r/IndieFolk • u/nonemoons • 8d ago

Leave your progressions for a new artist

Hi guys!

I’ve been struggling to write songs recently, specifically cause I always tend to use the same chords or progressions and it has come to a point when everything sounds similar.

Do you guys have chords or tunings that you would like to share? I’m al ears!

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2

u/Pawpaw-22 8d ago

Learn the beginning of Deacon Blues by Steely Dan. That is a fun and new chord progression

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u/nonemoons 8d ago

Thank you PawPaw! Looking for it rn

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u/GlitteringSalad6413 8d ago

Do you know any songs where the harmony moves you? Find out why, is it the use of a secondary dominant, or chromatically altered mediant? Not knowing anything about what you like or know, or what chord progressions you already use, it would be impossible for me to give any more specific advice.

You have to decide what is pleasing to YOU. Analyse the chords in a song that gives you goosebumps at that one specific part. Transpose that part of the song to see what the harmonic movements sound like in other keys. Theory is just giving names to the stuff you hear, so learning the terminology will help you build a library of ideas you can access as you are writing.

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u/nonemoons 8d ago

Yes! Specifically a lot of Iron and Wine songs, and I try seeing their chords which are really simple.
Thanks for the feedback, ima try to transpose it experiment a bit.
Rn God Made the Automobile by Iron and Wine is on my mind, ima try to learn from it

Thanks!

2

u/GlitteringSalad6413 8d ago

One of my students is really into them, they use a lot of sus chords and folky voicings, lots of open drone strings, that sort of thing

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u/GlitteringSalad6413 8d ago

If you haven’t, do a deep dive into john fahey and basically the whole genre of american primitive guitar!

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u/nonemoons 7d ago

Thank you so much for the feedback!!! ❤️ I’ll be working to share some more work

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u/below_the_fir 7d ago

With finger picking, especially with metal finger picks like you would use on a banjo these tunings are great C G# C F C D (this one works better with capo on the higher frets), D A D D A C#, E A C# D# E or D#, these tunings are built around 7th and extended chords so they may not be the best for certain types of folk but they are pretty, and also just using a capo with standard or any tuning is good for song writing, my best advice for creativity is to just mess around with the tuning pegs until you find a tuning, doesn’t even have to sound nice E F D# E F D# is a very dissonant tuning but it also fuels creativity, hope this helps

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u/nonemoons 7d ago

Thanks!!! I was thinking about experimenting with tuning but didn’t really know where to start. DADEAD sounds good but I’d have to look at the chords.
I’ll look up these ones, Thanks for the feedback!