Chord progressions in music can be an enigmatic concept, often requiring a fairly robust knowledge of music theory in order to understand what makes them work.
But with practice, it can become more intuitive over time.
In this article, I’d like to explore some of the primary chord progressions contained in the soundtrack to the film Inception, examine what makes them effective, and equip you with some techniques you can put into practice in your own music.
The “time” progression
At the end of a mind-bending story, the “time” progression is used as a means of wrapping up the overall plot, but yet still leaving the viewer in a state of ambiguity as to whether it’s really over or not.
Here are a few reasons why this progression works:
It has a generous amount of contour (or ups and downs). There is a lot of leaping in how Zimmer chose to place the melody in this theme. By usually favouring having the third on top, the result is that there are quite wide gaps in the melody.
Generally, too many leaps in a melody are not a good thing, but they likely work here because the piece is so slow. The listener’s ear has adequate time to accept each new note as it comes.
This amount of leaping probably wouldn’t have worked if the piece was much faster.
It never settles on its tonic. “Time” is in the key of G major, because the only accidental it contains is F♯. Though the progression does use the tonic G chord, it never emphasizes it in the typical ways.
Usually, to anchor and solidify the tonic chord to the listener, it is preceded by the V chord, making a perfect cadence, which is the strongest and most definite progression there is in Western music. But here, the G chord is preceded by Em, the vi chord, which in this context really has no strong connection to the I chord.
Which means when the I chord arrives, it’s not really emphasized in any clear and meaningful way.
Instead, our attention is directed to the more interesting chord that follows, the D (or V chord). Because it is voiced higher, it holds more sonic interest to us than the I chord. And because the D chord does not resolve to G, as is typical, but rather to the more ambiguous ii (or A minor) chord, the progression gets this kind of cyclical nature of moving but not really going anywhere. And this is important, because that is what the context of the film called for.
Though it’s cyclical, there is still a bit of variety. Look at the C major 7th chord in the second half. Though this music likely still would have served its purpose without it, the inclusion of that C major 7th brings a moment of thoughtfulness and variety to a texture that otherwise runs the risk of becoming monotonous.
It provides a bit of contrast to our ears; something to look forward to; something to keep us engaged.
Zimmer already had our ears used to an upward trajectory to reach the E minor, and here he simply increases the upward trajectory to reach the new note he had in mind.
And, somewhat interestingly, the C major 7th chord (C-E-G-B) contains the notes of Em (E-G-B), the chord which it here replaces. So, Zimmer gives us a bit of thoughtful variety using devices we are already accustomed to.
This progression is well suited to capture the cyclical, perpetual nature of the plot.
2. The “dream” theme
First heard in the track, “Dream is Collapsing,” these main muscular brass chords in Inception represent the mind-bending, reality-shifting dream world of the film.
Interestingly, when looking at the triads contained in this idea, between each successive chord, no voice ever moves more than a step. And those steps are predominantly half steps (or semitones).
This is significant, because half steps are the smoothest motion that is available to us as composers.
And though the chords in this progression have little to do with each other from a technical standpoint, yet because of the smooth and stepwise voice leading between them, our ear ultimately accepts the progression, as strange as it is.
What can we learn from these two examples?
When creating chord progressions, try to think of how the individual notes in one chord move to the next. And if possible, try to keep this motion as smooth as possible.
This is the concept called voice leading, which essentially means letting one note go where it wants to go.
Imagine three singers were singing the notes of one triad, and they need to get to another triad. Could you do it in a way that each singer could smoothly and easily find their note in the next triad?
This is where a knowledge of triad inversions comes in helpful. Often, by simply adjusting the inversion of the chord you had in mind, you’ll be able to achieve a more smooth and naturally flowing result.
And by thinking this way, it may actually lead you to discover more interesting chord progressions.
Finally, as can be seen in the “Time” example, try to add variation to your chord progressions when you can. While not essential, it can help to break up the monotony and keep things moving forward. Below, you’ll find a list of common chord progressions with suggestions for such alternatives.
While chords and chord progressions can certainly be a daunting task, with practice and experience, over time it can become more intuitive.