F2018 Week 12 Standard Progression Project
Week 12 Standard Progression Project: Guidelines and Rubric
Real-World Application: Many, if not most pop songs are built from one or more “standard progressions”—3 to 5 chords which are instantly recognizable. If you’re writing a pop song, and you want people to feel like they know/like your song the very first time they hear it, you’d do well to use one of these progressions.
I. Dates and Times POD meetings: Monday 11/5–Thursday 11/8 (4 days), 8:00–8:50, location of your choice
Performance: Friday 11/9, 8:00–8:50. 21613=room 123, 21616=room 402.
II. Project Description. Brief Description: As a POD, compose a pop song, notate it, and rehearse it. Play your pop song on Friday, and teach us about how you composed your song.
Step-by-Step instructions: 1.Bring in an idea For Monday, each member of your pod will bring in either a) original lyrics, b) an original melody, or c) both. Decide as a group which of these you like, and how they might be combined to form a whole song.
2. Write out a complete song of melody and lyrics Combine the best melodies and lyrics to make an entire song. Your song must include at least two verses and two choruses.1
3. Harmonize your song using standard progressions. You must use at least two different chord progressions for the different sections your song.2 You just spent several weeks thinking about counterpoint, so think about how these progressions do or do not harmonize your melody well. It’s certainly okay to include dissonances, and in some cases, the melody and chord progression have almost no coordination whatsoever. Do whatever your ear guides you to—just be prepared to justify it.
1 Optional sections include: 1) pre-chorus (between verse and chorus); 2) bridge (after second chorus); 3) terminal climax (brand new repeated material at the end); 4) intro/outro; or 5) instrumental solo.
2 If only using a verse and chorus, they will be different progressions. However, if you include more than two sections (for example, a pre-chorus or bridge) you could then have the verse and chorus share the same progression. Standard diatonic pop progressions include:3
Name progression example
Pop-punk I—V—vi—IV Blink 182 “All the Small Things”
Zombie vi—IV—I—V Cranberries “Zombie”
Doo-Wop I—vi—IV—V Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”
Sisyphus IV—V—vi—I Múm “Green Grass of Tunnel”
Puff I—iii—(vi, IV, or both) Alesso “Heroes”
Turnaround V–IV–I “Sweet Home Alabama,” or last 4 bars of 12-bar blues
Circle of 5ths vi—ii—V—I Weezer “Pink Triangle”
Pachelbel I—V—vi—iii—IV Green Day “Basket Case”
The following pop progressions include at least one chromatic chord
Name progression example
Major III I—III—(vi, IV, or both) Radiohead, “Creep”
Double-tonic vi—IV—I—III (same as Hamilton, “Alexander Hamilton” above, just rotated) Major II (I or vi)—II—IV—I Lots of Beatles songs (e.g., “All I’ve got to do”)
Minor iv I—(anything)—IV—iv Death Cab for Cutie “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”
Descending 3rds I—vi—IV—(II, or just ii) Elliott Smith, “Say Yes”
3 Feel free to either shorten or elongate these (especially in shorter sections like pre-chorus). For example, pre-choruses often just use the repeating IV–V progression at the beginning of Sisyphus. If you feel especially strongly about using a progression not listed here, please run it by me over email first, including a transcription of how it works with your melody. 4. Arrange your song using the four layers. Once you have your melody and lyrics transcribed and the chord progressions written out, figure out how you’re going to perform it in your POD. Each person needs to play a part,4 but you may also bring in “ringers” if you want to use an instrument that nobody in your POD plays.
Functional Pop examples Easiest example layer primary voice Lead singer melodic lead guitar/lead synth functional electric bass Electric bass (have an amp!) bass piano left hand synth cello/bass
harmonic electric/acoustic guitar chords Strummed chords (either acoustic, or, filler piano chords electric with amp) choir/synth/string pads (whatever is playing chords) explicit beat drum set Drum set (make friends with a drummer electronic/programed percussion and the percussion studio?) vocal/body percussion
5. Notate your song. This can be as simple as “lead sheet notation” (see Appendix 1), where you write out the lead vocal melody/l in traditional notation, with lyrics beneath the corresponding note, and chord symbols (e.g. C, Dm7, G7/B, etc.) above where the chord changes occur.5 You could also do something more specific, such as notating all of the parts instead of using chord symbols. You certainly do not need to write out the explicit beat layer, but can if you want.
6. Rehearse. Once you’ve figured out what everyone is playing, spend some time rehearsing so that it’s polished on Friday. If you have any electronics—for example, a programmed beat—make sure that it’s ready.6
4 and yes, programming a drum machine counts (you can just hit play during the performance).
5 For a list of chord symbols, see http://openmusictheory.com/Graphics/Handouts/ LSandFBsymbols.pdf
6 You’ll only have an 1/8” stereo cable (e.g., headphone jack in a laptop/iPad/iPhone). Have your playback cued up and ready to go—we won’t have time for tech malfunctions. III. Procedure Checking in: So that you can have a private space in which to work, and can easily access any non-portable instruments, meet on rehearsal days wherever you like. To make sure you are all there, on task and on time:
1) email me a “selfie” no later than 8:05 with all band members and, if applicable, their instruments. My email address is
Presentation: Designate one or more members of your group the “presenter(s).” Put your score on the document camera after the performance. The presenter(s) will share in just 1 or 2 minutes why you chose the chord progressions you did, and how those progressions worked or didn’t work with your melody. IV. RUBRIC. This assignment is one half of your “projects” column (weighted average=20%). As such, it is worth 10% of your total grade in the course.
Grade Broadcast Length, layers Performance Notation
A every POD song includes performance score is made of standard member present appropriate number of was rehearsed music notation and chord and on time, sections and stage- symbols appearing on- ready camera at 8:00 both days
B a member was song was an performance score does not relate to the late between 1– appropriate length, but has a few piece in a meaningful way 5 minutes missing one or more hiccups layers
C a member was arrangement was an performance there is some notation which late more than 5 inappropriate length unrehearsed is vaguely musical in nature minutes
D a player was arrangement was an performance there is no score absent and/or inappropriate length, falls apart, the broadcast and was missing layers needs restart was non- existent
Appendix 1: example of lead-sheet notation