Question about putting together progressions..

[thenewbian]

I was just wondering when im putting together a progression lets just use 2-5-1 as an ex. Do i have to follow the maj min min maj min min dim ruleset? as  in 2 HAS to be a min chord and 1 has to be maj?

[T-Block]

I was just wondering when im putting together a progression lets just use 2-5-1 as an ex. Do i have to follow the maj min min maj min min dim ruleset? as  in 2 HAS to be a min chord and 1 has to be maj?

You don't have to follow any rules, except there has to be some kind of 2-5-1 present, if that's what progression you're doing. Sound will be the final judge.

[csedwards2]

I was just wondering when im putting together a progression lets just use 2-5-1 as an ex. Do i have to follow the maj min min maj min min dim ruleset? as  in 2 HAS to be a min chord and 1 has to be maj?

simple answer, no (especially if you dont care anything about theory)

However, if you're in a major key I would say yes until you get the hang of it, because thats what gets you comfortable in picking up songs in the future. You need a solid foundation on chords from the key (diatonic) before you get chords that are not in the key.

But once you have that system down, approach progressions in the key they are in. For example you are trying to play a 2-5-1 in C, but the D sounds better as a major/dominant chord, then approach that progression from the key its in, which is G (major or minor) because anytime you see a dominant chord, you might as well call it a 5 chord, because a dominant chord is most always a 5th away from the tonic or home key.

so the progression could be Dm7, G7, CMajor (2-5-1)

or it could be C, D7, G (2-V/V-5-1) said two, five of five, five, one

[floaded27]

The theory is there to explain how the music works, not necessarily to dictate what the music does. As they said, use your ear as judgment. But remember, chords resolve in certain ways, smoothly leading to other chords or abruptly causing tension going into other chords. the music has to have some cohesion, which is why just playing random chords sounds a mess.

[thenewbian]

wow ok ok thanks for clearing all this up..will definitely try to experiment with this

[musallio]

I won't say more because they've said it all. I'll just give an example that you can apply and hear whether it sounds like an alternative for a 2-5-1 [a.k.a subs].

2-7-1  or  2-b2-1. Like they all said, there are no rules in the strictest sense, just guidelines. So I give you the liberty to add your chords to those bass notes. You will notice that the 7 and b2 are alternatives for 5. You might ask the theory/guidance behind this. I would point you to what Floaded27 said

You can also throw in tritones here and there for variation in flavor. Play around and discover.