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Songs with similar chord changes

o.k., i remember when i first found this site, probably about a year ago.  much has happened since then.  i have found this site very helpful.  i have matured trememdously musically.  it used to take me forever to memorize songs and i couldn't understand how people could play so many songs by memory.

i now realize that many songs have the same or very simliar chord changes, or that there are many chord sequences that are used frequently.  such as the mighty ii v i turnaround for example.  i have found that when i am able to identify the similarity, i can memorize a peice in no time at all.  i can usually crank out a song in about 15 mins, which is very good for me, it used to take me at least an hour.

that lead me to think that i might try memorizing songs that have the same chord changes.  anyone know where you might find lists of songs with similar chord progressions(besides the blues)?

by bobsmith on 02/26/2005, 02:22

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by MoJazz on 02/26/2005, 10:19

the second half of the track reminds me vaguely of theme from seinfeld.

...

i hope this helped.

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by nn on 02/26/2005, 23:25

ralph patt has systematically classified chord progression motifs and related them to the standards in which they occur, which is sort of what you're looking for. take a look at https://www.ralphpatt.com/tonal.html

sid

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by sid on 02/26/2005, 10:36

i don't know that piece but if you like this kind of smooth jazz piano playing then you'll probably like david benoit. i think its very difficult to pull off that kind of playing as a solo number, if you loisten to it, it depends a lot on the accompaniment to make that smooth sound.

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by arnz98 on 02/27/2005, 09:30

wow, sid,  exactly what i was looking for, thanks, that site will help a lot.

as far as the question about memorizing songs in 15 mins, i am currently only memorizing songs that i have heard and/or played before.  i can't memorize songs very well that i have never heard before.  the reason is because i am getting to the point that i can play the melody by ear. in other words, all i really need to memorize is the chord progressions, and my right hand seems to know what to do on its own.  i don't mean to say that i have every song i pick up memorized in 15 mins, but once i am familiar with the tune, i can sit down and have it in my memory bank within 15 mins.

it's hard to describe, but i have been working at it for about a year now, i have learned that its not about memorizing notes.   i still need to keep working at it, but what has helped me is playing the melody without any sheet music.  if i was having trouble with that, i would get a recording and play along.  if that still didn't work, i would break out the fake book.  it's almost like the book is the last resort.

what happends is after a while, you become so familiar with the intervals that you don't have to "memorize" the melody, as long as you know where to start, you will always know where the next note is going.

another think that i have found to be extrememly helpful, but i admit i don't do it nearly as i should, is transposing the song into at least 3 different keys once the song is memorized.  that's how i came to discover that several songs have similar chord progressions.  they might be in different keys, but if you are able to play a song in 4 different keys, you can probably play it in all 12.  you will have a much better understanding of the musical structure and be able to identify similarities between songs that help to simplify the process.

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by bobsmith on 02/26/2005, 22:26

i have a cd with pianist joe sealy and bass player paul novotny called "blue jade". the style is slightly similar, quite smooth, although more bluesy.

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by nn on 02/27/2005, 14:53

you might check out tom grant, dave grusin, joe sample and ramsey lewis. also, there's a book called *smooth jazz* that has tunes a few of the popular tunes. go to the search box at the left corner next to "search for books, cd's, music".

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by MoJazz on 02/27/2005, 19:16

thank you guys for helping me. actually. the tune you listened for is a swedish gospel quire sing along cd. i�m just impressed with the style and that�s how i�d like to play. the song is missing from the track. i just wanted you to concentrate more on the playing... :)

martin

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by mstore on 02/28/2005, 04:37

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Songs with similar chord changes

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by MoJazz on 02/26/2005, 10:19

by nn on 02/26/2005, 23:25

by sid on 02/26/2005, 10:36

by arnz98 on 02/27/2005, 09:30

by bobsmith on 02/26/2005, 22:26

by nn on 02/27/2005, 14:53

by MoJazz on 02/27/2005, 19:16

by mstore on 02/28/2005, 04:37

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Songs with similar chord changes

There are no comments, leave a comment.

by MoJazz on 02/26/2005, 10:19

by nn on 02/26/2005, 23:25

by sid on 02/26/2005, 10:36

by arnz98 on 02/27/2005, 09:30

by bobsmith on 02/26/2005, 22:26

by nn on 02/27/2005, 14:53

by MoJazz on 02/27/2005, 19:16

by mstore on 02/28/2005, 04:37

Reply to Thread

Jazz Piano Notebook Series

"Latinesque"

LJP Jazz Piano Blogs

Most Recent Discussions

Articles

Top Sheetmusic Picks

Jazz piano education is cool.

Rock on. Follow your passion.

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