Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Des Sharp on March 6, 2015 at 12:28am

Hey Joe, I'm not sure what key you are in, however say you are in key of A minor / C major & your chord progression for this song is ……A minor / D minor7 / F major / E major around repeat.

Let me suggest another progression you could use to give it some height. And I would suggest probably on the line - "His Majesty…. Hold the E major on 'He reigns, He Reigns …...

Chorus : His Majesty….. C major / Bb major / D minor 7 / A minor7 repeat to C major….. you could also try to return to your verse

…. C major / Bb major / A minor7 / F major / E major ………. Verse : A minor / D minor7 / F major / E major 

The idea of switching between the minor to the major gives height & effect.

I look forward to hearing a rewrite. Des

Permalink Reply by Joe Aiken on March 6, 2015 at 7:42pm

Hi Des, thank you for listening.

The verse chords are Em7 Am7 D G B7
Chorus chords Em7 C G B7

How does that change with your suggestions?

Permalink Reply by Des Sharp on March 6, 2015 at 9:15pm

Ok Joe, cool. My suggestion is just to take the song from a minor & introduce the major for some height.

E minor is the 6th chord of G major. On a piano scale G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G the octave.

G major = chord 1

A minor = chord 2 & can also be A major chord 2

B minor = chord 3 & can also be B major chord 2

C major = chord 4

D major = chord 5

E minor = chord 6

F major = chord 7

The progression i suggested is: chord 1 / chord 7 / chord 2minor / chord 6minor 

other progression variation was: chord 1 / chord 7 / chord 6minor / chord 4 / chord 3major.

When creating music i use this as a rule to work within. It keeps me aware of all the chords to play with in the key. There are additional chords, such as diminished & augmented etc & these can also give your creativity new possibilities.

So, the chords for my suggestion in the key of G major / E minor.

G / F / A minor / E minor ….. and try 2nd variation …..G / F / E minor / C / B7

Have a play around with these ideas. Also when writing other songs in minors (chord 6th) consider using the major (chord1) options as it will increase the range of the song.

I also use this idea when i'm listening to music & trying to figure out the chord progressions. When you convert the song in numbers, you can then transpose easier into other keys.

Eg: your chords converted to numbers = chord 6 minor7 / chord 2 minor7 / chord 4 / chord 1 / chord 3 major 7

your chorus: chord 6 minor7 / chord 4 / chord 1 / chord 3 major7.

So i can transpose these to any key using this rule & play the song.

Eg: in the key of F chord 6 is D minor. In the key of C chord 6 is A minor. using the keys on a piano scale,

A.B.C.D.E.F.G, A.B.C.D.E.F.G, A.B.C.D.E.F.G.

Well Joe, sorry for the long winded explanation but it has been something that has helped me when creating by knowing what chords are available to use.

I hope this has helped, for all I know you could be a music professor & I've just given you a pre school music lesson. 

I look forward to hearing more of your music & hearing you introduce these ideas.

Des

Permalink Reply by Charles Wolff on April 17, 2015 at 12:55am

Interesting title, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, since sometimes a reference to a king of (this) world would be a reference to Satan.  Obviously not the direction you went here, just something that struck me...

Maybe a little weird in the wording, saying that the king who was (past) and is to come (future), "He reigns" (present), that He "is here" (present).  Saying that someone "was" and "is to come" kinda implies that they are not currently "here."  That they went away but they'll be back.  Somehow, when I was listening to the chorus it just felt a little disconnected, and I think that's what it was.  I think maybe the "was and is to come" line might want to be something a little different.  "dwells among us here" or something.

Will just say that I thought the music was sufficiently non-repetitive as it is, you move the melody around enough for me.  I didn't really dig into what Des is suggesting enough to know if I agree or not :-)  And maybe the chorus itself doesn't feel like it has a real "ending," it kinda keeps going and never gives that feeling of, "there, I've said the main thing I want to say."  Think about maybe ending the chorus before the "yeah, yeah" part.

Nice voice, good guitar playing.

Permalink Reply by Des Sharp on April 17, 2015 at 2:48am

Good review Charles. Regarding my suggestions, I think you sum it up in saying….And maybe the chorus itself doesn't feel like it has a real "ending," it kinda keeps going and never gives that feeling of, "there, I've said the main thing I want to say.

The reason the chorus doesn't pop at you is due to verses & chorus having the same rhythm & chords, hence why I suggested kicking the chorus off in G major instead of the turnaround of the E minor.

Anyway my previous explanation was long winded & not easy to follow. I just wanted to encourage Joe to throw in other chords that are available in the octave to give the music more height.

Charles Wolff said:

Interesting title, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, since sometimes a reference to a king of (this) world would be a reference to Satan.  Obviously not the direction you went here, just something that struck me...

Maybe a little weird in the wording, saying that the king who was (past) and is to come (future), "He reigns" (present), that He "is here" (present).  Saying that someone "was" and "is to come" kinda implies that they are not currently "here."  That they went away but they'll be back.  Somehow, when I was listening to the chorus it just felt a little disconnected, and I think that's what it was.  I think maybe the "was and is to come" line might want to be something a little different.  "dwells among us here" or something.

Will just say that I thought the music was sufficiently non-repetitive as it is, you move the melody around enough for me.  I didn't really dig into what Des is suggesting enough to know if I agree or not :-)  And maybe the chorus itself doesn't feel like it has a real "ending," it kinda keeps going and never gives that feeling of, "there, I've said the main thing I want to say."  Think about maybe ending the chorus before the "yeah, yeah" part.

Nice voice, good guitar playing.

Permalink Reply by Edwin Hoogwerf on April 20, 2015 at 7:09pm

I like the feel of the song. It is very catchy and easy to pick up.

On the lyrics I get a bit stuck on the "His majesty and power to display". I think I understand what you want to say, but I keep getting confused by the words. Perhaps you can change it to something like "His majesty and power save the day" or "His majesty and power won't decay".

I liked the listen!

Permalink Reply by Justin Hurling on August 21, 2019 at 4:39am

I think the message of your song the melody is perfect and your voice suits it just right! beautiful Job