To make a chord progression a little more interesting, here is an idea for you.
Say we are going from C to Am. Take the fifth of the chord you are going to next, in this case E, and play the dominant seventh, E7. So the chord progression becomes C,E7,Am.
This adds another chord to the progression that fits well, even if the fifth of the next chord is the root of the first chord. Example, C to F. So that becomes C,C7,F.
Good tips Billy, To add to those try C, CMaj7(or C, C/B, Am), Am, or C,Em7,Am, or C,Em7,F or C, C9, F. If you are playing a blues pattern try C, C13b9, F9. There are many options for moving from one chord to another. I hope this helps.
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Same with the options I listed using your C to Am (Tonic to Submediant) chord examples, except for the blues option which was C to F (Tonic to Subdominant).
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I did not explain exactly why this works. It is actually the descending bass line, the one-note walk-downs, that connects all this together.
And certainly, the video was able to explain in eleven minutes what I could not in four sentences...lol
Many people struggle with chord progressions. BIAB's main interface is chords, and as this is a beginner forum, I try to keep it simple.
The more I learn, the more I find the "5th" involved in so many things.
I had forgotten that this could be called a pivot chord.
Obviously, this chord structure is only suitable for certain styles of music.
I have figured out most of this sort of thing by playing the piano. Even if you don't play piano, a small keyboard is a very useful tool to see relationships.
Actually, Mario, I thought I had posted this in the Beginners forum, not the Woodshedding—Learning to Play forum. I guess both could be considered "beginner" forums. My comment was not directed at you. The video also explained this much better than I could.
It was a good thing Moonbeam posted the video. It was certainly more instructive than a short post from either of us could be.
I learned these "pivot" chords from hearing them first. It never occurred to me, learning them by ear, that they were always the fifth of the next chord.
I think many guitar players may take a very long time to recognize every note and every inversion on the frett board and have the guitar become as visual as the piano.
The longer I play the more I understand the value of the work I have been unwilling to do...lol
Knowing why something works can be quite valuable. However, knowing music theory is not a requirement for playing.
Knowing why something works can be quite valuable. However, knowing music theory is not a requirement for playing.
The funny thing is that I've always done this in my musical (ahem) career because I liked how it sounded, and because it's a pretty obvious thing to do on the piano. And I discovered the C/E notation in BIAB. But as almost always, I had no idea what I was doing. Thanks to you guys, I now know why it works so beautifully
For anyone else reading, the C/E notation Billy refers to is called ‘slash root’ and it’s a way to control the bass walking, by specifying different inversions for the chord.
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With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
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SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
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MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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