Key vs. Chord Progression

e7c wrote:

whoa... can someone please explain to me what the difference between key/chord progression is.

chord progression is just the pattern of chords in the song. On OWL, the chord progression is Am F C G

key is just the set of chords found in the song. for instance, Songs 1 and 2 might be in the same key, but the chord progression of Song 1 might be C G Am F, and the chord progression of Song 2 might be Am F C G

songs in the same key generally use the same chords, but will likely have different chord progressions

if you need further explanation, just ask

Also, when people talk about the key of the song, all of the chords in the song fall in that key's scale.

For example, a C major scale would be C D E F G A B C, you wouldn't find a B flat chord in a song that's in C major because B flat isn't in that scale.

If you want to get into a bit of theory, in major keys the 3rd note (E) and the 6th note (A), those chords you play as minor chords. This all goes back to classical music tendencies and has survived hundreds of years.

So for the chorus of The '59 Sound it goes C (The first note or root note), F (the 4th note), A minor (the minor 6th note), G (The 5th), then back to F, then back to C, F, Am, G and ends on C.

The reason that a lot of songs end in the 5-1 progression (from G to C or whatever notes are 5 and 1 in the key that youre playing in) is because that is the most desirable change in frequency to the human ear. It gives a sound of conclusion which is what our brain and ear like.

For more, just ask.

actually '59 is Bb | Eb | Gm F | Eb but yeah

it's been awhile since i've taken any music theory, so thanks for the more in-depth analysis of it. i've forgotten all the scales and names of keys

I actually think chord progression is the number of the chord. Like wooderson verses are I, V, vi, IV i think.