- Hi, I'm Gareth Green,
and in this video,
we're going to be thinking about chord progressions,
starting with chord III.
So what do I mean by a chord progression?
Well, it's just this notion that you have one chord
followed by another, followed by another.
It gives us a progression of chords.
And just in case anybody's wondering,
what do I mean by all these Roman numerals
that are on the board?
It's all very simple, really,
once you get to the bottom of it.
So let me just run through this quickly.
We're going to work in the key of C major.
So here's the scale of C major:
C, D, E, F, G, A, B,
and then back to C again.
Obviously, I can number off those notes
as what we call degrees of the scale:
first degree of the scale, second degree,
third degree, fourth degree, fifth degree,
sixth degree, seventh degree, back to the first degree.
So one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, back to one.
When we're doing chords,
we tend to label them using Roman numerals.
So if I have a chord I, as a Roman numeral,
it's going to be based on the first degree of the scale.
So C major, the first degree of the scale is C.
And to make a chord, I use that, which is what we call
the root note, the bottom of a chord,
and I add a third and a fifth.
So one, two, three,
one, two, three, four, five.
So that's a root, a third, and a fifth.
So C, E, G, is chord I in the key of C major.
So if I do the same thing on the second degree, D,
I get D, F, A, so that's chord II.
E, G, B, is chord III,
F, A, C, is chord IV,
G, B, D, is chord V,
A, C, E, is chord VI,
B, D, F, is chord VII,
and then I come back to C, E, G,
which is why that's chord I and not chord VIII.
So what we're doing in this video
is starting with chord III.
Now, it's a very interesting chord
because it's often a chord that people avoid.
We have in our system of chords
things that we call primary chords.
So I, IV and V, are the primary chords.
Things like II, III, and VI, are the secondary chords.
So, we're probably going to use
more primary chords than secondary chords,
as the title suggests.
And of the secondary chords,
well, III is often regarded as the weakest
or the one that we're least likely to use.
So lots of people avoid chord III like the plague
because somebody told them
that it's a slightly dodgy thing to do.
Well, hopefully by the end of this video,
you'll see at least fifteen possibilities
for starting with chord III
and progressing to two other chords
that would follow on quite nicely from them.
So we're going to work through these.
Just before I do, if chord III is E, G, B,
that's the triad,
of course, if I want to make four notes in my chord,
I just need to double one of those notes.
So I could put another E in the bass,
so I've got two E's, the G and a B.
I could have lots of notes in a chord,
but you notice I've got one, two, three,
four, five, six, seven notes,
but all those notes are E's, G's, and B's.
So they still all belong to chord III.
So you can have as many parts in a chord as you want to,
but it's all based on the notes of that triad.
Okay, so here is option number one.
Starting with chord III, I can then go to I and then to V.
What does that sound like?
So here's III, I, V.
Actually, it sounds quite good, doesn't it?
So, why would you not want to use that, really?
Perfectly reasonable.
Option number two, III going to I and then to II.
So maybe III and then I and II.
And now you might think, well, that sounds all right,
but it doesn't sound like the end of something.
It doesn't have to be the end of something.
It could be the start of a phrase or the middle of a phrase.
Or you might think, well,
it sort of wants to go somewhere else afterwards.
Well, it probably does.
How about this?
If I use option number two,
I go III to I to II,
and then maybe I go V, I.
Or maybe I do my III, I, II,
and then I go V to VI.
And actually those two options give you
a nice kind of five-chord progression.
So if you're not convinced by III, I, II,
well, think about III, I, II followed by V, I, or V, VI.
Okay, option number three, III, I to IV.
So here's III to I to IV.
Okay, does that work on its own?
Well, yes.
And then you might think, well, again,
it wants something stuck on the end of it.
So why not go V, I again,
or III, I, IV, and then V, VI
would flow on as well quite nicely.
You can see I'm starting with progressions
that go from chord III to chord I.
It's quite a good progression in the sense of this,
that in chord III, two of the notes are E and G,
and in chord I, two of the notes are E and G.
So they're what we call common notes.
They appear in chord III and they appear in chord I.
So where you've common notes,
that kind of works quite nicely as a kind of blending
from one chord to the next.
So that's why we're exploring progressions
that have I after the III.
Okay, option four is III to I to VI.
So III to I to VI.
And then it might go on, say II to V.
So III, I, VI, II, V.
Quite a nice progression, isn't it?
So, hopefully you're beginning to see why III, actually,
is a more useful chord than some people
would make us believe.
Okay, option number five, III to II to V.
So III to II to V.
There are lots of textbooks
that advise us against certain progressions.
They might say, well, III to II
is not a very good progression.
They often don't explain why.
Well, there's a danger in going III to II.
If I do this, III to II,
with all the parts moving in the same direction,
I get what we call parallel octaves, or consecutive octaves,
and parallel fifths, or consecutive fifths.
So as long as I'm careful that if I'm going to go
something like III to II,
where the bass is just moving down a note like that,
that the other notes may be going in the opposite direction,
what we call contrary motion,
then I won't get those parallels or those consecutives.
And it sounds quite nice.
And you've got a little bit
of a melodic shape as well, haven't you?
So I think that works quite nicely.
Okay, option number six is III to II to VI.
So III to II to VI.
That's quite a nice progression as well, I think.
Okay, what about option number seven,
it's going III to IV to V.
So III to IV to V.
What's quite handy about that one
is the bass going by step, three, four, five.
Again, don't get parallels with the other parts
go in contrary motion.
So if the bass is coming up, the top line could come down.
And then you avoid all that parallel movement.
Okay, option number eight, III to IV to VI.
So III to IV to VI.
I think that one works quite well.
Option number nine, III to IV to II.
So III to IV to II.
Now you might think, is that convincing?
Well, it might be if it goes on, so.
III to IV to II to V to I,
is quite a nice way of doing it, isn't it?
Or III to IV to II to III to I,
then II, then V.
You see, some of these work even better
in a slightly bigger context.
So those are some options there.
Option ten, III to IV to I.
Quite a strong move because you get a cadence
going from IV to I.
So III to IV to I goes quite nicely.
The what about number eleven?
That's giving you another cadence, III to V to I.
Again, it's another strong one, in a way,
because in chord III, you've got a G and a B.
In chord V, you've got a G and a B.
So you've got two common notes going from III to V.
And if you can repeat those common notes in the same parts,
that gives you even more stability.
Okay, option twelve is III to V to VI.
So III, V, VI.
Option thirteen, III to V to II.
So III, V, II.
That goes quite nicely.
Option fourteen, III to VI to V.
III, VI, V.
And then option fifteen, III to VI to IV.
So that's III, VI, IV.
Again, may not sound terribly complete,
but you can always bolt on.
So III to VI to IV to V to I.
Or III to VI to IV to V to VI.
So there we are.
I'm hoping that this makes some people feel a bit braver
about using chord III.
So if you're one of the people
who've kind of been bought into this idea that chord III
is something we want to avoid like the plague,
well, those are fifteen possible progressions
that start with chord III and move on to two other chords
that are pretty convincing.
Depends on the style of the music that you want to create,
what character you're trying to create.
I mean, lots of other factors combine
with the chord progressions as well.
But sometimes, people just tell me,
"I'm just stuck with the same old chord progressions
"and I need some fresh thinking,"
well, here's a bit of fresh thinking.
How often do you use chord III?
And if you were brave enough to use it,
well, how might you use it?
So fifteen options for using chord III
and how you might progress from it.
So I hope that's something that's useful
and maybe opens a few new possibilities for you.
And if you found this a helpful video,
well, you might want to go to www.mmcourses.co.uk
and investigate other things
that Music Matters can offer.
Because apart from all the videos we've got
on the YouTube channel,
we've also got online courses on that website
in theory, harmony, Bach chorales,
analysis, orchestration, heaps of stuff
that would be helpful resources for musicians.
And those are progressive online courses
that once you've obtained them, you keep for life.
So you might want to have a look at that.
And while you're on the website,
you might also want to click on Maestros on the homepage,
and that will tell you all about
our Music Matters Maestros group.
And there are lots of great advantages in being a Maestro.
I mean, you get loyalty badges and emoji.
You can support the channel.
You have access to behind-the-scenes content,
all sorts of things.
And also, you get discounts on our courses,
and by kind of getting involved in Maestros,
you also have access to the monthly livestreams we offer.
And they're full of exciting content
that people find very helpful,
and also a great way to meet other musicians
from across the world.
So they're very exciting monthly gatherings that we have.
Anyway, www.mmcourses.co.uk
if you want to find out more.