| Chord
Arrangement Contents > Section Pages > Chord Arrangement |
Use these controls to specify the chords used in each bar (measure) of the section. The image above shows the default arrangement with the same C major chord repeated for 8 bars. The image below is a more typical example.
To select a chord click with the left mouse button and choose an item from the pop-up menu.
 |
You can also click with the right mouse button to step through the chords (or click with the right mouse button while holding down the CTRL key to step backwards through the chords). |
The chord names are displayed in bold. The Roman numerals and the background "bar chart" show the chord's degree. The degree helps you to visualise the underlying chord progression (regardless of which key is being used). The remaining letters describe the harmonic function of each chord...
Use the Menu button 
to affect the whole row of chords at once...
Reset fill with the tonic [I] Random Sequence fill with a random sequence Generated Sequence fill with a generated sequence Substitute by Function change some chords while retaining their harmonic function Slow Down reduce the number of chord changes More Seventh Chords change some triads to seventh chords Less Seventh Chords change some seventh chords to triads
Use the Random button 
to pick one of
these menu options randomly. Rather than manually selecting a
chord for each bar, it is often easier to use the Random button a
few times to find an interesting sequence.
The choice of chords available depends on the current key, according to the rules of Diatonic Harmony. Changing the key automatically changes which chords are used.
Unless the section uses a Key Override to define a different one, the key will be the same as the Song Key.
JUMP offers a choice of 3 and 4 note chords. The 3 note chords are called the diatonic triads. The 4 note chords are called the diatonic seventh chords. The 4 note chords use the same notes as the 3 note chords plus an extra note called the seventh.
| You don't need to understand music theory in order to use JUMP, because ultimately - if it sounds good, it is good. Always use your ears to judge what works and what doesn't. You can safely ignore the chord tables below if you are not interested in the underlying theory. |
The following table shows the chords available when in the key of C major...
Diatonic Triads Diatonic Seventh Chords Bdim VII Bm7b5 VII7 Am VI Am7 VI7 G V G7 V7 F IV Fmaj7 IV7 Em III Em7 III7 Dm II Dm7 II7 C I Cmaj7 I7
The following table shows the chords available when in the key of C minor...
Diatonic Triads Diatonic Seventh Chords Bb bVII Bb7 bVII7 Ab bVI Abmaj7 bVI7 Gm V Gm7 V7 Fm IV Fm7 IV7 Eb bIII Ebmaj7 bIII7 Ddim II Dm7b5 II7 Cm I Cm7 I7
Notice how the chords available in a minor key are quite different to those available when in a major key.
| Although this scheme limits your choice to only 14 different chords per section, this still leaves a vast number of possible chord sequences. For further harmonic variety use Key Overrides to add key modulations. |
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Arrangement
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