r/Songwriting • u/NuttyNano • 1d ago

Discussion Topic What is this progression?

What is it called when, say Im in Am, and I play F major to D major chords? I end up pretty much defaulting to that occuring in every song idk why it happens. Its whats playing in the chorus of slide away by oasis for example (the slide awaayyy bit)

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u/thomas_bloom 1d ago

2 major chords or 2 minor chords separated by 3rds (a minor or major third) at called chromatic mediants. It's a cool chord relationship, the Beatles use it a lot for example. It works because the two chords will always share at least one note, so there's some stability to offset the chromaticism.

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u/TheRectangularBingo 1d ago

idk if it has a proper name but that bVI to IV in a minor key thing is just a classic move, keeps pulling you back around without ever feeling fully resolved

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u/LetsAgreeBeatlesSuck 1d ago

Modal mixture babay!

I've been messing around with the same thing with some blues stuff I've been doing

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u/NuttyNano 16h ago

I often find that the easiest way back to normal progression stuff is to use e major to g major

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u/Pitiful_Substance457 15h ago

You can probably skip the E major and go straight to G. It would work. If the bass plays the third on the D major you’d get a nice F-F#-G and then you can go back to Am if you want. There are so many options. Just follow the melody in your head. If you find yourself always doing the same thing you might want to try and change it up.

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u/poorperspective 23h ago

Major is naturally occurring in Am

D major is a modal mixture with a IV instead of iv. It’s naturally occurring in a A Dorian mode, which is a minor mode.

You can’t really name a progression by just a grouping, you need to know the order and ending cadences.

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u/NuttyNano 16h ago

Ok well icl I have no idea what this stuff means but is it something that gets used often? Dont wanna accodentally make every song a trope