Uploaded March 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://shorturl.at/bouLV
My pro theory + songwriting course bit.ly/2J2Nctn
Enroll in my Rhythm Training Course at ANY price! bit.ly/3wDacU4
Chord PDF and MuseScore at my Patreon: bit.ly/2JCJQfV
Analyzing great progressions is not just an academic exercise- it's a way to introduce new movements and musical effects to your composition lexicon. In this video, we're taking a look at Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man", which is in the key of C Major and uses all of the garden variety diatonic chords in the key (save B diminished). In addition, it uses several borrowed chords and/or secondary dominants, and is structured in a way to really get as much juice out of the C Major/A Minor tonality as possible.
A few things to note- Pop music is not classical music. And pop can not always be described in traditional terms like Roman Numeral analysis easily. However I think it's worth a try, and I've made some less-than-popular notations that are worth explaining. I name a Csus2/B and notate it as Isus2/7, which is to imply it's the Tonic Chord (I) and it's sus2, but it's over the 7th tone of the key (B).
During that part of the video I keep calling it a C but it's really a Csus2. You can also think of it as a Gadd11/B, then it would be a V chord. One other option there for that one chord would be an Emb6, it should provide a similar "slide" from the Am to the C.
Related Videos!
Chords of Major: youtube.com/watch?v=M8eItITv8QA
Borrowed Chords: youtube.com/watch?v=7IdttvJSedg
Secondary Dominants: youtube.com/watch?v=py4HaueW50Q
Minor Plagal: youtube.com/watch?v=YEadIDOBpuA
A big thank you my Patreon subscribers, and especially to these fine folks:
Linas Orentas
Marek Pawlowski
John Arnold
Christopher Swanson
Marc Bulandr
Bradley Bower
Alvaro Begue-Aguado
Don Watters
Don Dachenhousen III
Patrick Ryan
twitter.com/signals_music
facebook.com/signalsmusicstudio
signalsmusicstudio.com
Free online guitar lessons for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Located in Crystal Lake, Jake Lizzio provides free jam tracks and video lessons for guitar players, as well as music theory videos and other music education content.
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:57 The Chorus
05:04 The Verse
07:22 Prechourus
09:16 The Bridge
11:13 The Last Chorus
11:49 The Intro
12:45 Wrapping Up
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://shorturl.at/bouLV
My pro theory + songwriting course bit.ly/2J2Nctn
Enroll in my Rhythm Training Course at ANY price! bit.ly/3wDacU4
Chord PDF and MuseScore at my Patreon: bit.ly/2JCJQfV
Analyzing great progressions is not just an academic exercise- it's a way to introduce new movements and musical effects to your composition lexicon. In this video, we're taking a look at Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man", which is in the key of C Major and uses all of the garden variety diatonic chords in the key (save B diminished). In addition, it uses several borrowed chords and/or secondary dominants, and is structured in a way to really get as much juice out of the C Major/A Minor tonality as possible.
A few things to note- Pop music is not classical music. And pop can not always be described in traditional terms like Roman Numeral analysis easily. However I think it's worth a try, and I've made some less-than-popular notations that are worth explaining. I name a Csus2/B and notate it as Isus2/7, which is to imply it's the Tonic Chord (I) and it's sus2, but it's over the 7th tone of the key (B).
During that part of the video I keep calling it a C but it's really a Csus2. You can also think of it as a Gadd11/B, then it would be a V chord. One other option there for that one chord would be an Emb6, it should provide a similar "slide" from the Am to the C.
Related Videos!
Chords of Major: youtube.com/watch?v=M8eItITv8QA
Borrowed Chords: youtube.com/watch?v=7IdttvJSedg
Secondary Dominants: youtube.com/watch?v=py4HaueW50Q
Minor Plagal: youtube.com/watch?v=YEadIDOBpuA
A big thank you my Patreon subscribers, and especially to these fine folks:
Linas Orentas
Marek Pawlowski
John Arnold
Christopher Swanson
Marc Bulandr
Bradley Bower
Alvaro Begue-Aguado
Don Watters
Don Dachenhousen III
Patrick Ryan
twitter.com/signals_music
facebook.com/signalsmusicstudio
signalsmusicstudio.com
Free online guitar lessons for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Located in Crystal Lake, Jake Lizzio provides free jam tracks and video lessons for guitar players, as well as music theory videos and other music education content.
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:57 The Chorus
05:04 The Verse
07:22 Prechourus
09:16 The Bridge
11:13 The Last Chorus
11:49 The Intro
12:45 Wrapping Up
![Live Quarantine Lessons - Blues Guitar Day 3 [Lead Playing]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/roVM2n2BX14/mqdefault.jpg "Live Quarantine Lessons - Blues Guitar Day 3 [Lead Playing]
Download the lesson resources for free (many pdfs, and mp3s) at my website
https://signalsmusicstudio.com/courses/5-day-blues/
This lesson was livestreamed on 3/25/2020. Every day this week Ill be live streaming the remainder of this course at 2PM CST, and then will upload the video afterwards.
Thank my Patreon supporters for making this free course possible!
www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio")
![Demonstrating 7 Ways that Composers Make Music Using Modes [SONGWRITING / THEORY]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sC2qXLnVU3A/mqdefault.jpg "Demonstrating 7 Ways that Composers Make Music Using Modes [SONGWRITING / THEORY]
Master Chords + Progressions with The Chord Progression Codex: https://tinyurl.com/yytbhyvh
Or Check Out My COMPLETE Songwriting + Theory Course: https://tinyurl.com/yv7uxjre
In this video we explore 7 different ways that the musical modes of major actually get used in modern sounding music, starting with some simple tips and ending with some more advanced concepts.
Heres the video I made for my Patreon subscribers showing how I wrote the Dorian melody. I did a poor job of describing this though - its 15 minutes (not 20) and isnt primarily about melody. I do think itll still be enlightening though! https://youtu.be/YqZkNw3hI5g Ill be posting more frequently on that channel as well with less polished content that is hopefully just as helpful as Signals videos.
If youre having trouble following along with this video, Id recommend these other videos I did - they should fill in any gaps.
Modes and Tonal Center: https://youtu.be/lPDVo-7Ua28?si=aesvmtp5NwNU-r3c
Meet The Modes: https://youtu.be/bwaeBUYcO5o?si=TgX0yJxxkzCXYQNX
Modes on Guitar: https://youtu.be/96cydVB4w-A?si=Ek1iAXpmYldLp_ok
7th Chords: https://youtu.be/3JizNRwHYNY?si=zIHAOk5pP37_vZv9
Chords of Minor: https://youtu.be/j-j4g0ktPGw?si=zeiiaUaRIBcpGIhp
The chart Im using is my Ultimate Modal Poster and can be purchased here: https://shorturl.at/rET34
My patreon: https://www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:42 Writing exclusively in a mode
03:23 Demonstrating a piece in 100% Dorian
04:10 Writing in a mode but breaking it
07:15 Demonstrating Dorian mixed with natural 7ths
07:48 Modulating between relative modes
10:10 Demonstrating Phyrgian moving to Aeolian
11:21 Modulating between parallel modes
13:36 Demonstrating Major moving to Lydian
14:18 Writing in major and borrowing chords from anywhere
15:37 Demonstrating modal mixture in major
16:27 Modal Mixture in Minor
19:27 Using Modes or Scales to Play Over Chords
21:12 Demonstrating a New Scale for Each Chord")
![Turn Your Notes into Geometric Art [LASER CYMATICS]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tnzbHtYYLV0/mqdefault.jpg "Turn Your Notes into Geometric Art [LASER CYMATICS]
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://shorturl.at/bouLV
CHECK THESE VIDEOS!
Steve Mould: https://youtu.be/C-V1uXeyGmg
Armageddazon (my music video): https://youtu.be/v3o5p1XlwxU
Moog Lee - Myrmicine Flux: https://youtu.be/rea9fHMS8Kg
By pointing a laser at a mirror that was glued to a balloon I stretched over a speaker, intricate cymatic shapes can be generated using synthesizers, guitars, music, drums, or the human voice. This set up was inspired by Steve Moulds video. I spent dozens of hours playing with different variations of sound waves, intervals, and chords and never stopped being astonished at what was showing up.
I was able to use this simple set up to make a music video for an electronic psychedelic trance song that I made. I have no skills in visual art, so its really great to have a process that generates neat looking stuff for me!
https://www.twitter.com/signals_music
https://www.facebook.com/signalsmusicstudio
https://www.signalsmusicstudio.com
Free online guitar lessons for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Located in Crystal Lake, Jake Lizzio provides free jam tracks and video lessons for guitar players, as well as music theory videos and other music education content.")
![Rhythmic Riddle - Writing with Unwritable Rhythms [Theory/Songwriting]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uilA1uEERO8/mqdefault.jpg "Rhythmic Riddle - Writing with Unwritable Rhythms [Theory/Songwriting]
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://shorturl.at/bouLV
My pro theory + songwriting course https://bit.ly/2J2Nctn
Enroll in my Rhythm Training Course at ANY price! https://bit.ly/3wDacU4
A notation challenge for you! As well as insight into writing with the unwritable.
*My answer is not the ONLY ANSWER! In fact, several musicians have contacted me showing objectively better ways to notate this. Its still a good puzzle to work out as a musician.
Like this video? Thank my Patreon subscribers for sponsoring these lessons! Theyre the reason you dont see ads or sponsorships in the middle of my videos. You can join them here:
www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio
The music theory subreddit is found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/musictheory/
https://www.twitter.com/signals_music
https://www.facebook.com/signalsmusicstudio
https://www.signalsmusicstudio.com
Free online guitar lessons for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Located in Crystal Lake, Jake Lizzio provides free jam tracks and video lessons for guitar players, as well as music theory videos and other music education content.
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:46 The Rhythm
02:15 My Answer
06:57 Writing With The Unwritable Rhythm
08:34 The Unwritable Song
09:27 Wrapping Up")
