Chord variety

I've been trying to mix up my compositions by using a wide variety of chords, but...When I try and do so, it always sounds bad (In my opinion) and I seem to have a tendency to revert back to using i and V chords because of my lack of experience in composing. Is there a certain method to overcome this problem? Is that normal?

A first step to this would be trying to pinpoint what exactly sounds bad to you about those other chords and your usage of them. Is it the chords themselves? Is it how they are connected to the other harmonies?

And where exactly did you get the chords from? Are they chords you know about in theory but just aren't used to applying in practice, or are they chords you "made up" by playing around?

Basically, there are probably two main ways to approach that problem, both of which are entirely valid: Study and experimentation.

The first would be the more theoretical approach. You could simply choose to study existing practices, such as functional common pratice harmony. You can do this by reading books, getting a teacher, or studying the works of other composers and see how they did it. Sooner or later you will then be familiar with the common types of chords that appear in tonal music, as well as how they are usually connected.

The other method is just to try it again and again, maybe with the help of a piano or other chordal instrument. Just play around with short chord sequences and move the notes around until they "sound right" - then consider whether you can find common patterns in the chord sequences you came up with and liked. Maybe it's helpful there not to start out with overly complex chords, but start off from where you already know how it sounds: Use your V-i cadence and change around some notes, add a note, add a chord inbetween etc. and build from there.

Or maybe don't even start with full chords, but create a single voice then try to find another voice that "fits", then a third one, etc. This has the great advantage of not just teaching you about the chords as blocks, but will help with your voice-leading as well (as actually, often when you think a chord sequence sounds bad, it may not even be because of the harmonies, but rather because of how the voices lead there).

And of course, you could also post some examples of your usage of these chords, and we could try to help you figure out how to "fix" them, so that you like them.

All in all, it's mostly a question of practice. You can't expect things to sound exactly like you want them on the first try (especially when your goal is to venture outside very simple structures). Compose, play with those chords, and sooner or later you'll certainly get a certain grasp on what works for you.

Thanks for responding to my question in great detail, and your reply is very insightful. :happy:

Upon further thinking, I think I've figured out why I have trouble composing this way. :hmmm:

When I start a composition, I have the theme/melody in my head along with the harmony, but when I start to play on my keyboard of what I think is correct, the first time I mess up, or make a wrong assumption to what the note is, I forget my original idea and become obsessed with the wrong idea, from which I build upon but it doesn't sound good because it never ends or I end up hating the way it sounds. It's really hard to explain, but from what you said above, it just takes a lot of practice and experimentation.

I've taken music theory already, but we never went beyond the most common chord progressions such as I-IV-V. Also, I think I have trouble with leading into the next note besides using the leading tone, which is practically using the V chord.

I'm going to make a composition of some sort, trying to use more variety, from which you can pick apart and tell me you think and offer advice.

It will probably take me a day or two. :)

One thing that might help you get your idea out of your head and into reality is to write it down on staff paper first. I know when I have something in my head, if I try to play it out on piano, I start to experiment and change things and tweak things, and I end up sometimes extremely far away from where I started. Once, I sat down to compose a piece I had been putting together in my head, and I wound up writing and completing a whole different piece because I liked the idea that I wound up playing moreso than the idea I originally had in my head. I then stumbled onto my notes later, and was reminded of my initial idea that had been long abandoned, and to this day, I still haven't finished it. You are not alone in this problem, I assure you. With your basic knowledge of theory, you should be able to get the idea from your head to the page, even if just the melody, without tinkling around on a piano, and possibly ruining your initial thought with floods of wrong notes that eventually become the norm.