Rock Progressions & Sheet Music

 

 What are the most common Rock Progressions?

Before to dive in the realm of Rock Progressions and read the symbols whiten on sheet Music, every musician should take a look at the biography of famous singer-piano-guitarist such as Erick Johnson, Paul McCartney, John Bon Jovi, Axl Rose among others, you will realize that they began in early age with Piano. When it comes to learn Piano, one might think that is very hard to do it, because the use of two hands; however Piano is much easier than guitar. First of all when you play piano whoever you are a beginner or advanced player, your sounds will be somehow clear and, smooth from the beginning; however playing guitar very clear might take some years to do it, especially if you learned a bad technique from the beginning, because you got used to do it; so you will have to learn again.

Keep in mind that in order to correct the bad technique that you learned at the beginning of your learning process will become challenging and the hardest part of learning guitar.

Easy Progressions created by Guns N' Roses

Perhaps "Used to Love Her" is less popular among many hits that they produced, but let's analyze together this song from the perspective of easy progressions displayed in the whole song.

Actually I noticed a beautiful pattern of notes as follow: DA|GA|DA|GA|DA|GA|DA|GA| GA|GA|GA along the first measures of the song (intro) before the chorus where D is equivalent to "RE", A is equivalent to "LA" and G="SOL". All the notes are "MAJOR" notes.

If you play at 120 BPM (bits per minute) and select a time signature 4/4, then you will notice that the pattern is as follow: D|A|G|A|D|A|G|A|D|A|G|A|D|A|G|A|G|A|G|A|G|A.

It's funny because the pattern "DAGA" in Spanish means "DAGGER" and both lyrics and the name of the band "GUNS N' ROSES" makes allusion to the metaphor of "killing". 

As for the "key signature"  if you are familiarized with them you will notice that the song is written in "D MAJOR" scale.

I want to put things easier, so now let me explained you the first part of the song in terms of progressions:

I |V|IV|V| which is equal to the aforementioned pattern of "D|A|G|A".

An arrangement for this song is done for piano or keyboard beginners, you can find it out at Sheet Music Plus :

 

Paul Stanley the front man, singer, guitarist, painter and song writer of the famous band kiss has become New York Times bestseller as well. In his book “Face the music a life exposed” in Part III page 244 mentions that despite the changing of demographics of the Audience PolyGram (the company that absorbed Casablanca, the original record label of Kiss) saw potential in “Dynasty” the Album hit released in 1980. But most successful hit of this album outside of the United States was “I Was Made For Loving You” hitting the top ten across Europe, and topping the charts in New Zeeland and Australia.

The Secrets behind “I was Made For Loving You” by Kiss

But what factors made “I was Made Loving You” a great hit outstanding withing the others songs of the same album such as “Charisma”, ”Dirty Living”, “Magic touch”, “2000 Man”,and so on?.

 

As we analyze the scheme of several streaming songs in different epochs, you will notice that most successful songs are focused on the simplicity, that's to say the song structure, the progressions are easy and recurrent, for instance the intro of “I was Made Loving You”t begins with chord progression given by: vi to IV, V, repeating the pattern over and over again and then a little switch for the first verse: vi, I, iii, vi, and then vi, I, iii, ii, V giving no choice, but to resolve into the chorus with: vi, IV, V  like the intro.

Ironically Gene Simmons the Demon character and bass player of Kiss confessed recently (2018) that he hated that song because the vocal part, a song that resemblances the disco style of the late seventies and was cowrite by Vini Poncia and Desmond child thinking of a commercial purpose.

Why do you think a song become successful rather than others?

Leave your comments! if you have another answer for this question beside the repetition of hooky rhythms & and phrases exceptionally catchy which become impossible to forget earworms.

 

As as producer or song writer perhaps you will be tempted to analyze the song and see the patterns and progressions on it, so let's check out the arrangement for piano or keyboards for “I was Made For Loving You” at  https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/i-was-made-for-lovin-you-digital-sheet-music/21698935  

You can get the scores also by clicking in the next button:

 

These days is an amazing song written by Bon Jovi released released on June 27, 1995. Beside “Damned” and “Hearts Breaking Even”, "These Days" renders several influences of modern rock blended with elements of Blues, Soul & Hard Rock.  

 

When you sing in the shower or driving car, the  therapeutic feeling is amazing!. Have you tried that playing keyboards?. Down below you can get access to the scores for easy piano-keyboard accompaniment for this song at:

 

These Days 

By Bon Jovi

I was walking around, just a face in the crowd

Trying to keep myself out of the rain

Saw a vagabond king wear a Styrofoam crown

Wondered if i might end up the same

There's a man out on the corner

Singing old songs about change

Everybody got their cross to bare, these days

She came looking for some shelter with a suitcase full of dreams

To a motel room on the boulevard

I guess she's trying to be James dean

She's seen all the disciples and all the "wanna be's"

No one wants to be themselves these days

Still there's nothing to hold on to but these days

Chorus

These days - the stars seem out of reach

These days - there ain't a ladder on the streets

These days are fast, nothing lasts in this graceless age

There ain't nobody left but us these days

Verse 2

Jimmy shoes busted both his legs, 

trying to learn to fly

From a second story window, 

he just jumped and closed his eye

His momma said he was crazy

he said, "momma, I've got to try

Don't you know that all my heroes died?

And I guess i'd rather die than fade away."

[Chorus]

Bridge

I know rome's still burning

Though the times have changed

This world keeps turning 

round and round and round and round

These days

Chorus

These days - the stars seem out of reach

These days - there ain't a ladder on the streets

These days are fast, nothing lasts

There ain't no time to waste

There ain't nobody left to take the blame

There ain't nobody left but us these days

--Ends--

More Than Words 

By Gary Cherone, Nuno Bettencourt 

Arranged by Renny Gamarra

 

This song has been arranged for piano or keyboard, although obviously the chords can be used for acoustic guitar. In order to get the whole scores of this beautiful song you can do that by following this link:

VERSE I

Saying I love you

Is not the words I want to hear from you

It's not that I want you

Not to say, but if you only knew

How easy

It would be to show me how you feel

More than words

Is all you have to do to make it real

Then you wouldn't have to say

That you love me

'Cause I'd already know

What would you do

If my heart was torn in two

More than words to show you feel

That your love for me is real

What would you say

If I took those words away

Then you couldn't make things new

Just by saying I love you

CHORUS

La di da, da di da, di dai dai da

More than words

La di da, da di da

VERSE II

Now that I've tried to

Talk to you and make you understand

All you have to do is close your eyes

And just reach out your hands

And touch me

Hold me close don't ever let me go

More than words

Is all I ever needed you to show

Then you wouldn't have to say

That you love me

'Cause I'd already know

What would you do

If my heart was torn in two

More than words to show you feel

That your love for me is real

What would you say

If I took those words away

Then you couldn't make things new

Just by saying I love you

CHORUS

La di da, da di da, di dai dai da

More than words

La di da, da di da, di dai dai da

More than words

La di da, da di da, di dai dai da

More than words

La di da, da di da

More than words

More than words

SHEET MUSIC LESSON 1

 "Since I do not have you"" is a song originally performed in1959 by the outstanding Sky liners, later on some covers were performed by many artists among them the famous band Guns 'N Roses made a great cover in 1992, where Axl Rose performs this song with his singular style. The current arrangement has been written especially for Piano beginners with easy chords, the style is more similar to that one of Axl Rose and likewise easy to sing. You should know and will notice that Axl Rose fix his songs with flat keys, for instance G flat instead of standard G  tuned in 440 HZ. 

In order to get the whole music scores you should follow the botton "clik here":

Since I do not have you

 Words and Music by Song credits by James Beaumont, Walter Lester, Joseph Verscharen, John Taylor, Lennie Martin, Janet Vogel, Joseph Rock

Arranged by Renny Gamarra 

I don't have plans and schemes

And I don't have hopes and dreams

I don't have anything

Since I don't have you

I don't have fond desires

I don't have fond desires

I don't have fond desires

And I don't have happy hours

I don't have anything

Since I don't have you

I don't have happiness, and I guess

I don't have happiness, and I guess

I don't have happiness, and I guess

I never will again

When you walked out on me

In walked old misery

And he's been here since then

I don't have love to share

I don't have love to share

I don't have love to share

And I don't have one who cares

I don't have anything

You, you, you, you

Since I don't have

You, you, you, you

(You)You, you,

you uh uh