As a songwriter or music producer, you’re always looking for ways to add emotional depth and seamless transitions to your music. Whether you’re composing for the first time or polishing up an existing track, finding the right chords to convey emotion and mood is crucial. The Piano Companion app is a powerful tool designed to help musicians at any level achieve just that.

One of the most impactful ways to elevate your compositions is by understanding and using relative and common chords. These types of chords can make your chord progressions sound smoother, more cohesive, and emotionally resonant. In this blog, I’ll walk you through how to use the Chord Progression Builder in Piano Companion to harness the power of relative and common chords in your songwriting and production.

What Are Relative Chords?

Let’s start by breaking down what relative chords are. In music theory, a relative chord refers to a chord that shares the same key signature as another chord but provides a different tonal center. For example, the relative minor of a major chord shares all the same notes but starts on the sixth degree of the scale. In the key of C Major, the relative minor is A minor (Am).

Relative chords are essential in songwriting because they create movement and tension without straying too far from the harmonic home base. Think of them as your go-to tool for subtle but effective transitions that keep the listener engaged. And when you’re composing using Piano Companion, the app instantly suggests these relative chords for you, making the composition process much smoother.

How Relative Chords Create Emotional Transitions

Imagine you’re writing a song in the key of C major. You start with a basic C major chord, but after a few bars, you want to introduce a new emotional layer without dramatically changing the key. This is where you would naturally turn to A minor, the relative minor chord.

In many popular songs, this subtle shift can evoke a more introspective or melancholic feeling. Using Piano Companion’s Chord Progression Builder, you can quickly explore all possible relative chords for the key you’re working in. All you need to do is choose your base chord, and the app suggests the related chords, giving you plenty of options to experiment with.

What Are Common Chords?

Next, let’s talk about common chords. A common chord is a chord that acts as a bridge between two keys, making it incredibly useful when you want to modulate from one key to another without sounding abrupt. When moving between two keys, you can use a chord that is common to both to smooth the transition.

This is particularly useful in songwriting or music production when you want to introduce a key change but don’t want it to feel jarring. With Piano Companion, finding these common chords is a breeze, helping you maintain harmonic coherence throughout your composition.

Common Chords for Key Modulation

Let’s say you’re composing in the key of C major but want to transition smoothly into G major. Both C major and G major share the chord D minor (Dm), so you could use this as a common chord to guide your progression from one key to the next. A seamless modulation like this can add surprise and dynamic contrast to your composition while maintaining a sense of flow.

The Chord Progression Builder in Piano Companion makes this process even more intuitive by showing you which chords work as bridges between keys. This allows you to experiment with key changes that sound natural and effortless.

Using the Chord Progression Builder in Piano Companion

By now, you’re probably wondering how you can apply these relative and common chords in your own compositions. The good news is, Piano Companion simplifies this process. The Chord Progression Builder is a feature designed to help songwriters, producers, and musicians create smooth transitions and emotionally engaging progressions using relative and common chords.

Step-by-Step: Creating a Progression with Relative and Common Chords

1. Select Your Key: Start by choosing your desired key in the Chord Progression Builder. For this example, let’s use C major.
2. Choose Your Base Chord: After selecting the key, pick your starting chord—let’s say C major.
3. Explore Relative Chords: Now that your base chord is set, use the suggestions in the app to explore relative chords, like A minor. Play around with how these minor chords add a different mood to your progression.
4. Use Common Chords for Modulation: If you want to change keys, the app will also suggest common chords that can be used to modulate. For instance, transitioning from C major to G major could involve using the D minor chord as a bridge.
5. Fine-Tune Your Progression: Experiment with these suggestions until you find a chord sequence that feels right. You can also adjust the tempo and rhythm of the progression to match the emotional tone of your piece.

With these simple steps, you’ll be able to create compelling chord progressions that flow smoothly from one emotional landscape to another. This is particularly helpful for producers and songwriters who want to create tracks that keep the listener engaged from start to finish.

Why Relative and Common Chords Matter in Modern Songwriting

So why focus on relative and common chords? The answer lies in their ability to enhance the emotional journey of your music. These chords are the unsung heroes behind many hit songs, subtly guiding listeners through different emotional states without them even realizing it.

For example, listen to some of your favorite songs, and you’ll likely notice that many of them transition smoothly from major to minor, or from one key to another, using these exact principles. By incorporating relative and common chords into your songwriting, you’re building a toolbox of techniques that will make your compositions feel more polished and professional.

Examples of Songs Using Relative and Common Chords

To give you an idea of how powerful these chords can be, let’s look at a few examples from popular music:

• “Let It Be” by The Beatles: This song uses the relative minor (A minor) in the key of C major to create a sense of resolution and calm.
• “Someone Like You” by Adele: The progression here modulates between different keys using common chords, creating the dynamic emotional shifts that make the song so impactful.
• “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen: This song features a beautifully crafted progression that leverages relative minor chords to create a haunting yet uplifting feel.

In each of these examples, the songwriters have used relative and common chords to build an emotional arc that resonates deeply with listeners. And with Piano Companion, you have the same tools at your fingertips to do the same in your music.

Conclusion: Unlock Your Full Creative Potential

As a songwriter or producer, the ability to move seamlessly between chords and keys is a game-changer. Relative and common chords provide the building blocks for creating emotional depth and fluidity in your compositions, allowing you to guide your listeners on a captivating musical journey.

Whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned pro, Piano Companion is the perfect tool to help you explore these possibilities. With features like the Chord Progression Builder, you’ll have everything you need to craft smoother transitions, experiment with modulations, and create emotionally resonant music. Ready to take your songwriting to the next level? Try Piano Companion today!

As a musician, whether you’re just starting out or an experienced teacher, understanding piano chords is fundamental to your musical journey. Chords serve as the backbone of most music, providing harmony, structure, and emotion to songs. But with so many chords out there—major, minor, diminished, augmented—where do you even start?

This is where Piano Companion comes in. It’s a versatile music theory tool that helps songwriters, producers, teachers, and students unlock the mystery of chords. It’s like having a piano chord and scale dictionary in your pocket, complete with powerful features such as user libraries, reverse mode, and a chord progression builder. In this post, we’ll take you on a journey through the world of piano chords using Piano Companion, showing you how to explore, practice, and apply these chords in your music.

What Are Piano Chords?

In simple terms, a piano chord is a group of notes played together to create harmony. Most commonly, chords consist of three or more notes. A basic chord is made up of a root note, a third, and a fifth. But as you dive deeper into music theory, you’ll encounter more complex chords like seventh chords, ninth chords, and extended chords. Each chord has its own unique flavor and can dramatically alter the mood of a piece of music.

In Piano Companion, you can easily explore a wide range of chords, from simple triads to complex jazz chords. The app visually represents chords on a grand staff, showing you not only the notes but also the fingering for both hands, intervals, and degrees. Whether you’re a student learning piano chords for the first time or a teacher looking for a practical way to explain them, this tool is a game-changer.

Exploring Basic Piano Chords with Piano Companion

Let’s start with the basics. A major chord is built from a root note, a major third, and a perfect fifth. A minor chord has a root note, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. With Piano Companion, identifying and understanding these chords becomes a breeze.

• Open the app and select the chord dictionary. Input your root note (e.g., C), and you’ll instantly see all the available chords, starting with the simple C Major chord.
• The app displays the chord on the staff, showing you the notes: C, E, and G. You’ll also see the proper fingering for both hands.
• You can hear how the chord sounds by playing it back in a loop or arpeggiated form. This auditory feedback helps solidify your understanding of how major chords should sound.

For teachers, this is a fantastic way to explain the relationship between notes in a chord. You can visually show students how the intervals create the structure of the chord, making it easier for them to grasp these concepts.

Unlocking More Complex Piano Chords

Once you’ve got the basics down, it’s time to explore more complex chords. Seventh chords, for example, are essential for creating richer harmonies. These include major seventh, minor seventh, dominant seventh, and diminished seventh chords.

With Piano Companion, finding and practicing these chords is incredibly simple:

• Choose a chord type, such as “dominant seventh,” and the app will display all the relevant notes, intervals, and fingering.
• You can practice these chords in various inversions, which is crucial for both composers and performers who want to add variety to their music.
• Don’t forget to try playing the chord in different keys, a feature that Piano Companion makes effortless. It helps you see the patterns that are universal across all chords and scales.

For students, understanding complex chords like seventh or ninth chords is a major milestone. By using the app to explore different chord voicings and inversions, you gain a deeper appreciation for the harmonic possibilities in music. For teachers, this makes explaining advanced concepts much easier, as you can demonstrate these chords visually and aurally.

Building Chord Progressions

One of the most powerful features of Piano Companion is its Chord Progression Builder. As you progress in your understanding of chords, learning how to put them together in sequences is key to composing music. Whether you’re writing pop songs, jazz pieces, or classical compositions, chord progressions are essential to establishing the mood and direction of your music.

With the Chord Progression Builder, you can:

• Experiment with different common progressions like I-IV-V or ii-V-I.
• Use relative chords to switch keys within a song, creating dynamic and interesting harmonies.
• Listen to how different progressions sound by playing them back in real-time, helping you to determine what works best for your composition.

This feature is incredibly useful for teachers as well. You can show your students the relationship between chords and scales, helping them understand why certain progressions work and how to experiment with their own musical ideas.

Creating and Using Custom Piano Chords

One of the standout features of Piano Companion is the ability to create custom chords and scales. This is perfect for advanced students, songwriters, and producers looking to push the boundaries of traditional music theory.

Here’s how to do it:

• Select the “Custom Chords” option from the main menu.
• Input your chosen notes, intervals, and voicings to create a unique chord.
• Save this chord to your library and incorporate it into your compositions or use it in the Chord Progression Builder.

Whether you’re exploring jazz harmonies, atonal music, or just want to create something new, this feature allows you to go beyond the limits of standard chords. For teachers, this is a great way to encourage creativity in students, showing them that music theory is not set in stone but is a framework for exploration.

Practicing Piano Chords and Scales Together

Another benefit of using Piano Companion is the ability to practice both chords and scales side by side. By understanding how chords are built from scales, you gain a more holistic view of music theory.

Here’s how to practice effectively:

• Select a scale (e.g., C Major) and explore the compatible chords associated with it.
• Use the app to practice the scale’s fingerings, either in block chords or arpeggiated form.
• Explore how these chords fit within common chord progressions, and experiment with creating your own progressions based on the scale.

For students, practicing chords and scales together reinforces the connection between the two, making it easier to apply theory in real-life playing situations. For teachers, this is a fantastic tool for explaining these relationships to your students.

Conclusion

Piano chords form the foundation of so much music, and understanding how to use them is key to becoming a well-rounded musician. Whether you’re