Here, the author does a similar thing by presenting all of the progressions with respect to specific keys (E for _half_ of the book and then a retelling of a subset of those progressions in the other keys). What's the point? It would have been MUCH more useful -- and, frankly, obvious -- to present each chord progression in the key-independent numeric form (e.g., "I-ii-V-I"). The publisher would have killed 50% less trees going that route and would have produced a book with immediate and lasting value.

And if not purely that approach, the author could have at least accompanied each progression with the key-independent equivalent. That's a no-brainer. And given that each page is 80% white-space it's not like the publisher was scrambling for content space!

Had I known that I could have charged [for] a book for reading off and reprinting the exact verse and chorus chord progressions from a bunch of different songs (granted, hundreds) I would have gone to the library and done so myself.

I had very high hopes for this book but it falls way short of what a songwriter/composer REALLY needs--of what I need. I wanted a book that facilitates spontenaity and fuels the creative spark. That's what the book promised, but not what I received.

Despite the sheer volume, it's a lazy effort. The book lacks the level of exposition, analysis, and insights that 450 pages would seem to indicate. And, content aside, the book's design, presentation, typography, and organization are EXTREMELY poor (I'll go so far as to say stark, ugly, sophomoric, and unusable as well considering the powerful desktop publishing tools available to anybody with a computer; one would think by this book that Writers Club Press only has a single manual typerwriter at its disposal). Bottomline is these deficits successfully short-circuit the promised usefulness of this book. The book is a disappointing effort and I cannot recommend it to anyone.

20 of 21 found the following review helpful:


Finally, A Comprehensive Chord Progression Dictionary  Sep 13, 2000
Money Chords is the book to turn to when the other Songwriting Books tell you to study the chord structures of the best songs. Money Chords is the first comprehensive popular chord progression dictionary that I have come across and it is sure to become an essential companion to a Rhyming Dictionary and Lyric Book in every songwriter's library.

Money Chords introduces the 80 most popular chord progressions (plus all common variations) and the 12 tools used to create them without resorting to confusing and complicated discussions of music theory.

The book includes thousands of examples which are arranged in a manner that allows you to identify progressions common to a specific time period and the evolution of various progression types. It also allows the reader to study and compare how the best songwriters and performers have used the same or similar progressions to create different hit songs.

Money Chords is the real deal and gets my Five Star rating.

15 of 16 found the following review helpful:


Create More Interesting Chord Progressions  Oct 22, 2001 By Dave
Say you're working on a new song or arranging an old one that uses a Basic I-IV (E-A) progression and you want to see how the best songwriters have used and dressed up this progression, the "Money Chords" book is your place to find out. There are at least forty examples of chord embellishments including E-A6; E-Amaj7; E-A11; Emaj7-Amaj7; Emaj7-A13; etc. The book shows you variations on the most popular progressions including the Folk (I-V7); Rock (I-IV-V7); Rock Ballad (I-VIm-IV-V7); Standard (I-VIm-IIm-V7); Ragtime (I-VI7-II7-V7); Classic Rock (I-bVII-IV); Blues progressions as well as Ascending, Descending and Static (Pedal Point) progressions. This book should help you create more interesting chord progressions for your new songs but also breath new life into other songs as well. I rate "Money Chords" a solid Four Stars.

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:


Move To The Next Level  Oct 18, 2001
Chord Progressions cannot be copyrighted which is a fact well-known by jazz and blues songwriters over the past hundred years. This book takes you beyond Blues and Rhythm Changes progressions to reveal popular progressions used in Rock as well as the Standards.

This book not only shows you the basic progression such as E-A-B Rock progression but gives numerous examples of how the world's best songwriters have embellished and changed it to create a new song. In the above example, it shows many possibilities such as "With A Little Luck" where Paul McCartney transforms the basic E-A-B progression into the following great ascending bass line progression: E-E/G#-A-B11.

If you're looking to move to the next level, this is a good place study the chord progressions that have gone before.

7 of 7 found the following review helpful:


The top sourcebook for songwriters  Sep 12, 2000
Take your lyrics and put them in time-proven chord progressions, or take chart topping chord progressions and put your own spin on them. An awesome, must-have text for songwriters.

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