I saw a criticism of Taylor Swift the other day that said a lot of her chords are the same for her songs and that she uses C major a lot. I don’t understand this criticism because the songs they listed as using the same chords sound so different to me? How can songs have the same chords but not sound alike? What does C major sounds like?
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There are other factors such as the rhythm, the full chord progression, the rest of the arrangement, strumming patterns, etc.. that can make it sound different even if some of the chords are the same.
Like this:
Neither of those are Rick Astley, I promise.
Well there’s a pretty limited set of chords, yet look at how much music has changed since it started. Everything we here is a variation of all the same chords
Music is defined by when notes are played, and what notes are played.
When you pick a set of chords, you define the chord progression. This is the “all pop songs are the same” effect that people complain about.
However, the rhythmic structure of these chords (strum fast, slow, add a pause between the chord), the choice of inversions (how is the bass moving?)
The melody you have over the songs with different timbre instruments (vocals, guitar, keyboard)
Will create a completely different sound from the same chord progression.
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