If you go into it deeply enough you’ll find echoes of the Celtic modes, melodies, and lyrical themes that inspired it. Old Time music (sometimes written as “Old Tyme” or “Old Timey”) is the most authentic, the oldest, and the purest form of American country music. As for audiences, well, you don’t need musical sophistication to “get” country music.īecause of this availability to the poor, marginalised rural folk, country music traditionally has given voice to the emotional authenticity that only such people can bring. Anyone with talent and a box with strings can make music, and lots of these people can get together to play the songs they all know. Within the strict confines of country music, Chet Atkins made good use of a magical bag of musical tricks.īut there’s another reason why the simplicity of the I-IV-V-I progression has endured: it’s so democratic! You don’t have to be rich or educated or high class to master country music. Robert Frost, when asked why he stuck to rules of grammar, rhythm, and rhyme in his poetry, confessed, “I like to play tennis with the net up.” Sometimes it takes challenging limitations to bring out the best in art, which is why country music has produced some of the greatest guitar players of all time. What keeps country music listenable and vibrant is what creative artists do within the strict limits of the I-IV-V-I progression. Remember our KISS rule? “Keep it simple, stupid” not only adds serenity to life, it can be the foundation for the most popular and timelessly appealing of songs. There may be other reasons to think ill of country songs (depressing lyrics, whining vocals, and hideous outfits topping the list), musical simplicity is not one of them. Playing Tennis With the Net Up Simple chord progressions are not to be counted among country music’s faults.īefore you look down your nose at country music for being too musically simple, think again. ![]() If you do find a minor chord in a country progression, it’s almost always a VI (6). Many country songs don’t even have a chorus! To top it all off, most of the tunes are limited to the major keys G, A, C, D, E, and F, and because all of the chords in the I-IV-V-I (1-4-5-1 in Nashville) progression are major, there are no minor chords in the basic structure. Country music also avoids other musical innovations such as bridges with key changes in the middle of a song, as well as adding “extra” notes to a basic triadic chord: A G7 is pretty much the norm, but 6th, 9th, and 13th chords are definitely out. That’s just it– they’re different because they stay the same! Country music is notorious for not challenging musical conventions. So How are Country Chord Progressions Different? Some musical genres like to be different and challenge this established pattern, but with a few exceptions country music sticks pretty close to this arrangement. ![]() The composer usually repeats the same progression twice, then adds eight bars of a different progression, and then repeats the first progression. ![]() When we speak of a particular chord progression we’re referring to the chords used for an eight-bar musical phrase, as the eight-bar phrase is one of the basic units in Western music. (As in rock music, the 7 or VII chord is rarely used in country chord progressions.) The Minor Scale Chords We’ve included both in case you’re used to the Roman numerals. That being said, Roman numerals aren’t used in this way by Nashville musicians, who use the more common Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). It’s important to know which of the chords in a key are major, which minor, and which diminished, and this is determined by whether you’re playing in a major or a minor key. The Roman numerals are what we use to describe positions in the scale, I being the first, II the second, and so on. The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville Tennessee was traditionally the place where aspiring country musicians of all stripes had to go to prove themselves. Mainstream Country: Man in Black by Johnny CashĪ chord progression is simply the series of chords you play to go along with a tune, and as we’ve already explained in earlier articles, the chord progression is one of the musical elements that give a genre its special sound, setting it apart from the others.Bluegrass: Workin’ on a Building, by Bill Monroe. ![]() So How are Country Chord Progressions Different?.
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