv]

driving into the sunrise kind of vibe. cool.

[@riccello]

Instantly subscribed, and liked!

[@SonicCartography]

I just wanted to confirm that, yes, that does slap. Great video (and songs)!

[@davidmcgirr]

Great, as always. I recently tried to learn four part harmony, got stuck, and just start playing independent lines. According to an analyzer I used a lot of dominant chords.

[@jdanielcramer]

🤠 Dixieland!

[@leadpipejustice9253]

Best music channel

[@fentanyljones6956]

That P12 got me drooling

[@kbuks]

This just changed my life

[@nicovandenberg_]

This is why I love my Matriarch. Is does a wall of insane analog goodness as well as a light magical arp.

[@ashe_]

'yeah but can it slap' - instant sub :D answering the question on everyone's minds!!

[@DETERMINOLOGY]

True method with coming up with chords. Ear train. That's the best method not to many people will tell you about but they will give you "quick methods" Ear training covers all of that up

[@jasonekratz]

Props for the VOCES8 video for the choir example :)

[@dreikycaprice]

Can't wait for your release of more up tempo bangers

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Haha not sure I’ll be making a habit of it

[@jexner]

@@JamesonNathanJones My guess: you are "deadmau5"

[@AntonMochalin]

What I like with this classical approach is that you can quite often hint at next chord progression step with just two notes or a single note so you can be lazy and nuanced at the same time saving full chords for the moments when you need to be really persuasive lol

[@MiloCarrete]

I love you.

[@panos3246]

Actually THIS is the only way to write music. It has the least friction for documenting what you actually hear in you and the final result that gets into your ears... Excellent video!😉

[@grimpiece]

Thank God I came with the idea to search for "music composition" instead of "music production" and found your channel. Contrary to most videos on the topic, your are actually inspiring and they don't make me feel like doing math homework.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Haha glad to hear it! 🙏

[@jaquu]

I understood like nothing said in this video, but maybe I should try to concetrate on thing at the time. And it is good to test these advanced video tips every now and then and some beautiful day it will click!

[@RobertoFrobs]

COULD YOU PLEASE RELEASE THIS TRACK FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

[@Jay-ru6kn]

great examples! i do feel like this could be summed up by saying "mind your voice leading"

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thanks! That would assume that all viewers were well versed in voice leading techniques, or had even heard of the concept before.

[@Lordxfx]

So tasteful Jameson. There is a reason, I buy all of your stuf. (Shut up take my money). The moment I discovered you, I felt you're this harmony slash melody wizard who loves rhythmic suggestions and actually hates the sound of clean drums. I'll soon be spending more time on music theory. It's a ton of work for a hobbyist cycling between sound design, technical setups, music style analysis, music theory, soft and hardware device knowledge .. I wonder when it's time to make music : ))))) Great vid!

[@suitandtieguy]

This is great. Those of us with SATB experience know this instinctively but these basics of theory and arrangement should be discussed more.

[@adriansolis5362]

The irony is that the advert at the end of this video is the exact thing you were throwing shade at. That aside, voicing is something that I've been trying to focus on when making music. It really does go a long way to making good music

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Haha not surprised. They prey on any and all music channels. 😂

[@fentanyljones6956]

I definitely need to get my keyboard skills up

[@davidpringuer3553]

Great

[@mathiasgammelgaard8036]

Tak!

[@binarybotany3218]

Would've been nice if all those books that told me to learn inversions, would've actually also taught me why I would do that.

[@francistomalik]

Right,.. you just nailed it like it's nothing 😅

[@actualkevin]

My own personal journey in music over the last half century started with SATB choral singing (both Broadway and liturgical) including choral hymn arrangements and eventually reaching into Gregorian Chant, and even a little choral direction. I was also a DJ. I thought that long experience made my understanding dated and worthless… “BORING”. Thank you for vividly demonstrating to me a validation of my own half century seeking musical relevance.

[@chambre466]

yeah slapping

[@adijames]

It slapps.

[@Dacoljr]

the way I ran to the hit the subscribe button is insane tbh

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Haha appreciate that, and welcome!

[@CRayBeats]

I like to write a lead over my chord progressions either 4 or 8 bars in length starting on the fifth or 3rd of the scale. I will then will add one or two long legato notes either the root of the scale or any pentatonic note that's in the scale under the lead melody. I will then arpeggiate that. Not the chords itself..

[@allenholmankus8880]

Excellent video! How about a lesson on tonal counterpoint as applied to ambient style composition (and for some extra fun) as well as "EDM" music as you've done in this video? Keep up the excellent composing (I've purchased some of your works already).