ASSIGNMENT:

Write a tonal chord progression in the key of A minor, in 10 minutes or less.

We've all been there—staring at an empty digital workstation session or at a blank sheet of staff paper, trying to figure out what to write—with no idea of how to start.

Have you ever been in this predicament? If so, you'll love our class project because I’ve given you a foolproof, logical system to follow. By repeating this exercise often your writing ability and speed will increase. There are no mistakes—write, record, listen back to figure out what sounds good and what doesn’t—rinse and repeat.

Watch the video lessons where I've demonstrated how to utilize this system including helpful writing tips along the way.

STEPS:

Please reference Video Lesson 3: Chords in Tonal Music and Video Lesson 5: Class Assignment to help with completing this project.

Warm up by playing through the chords of the A harmonic minor scale on your chord-producing instrument. *See the chart "Chords of the Harmonic Minor Scale" in my Class Notes pdf for reference.
Reference my charts "Chords of the Harmonic Minor Scale" and "Chords in Tonal Music" in my Class Notes pdf and using your instrument begin cycling through chords in the key of A minor, moving from left to right; starting with a tonic chord, then moving to a pre-dominant chord, then a dominant chord and back to a tonic chord.
Experiment with different combinations of chords to help you figure out what sounds you like and what you don't like. Experimentation is key. Discover what types of moods you can create with your chords.
Feel free to add in a III chord in between the tonic and pre-dominant chord and/or the pre-dominant and dominant chord to keep things interesting!
Your chord progression should have a minimum of three chords in it; a tonic chord, a pre-dominant chord and a dominant chord.
Remember to start and end your chord progression on a tonic chord.
Record yourself playing your chord progression(s) on your smartphone or computer. Or program your chord progression into your digital audio workstation or notation software. Don't worry about about creating a professional recording—an audio or video file captured on your smartphone will work just fine!
Upload your audio recording to Soundcloud or your video of yourself playing to Dropbox or Youtube and post the link to your file in the project gallery.
Make sure to leave comments or ask questions on other students' chord progressions in the project gallery.

DELIVERABLES:

At least one recorded example of you playing a tonal chord progression in a Minor key on your instrument (or use your digital audio workstation or notation software to program your chord progressions in and export an audio file).

I'd love to hear at least three examples. Please share your drafts and sketches with the class in the project gallery. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with!

YOU WILL NEED:

An instrument to play your chord progression on—for example piano or guitar. Or a digital audio workstation or notation software to program your chord progressions in.
A smartphone or digital audio workstation, e.g., Garageband, Logic, to record and export a file of you playing your chord progression(s).

* Be sure to download the supplemental materials for this class in the Attached Files section.

Nursifa Aghnia

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