Harmony and Chord Progressions

Explore the piano roll editor used in Ableton to understand chords, melodies, and harmony from a piano perspective, drawing notes to form chords and melodies over time.

Explore intervals from perfect unison to octave, including semitones and whole tones, minor second, and major second, and see how these building blocks form chords.

Explore the C major scale, a sequence of preferred notes on white keys with C as the tonic, illustrating diatonic versus chromatic notes and the whole-step, half-step pattern.

Identify the diatonic chords of the C major scale, including C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, and B diminished, and learn their interval patterns.

Explore roman numerals and scale degrees in major keys, and how 1–4–5 and variations like 1–5–6–4 map chords (major, minor, diminished) across scales for musical communication.

Learn to transpose scales and chords, preserving interval structure and scale codes, from C major to D major, using roman numerals and 1-4-5-1 progressions.

Explore the relative minor of C major and how A minor uses the same white piano keys. Learn how the circle of fifths links G major to E minor.

Explore substituting the fourth chord with its relative minor, using E minor seven instead of G major, guided by the circle of fifths, and add midi lag.

Discover how power chords use only roots and fifths, why distortion favors this approach in rock and metal, and how roman numerals still apply in major and minor progressions.

Learn how arpeggios express chords as note sequences, exploring second inversion C major, A minor, F major, and G major, with bottom-up and top-down patterns for trance and pop styles.

discusses how borrowed chords from the parallel minor color a diatonic progression by inserting chromatic chords and returning to the original key without modulation.

Learn to insert secondary dominants into a 1–4–5 progression in C major, building D7 to G major and C7 to F major, and compare C7 with C major seven.

Analyze a groovy e minor progression with a f-sharp signature, built from two big chords—e minor and c major—using diatonic passing chords, inventive voicing, and bass patterns for groove.

Discover chord magic and expressive harmonies in ballad-style progressions, using sound 2 techniques to shape emotional ballad textures and melodic storytelling.

Learn to craft a tropical house chord progression in a minor scale and melodies weaving through chords using root, third, and fifth notes in natural, harmonic, and melodic minor.

We covered harmony and chord progressions, helping you gain a deeper understanding and feel prepared to produce tracks with strong voicings and sound.