Song Science #1: How Pros Use 6 Chords to Write Hit Songs

Practical songwriting theory for songwriters. Break out of your songwriting habits and develop new chord progressions.

4.35 (1534 reviews)
Udemy
platform
English
language
Music Fundamentals
category
10,123
students
1 hour
content
Feb 2023
last update
$69.99
regular price

What you will learn

Create chord progressions that invoke emotion in the listener

Understand how to use melody and chords to create different emotions

See real examples of how professional songwriters use chords in hit songs

Description

Songwriting can be a lot of fun when you understand how chords work.

Especially if you've been using the same chords over and over again and want to write something fresh!

In this course, I show you how professional songwriters put together chords when songwriting. There are certain rules they follow. Once you understand the rules you can choose to use or break them.

We'll use real life example to demonstrate how the 6 most used chords in popular music work and work together.

Every lecture builds on the next lecture and is easy to follow. By the end you should be able to take a song concept, and start building chord progressions that make sense.

I you love songwriting and you want to start writing songs outside of your comfort zone, this course is for you.

I hope to see you on the inside!

-R

Content

Getting Up to Speed! (Skip if You Understand How the 12 Keys Work)

Introduction
The 12 Keys
The 7 Scale Degrees
When in Rome! The 7 Chords

Hanging Out With The Popular Chords

Home Sweet Home: Understanding the I Chord
I Need Some Closure: Understanding the Nature of the IV & V Chords
IV and V Quiz
It's Okay to be Sad!: How the vi Chord Works into Songs
How to Use the vi chord to Create Energy and Surprise in Your Song
Taylor Swift Did the Opposite! How to Use the vi to Make Your Chorus Brighter
The Most Popular Progression and Its Minor Twin Sibling with Examples
vi Quiz

Outsider Chords: Change Your Songwriting Up!

The Moody Connector: How the iii Chord Works in Popular Songs
iii Quiz
Many Hats: How ii Chord Works in Popular Songs
ii Quiz

How Melody Effects Your Chord Choices and Paints Your Songs

Strong and Weak Stresses
Stable and Unstable Melodies

Conclusion

Thank you

Bonus

Bonus Offer!

Screenshots

Song Science #1: How Pros Use 6 Chords to Write Hit Songs - Screenshot_01Song Science #1: How Pros Use 6 Chords to Write Hit Songs - Screenshot_02Song Science #1: How Pros Use 6 Chords to Write Hit Songs - Screenshot_03Song Science #1: How Pros Use 6 Chords to Write Hit Songs - Screenshot_04

Reviews

Robert
May 31, 2023
This course was really what I was looking for. So many theory courses just say start with the one pick random chords and end on the tour or five. This course was really good in expounding on the two, three and six chords and shows you why and how to use them. This is a topic that has been very elusive up to this point.
Aðalsteinn
May 28, 2023
Very good for learning keys in songs. Taught me a lot about scales and chords that go together. Thank you!
Yohanes
March 15, 2023
Outstanding! This course is very recommended for those who want to start songwriting. The basics are clear and easy to follow.
Sebastian
January 31, 2023
I enjoyed the compact, straight forward, and well-structured presentation. Thanks a lot. I would have liked to hear just a bit more about how the concepts translate (or do they not translate?) to other scales than the major scale, especially the minor scale. Also, do all chord progressions start with the I chord?
Alberto
November 26, 2022
I'm trying to move my four-star to a five. It was a fantastic course. Very direct and straightforward to understand. I got a lot of it.
Ashley
June 8, 2022
Really straightforward and easy to understand explanation of chord progressions. The songwriting gears in my head are turning and I’m excited to try my new knowledge to make beautiful songs. Thank you.
Jill
May 9, 2022
Rob has a great style - it's concise but friendly. The course is full of great hands-on skills, and I look forward to applying them and seeing how my songs turn out.
Thomas
February 12, 2022
Alles wichtige wird gut auf den Punkt gebracht. Dieser Kurs hat mich wirklich nach vorne gebracht und für mich viele Fragen geklärt.
Deric
February 9, 2022
Very helpful music theory knowledge especially for songwriting beginners/enthusiasts, mind blown! I've been making music on my own for years without realising there's a science to it. Brilliant references too, I signed up as soon as I saw Taylor Swift was part of the syllabus and completed it within a day.
Amy
August 30, 2021
This was a fun and quick course on innovative ideas on how to use chords in a key and new chord progressions to try. I particularly liked the lesson on stable and unstable notes and beats. Thanks!
Joel
August 26, 2021
Rob is an excellent teacher. He really has a way of explaining things that make it easy to understand. I'm really glad I purchased this course I have learned so much from him.
Marannie
August 23, 2021
This is a great beginner's course with very practical information relative to expressing the desired emotion in your songs. Exactly what I was looking for. The only reason I give 4 instead of 5 starts is that I wish there were incorporated opportunities to write our own songs during the lessons. The little quizzes are fun but less helpful for retention. I'm glad to be able to go back through each lesson with a keyboard but it might have been nice if practical application was built into the course itself. Overall easy to understand, user friendly, and a recommended purchase if you want to better understand using chord progressions to express emotion in your songwriting.
David
August 11, 2021
I have years of experience in harmony and composition, so none of this was new -- YET (I haven't finished the course), but the way it was presented was clear and concise, and I especially appreciated the use of well-known songs as illustrations, which show there's still a lot of gold in I, iii, IV, V, vi.
Andrew
July 21, 2021
I've been on and off as a songwriter for about 25 years. mainly off. This was very helpful and highlighted things I should have known already. Like stable and unstable melodies as well as the minor and cadence chords.. I bought 2 & 3 so will do more..
Serdar
June 15, 2021
I think what is taught in the course is missing. It is told only in natural major. All my songs and many others' songs are related minors anyway. So I couldn't find anything useful for myself.

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752020
udemy ID
2/4/2016
course created date
11/1/2019
course indexed date
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