Beginning songwriters sometimes find themselves inadvertently using the same two or three chord sequences in every song they write. Different keys, different tempos, but the same basic changes on the guitar or keyboard, changes that can become "personal cliches" through overuse. For example, you may catch yourself using chord sequences like

A D A D

or

A D A E

over and over. (You might want to get your guitar or keyboard out and play some of these lines yourself so you can hear what I'm talking about!)

Now, these are both perfectly good chord sequences, and are used in many songs, some of them hits! But the point is that you wouldn't want to rely on a small set of sequences as a kind of crutch, to the point that your songs begin to sound interchangeable.

It Could Be Verse

For this article, I am going to assume that we are writing a 16-bar verse, with four lines containing four measures each. The same sequences and ideas can be used for choruses or other song segments as well. Most of the songs I write have four beats per measure, but these sequences can be used with any time signature.

Let's consider the verse in terms of its four individual lines. Each line can be thought of as kind of world of its own, and if you have a lot of four-bar sequences ready and "at hand" (having read this article!), it becomes natural to "mix and match" these sequences when creating your verse.

In some cases, especially "folk" type songs, you can get away with using the same four-bar sequence for all four lines of the verse. (Try playing one of the sequences given above four times in a row and you'll get the idea.) More common, though, is to have the first, second, and fourth lines be the same with the third line being a different sequence. You can also alternate two sequences, using one for the first and third lines and the other for the second and fourth. Or have the first and second lines be the same and use two different sequences for the third and fourth. You get the idea.

How far should you carry this mixing and matching? Well, it is possible for all four lines to be different sequences, but unless the differences are quite slight (an E changes to an E7, for example), this is likely to result in a meandering melody, or perhaps something "artistic" sounding (i.e. self-indulgent). Listeners like a combination of familiarity and novelty in a song, and this is what you should be going for when you write your verse.

Here's the Beef

OK, now let me list some actual four-bar chord sequences that you can consider for use as "building blocks" in your songs. I will assume we are in the key of A for these sequences, but they can be transposed to the key of your choice without undue difficulty. Remember, you will ultimately build a verse out of some combination of a few of these individual lines as discussed above. Try them out on your own instrument:

A   D   E   A

A   E   D   A

A   E   D   E

D   E   A   A

D   A   E   E

E   D   A   A

E   D   A   D

I'm sure I have used each of these in at least one song over the years, some of them in more like a couple dozen. If you tried playing these lines, I'll bet at least one of them suggested a melodic phrase or hook, or maybe even led you to write a new song right on the spot!

Making Minor Changes

Of course, most songs don't use all major chords! You can add to the four-measure sequences you have on hand by substituting the relative minor chord for one or more of the major chords in the above sequences. Without going into detail here, I will just say that the relative minor of A is F#m, of D is Bm, and of E is C#m. Transpose as needed for other keys.

OK! By taking the seven sequences just above and making some judicious substitutions of minor chords, we end up with the following lines (again, play along for true understanding):

A   Bm   E   A

F#m   E   D   A

F#m   E   D   E

D   E   A   F#m

Bm   A   E   E

C#m   D   A   F#m

E   D   A   Bm

So many sequences! Now that you can see how these are put together, I'm sure you can come up with even better ones on your own.

Mark Bendig is the Cheap Advice Guy, offering tips on songwriting, recording, and live sound at http://cheapadviceonmusic.com. An inexpensive eBook called "Cheap Advice On Songwriting," which includes 60 great songwriting tips and 21 example songs, is available on the website.