Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use Now

Chord progressions have a predictable path. They very commonly move in intervals of fourths. Predictable patterns are good to have. It makes chord progressions easy to remember. But when they're too predictable, chord progressions can become monotonous. I want to share with you 5 easy passing chords you can use now.

A passing chord is one in which occurs as you're "passing" from one chord in the progression to another. They can be very dissonant or consonant. They can also be very complex and occur in a series.

But I wish to keep these 5 passing chords simple and ones in which actually sound good.

I also want to point out that the chord progressions I'll use as examples aren't in any specific key. However, any analysis might determine that they're likely in the key of C, D, or G etc. But the point is to highlight these simple passing chords so you will have the pleasure of playing them in any key.

We'll approach each of these passing chords as ones that ascend to a target chord a half step above them. However, passing chords can approach a target chord from below a target chord also, just to clarify.

To make these passing chords visually simple, They'll all have a bass note on a black key and the preceding and succeeding chords will have bass notes on a white key. Let's take a look at them.

Passing Chord 1

Our first chord in our progression starts with C Major.Our passing chord is a slash chord as an A Major over C sharp. This is a Major triad over the 3rd and works well as a passing chord when you're moving to a minor chord.Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use NowFrom there, we move to D minor.Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use Now

Passing Chord 2

This next progression starts with A minor 7

It then moves to E minor 7Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use Now

Here, we have an altered chord as the passing chord. It's an E flat 7 sharp 5 chord. The root of this chord is in the bass so it's not a slash chord. It's somewhat dissonant sounding, but it has a couple of notes in common with the other chords in the progression. This allows it to fit well as a passing chord.Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use NowIt then resolves to D minor 7.Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use Now

Passing Chord 3

The beginning chord of our next progression is F Major 9Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use NowThe passing chord succeeds it as an A7/F Sharp (another slash chord). This is a dominant 7th chord which has a 13th tone in the bass. This makes it an extended chord that is out of character with other chords in the progression. But as in the previous chord progression, it has tones that are common to the other chords.The progression then moves to a C/G chord and then to G Major as a resolution.Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use Now

Passing Chord 4

A G Major 7 chord begins our next progressionHere’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use Now

Our passing chord is a Bsus4/G sharp. This is not a typical slash chord but it works. It functions as a suspended chord but has the 6th tone in the bass.Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use NowThis resolves into a D Major/A chord.The progression concludes at an E7 chord.

Passing Chord 5

Our Final passing chord example progression begins with A minor 7.The passing chord succeeds it as a simple B flat Major chord.

The target chord succeeding the passing chord is G Major/B. This is what makes the simple Major triad as a passing chord work because it resolves to tones that are no more than a whole step apart as well as the target chord being a slash chord.Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use NowWe end the chord progression with C minor 9.Here’s 5 Easy Passing Chords You Can Use NowIn order to benefit from this article, it's helpful to have an understanding of triads and beyond. Even though these 5 passing chords are in the context of the chord progressions I've shown, they're certainly not limited to these. The important take away is to understand the concept so you can utilize them creatively in other chord progressions and keys of music.

Until next time, Go Play!

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Greg Lee

Hi, my name is Greg Lee. I'm the creator of the Color Score Professional/Visual Chord Learning System. I love to share ideas and concepts about piano and keyboard playing in all styles of music. I believe the key to learning is having fun and making complicated things simple with visual tools and illustrations.

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