13 Songwriting Tricks Every Guitar Player Should Know
Simple chord moves that turn "four chords in a loop" into a real song
You've got a chord progression. Maybe it's C–G–Am–F, maybe something you found by ear. It works… but it sounds like a thousand other songs, and you can feel it.
Here's the good news: the difference between a plain progression and one that gives you goosebumps usually comes down to one chord. A borrowed minor chord. A dominant that points somewhere unexpected. A bass note that slides where nobody asked it to. Songwriters have been using the same handful of tricks for decades, from The Beatles to Radiohead to John Coltrane, and every single one of them can be learned in an afternoon.
Below you'll find 13 songwriting tricks, each with a plain-English description, an example in the key of C, why it works, and exactly when to reach for it. All examples assume you know your basic open chords and a few 7th shapes, nothing more.
How To Use This List
Each trick is labeled with a spice level, so you know what you're getting into:
- Safe works almost anywhere, hard to get wrong. Start here.
- Spicy adds real color, but needs the right spot in the song.
- Advanced classical and jazz territory. Powerful, but handle with care.
Don't try to cram five tricks into one song. Pick one, drop it into a progression you already play, and listen to what it does. That's how these moves become part of your vocabulary instead of trivia.
The 13 Tricks at a Glance
| # | Trick | Example in C | Effect | Spice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Secondary dominant | A7 → Dm | Tension that points at the next chord | Safe |
| 2 | Borrowed iv | F → Fm → C | Bittersweet, nostalgic | Safe |
| 3 | Borrowed bVII | Bb → C | Rock lift, earthy | Safe |
| 4 | Deceptive cadence | G → Am | Surprise, keeps the song open | Safe |
| 5 | Picardy third | E7 → A (in A minor) | Bright, hopeful ending | Safe |
| 6 | Borrowed bVI | Ab → G | Cinematic, dark | Spicy |
| 7 | Line cliché | Am–Am(maj7)–Am7–Am6 | Mysterious, brooding | Spicy |
| 8 | Chromatic mediant | C → Eb | Surprising, filmic | Spicy |
| 9 | #iv°7 passing chord | F–F#dim7–G7 | Slick, gospel flavor | Spicy |
| 10 | Tritone substitution | Db7 → C | Chromatic, sophisticated | Spicy |
| 11 | Backdoor dominant | Fm7–Bb7 → Cmaj7 | Warm, gospel-jazz color | Spicy |
| 12 | Neapolitan chord | Db → G7 → C | Poignant, dramatic | Advanced |
| 13 | Common-tone diminished | C–C#dim7–Dm7 | Ragtime sparkle | Advanced |
1. The Secondary Dominant Safe
The "borrowed magnet", makes any chord feel inevitable
You already know that G7 pulls hard toward C. That's the dominant doing its job. The secondary dominant trick asks a simple question: why should only the tonic get that treatment? You can put a dominant 7th chord in front of any chord in your key, and it will pull toward it just as strongly.
The rule: take the chord you're heading to, count up a fifth, and play that note as a dominant 7th chord.
Example in C: heading to Dm? A fifth above D is A, so play A7 → Dm. Try it: C - A7 - Dm - G - C.
Why it works: A7 contains C#, the leading tone of D. That one out-of-key note creates a strong pull that makes the arrival at Dm feel earned.
Hear it (C - A7 - Dm - G7 - C):
How to use it: find any two-chord move in your song and slot the secondary dominant between them. The most popular one by far is V/vi (E7 → Am in the key of C), that's the chord that gives Creep by Radiohead its famous ache (the B major in a G major key), and the E7 that lights up the verse of Oasis' Don't Look Back in Anger. John Lennon uses the same move in the bridge of Imagine.
2. The Borrowed iv (Minor Four) Safe
The most reliable tear-jerker in pop music
Take the IV chord of your major key and, just before resolving home, turn it minor. That's it. This single semitone shift (the 3rd of the chord dropping a half step) is responsible for more "why does this part make me emotional?" moments than any other trick on this list.
The rule: after playing IV (or right before landing on I), swap IV for its minor version.
Example in C: F → Fm → C. Strum each chord for two beats and listen to what happens on the Fm.
Why it works: the Fm contains an Ab, borrowed from the parallel key of C minor. That Ab slides down to G, and the A–Ab–G line is pure melancholy in motion.
Hear it (C - F - Fm - C):
How to use it: save it for a moment that deserves it, the last line of a chorus, the turnaround back into a verse. Creep does exactly this with its G–B–C–Cm loop: the whole song is a secondary dominant followed by a borrowed iv, played on repeat. Two tricks, one legendary progression.
3. The Borrowed bVII Safe
The rock 'n' roll power move
Play a major chord one whole step below your tonic, then land home. In C, that's Bb → C. It's not in the key, and that's exactly why it sounds so good. This is arguably the most-used "wrong" chord in classic rock.
The rule: in a major key, insert the major chord built on the flattened 7th degree, usually right before I or between IV and I.
Example in C: C - Bb - F - C. Congratulations, you just played the verse riff structure of Sweet Child O' Mine (which does D–C–G–D).
Why it works: the bVII comes from the Mixolydian mode (or the parallel minor, depending on who you ask) and gives that earthy, bluesy cadence that a plain V → I can't deliver.
Hear it (C - Bb - F - C):
How to use it: whenever your song feels too polite. The Beatles ride this chord through the entire "na-na-na" coda of Hey Jude (F–Eb–Bb–F, the famous "double plagal" cadence), and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama lives on the same D–C–G neighborhood. If your chorus needs a fist-in-the-air lift, this is your chord.
4. The Deceptive Cadence Safe
Promise home, deliver somewhere better
Everyone's ear knows that V wants to go to I. The deceptive cadence sets up that expectation… and then resolves to vi instead. The listener gets a resolution, just not the one they ordered , and that tiny betrayal is what keeps a song from feeling finished too soon.
The rule: when your V chord is about to resolve to I, send it to vi instead.
Example in C: C - F - G → Am (instead of G → C).
Why it works: Am shares two notes with C (C and E), so it functions as a "tonic substitute", close enough to feel like a landing, different enough to feel like a plot twist.
Hear it (C - F - G7 - Am):
How to use it: perfect for extending a section. If your chorus resolves too neatly and the song wants to keep going, deceive the first cadence (V → vi), repeat the phrase, and resolve it for real the second time (V → I). Classical composers did this constantly; so does every songwriter who's ever needed a "false ending" before the final chorus.
5. The Picardy Third Safe
The sunrise at the end of a sad song
You've written a song in a minor key. It's dark, it's moody, it's perfect. Now, on the very last chord, play the tonic as a major chord instead of minor. That's the Picardy third, a trick so old it predates the guitar itself, and it still lands every time.
The rule: on the final cadence of a minor-key piece, raise the 3rd of the tonic chord to make it major.
Example: in A minor, end with E7 → A major instead of E7 → Am.
Why it works: after minutes of minor tonality, that raised 3rd (C# instead of C) reads as light breaking through, resolution plus redemption in a single note.
Hear it (Am - Dm - E7 - A):
How to use it: endings only. It's a final-word gesture, not a mid-song color. Bach used it to close nearly every minor-key chorale; on guitar it works beautifully as a let-ring final chord after a fingerpicked minor tune. Cheap trick? Maybe. Effective? Four hundred years and counting.
6. The Borrowed bVI Spicy
Instant movie-soundtrack drama
Another chord stolen from the parallel minor: the major chord on the flattened 6th degree. In C major, that's Ab. Where bVII sounds like rock, bVI sounds like a scene change, dark, wide-screen, slightly ominous.
The rule: place the major chord on b6 right before your V chord (or resolve it straight to I for a bolder move).
Example in C: C - Ab → G - C. The Ab-to-G half-step drop in the bass does the heavy lifting.
Why it works: the root descends chromatically into the dominant (Ab → G), a gravitational pull you can hear even without knowing why.
Hear it (C - Ab - G7 - C):
How to use it: bridges. When your verse and chorus are diatonic and you need the middle eight to feel like it left the building, bVI (often paired with bVII: Ab–Bb–C) is the classic escape route. The Police lean on borrowed bVI–bVII in the bridge of Every Breath You Take , that's why that section suddenly feels stormy compared to the doo-wop verse.
7. The Line Cliché (Descending Bass) Spicy
One chord, four flavors, the James Bond special
Sometimes the trick isn't changing the chord, it's keeping the chord and moving one voice through it. Hold a minor chord and walk a single line down chromatically inside it. The harmony barely moves, but the song suddenly feels like it's descending a spiral staircase.
The rule: over a static minor chord, move one inner voice (or the bass) down in half steps.
Example: Am - Am(maj7) - Am7 - Am6. On guitar: play Am and walk the note on the G string down: A → G# → G → F#.
Why it works: the ear follows the moving chromatic line like a melody, so a single held chord gains direction and suspense.
Hear it (Am - Am(maj7) - Am7 - Am6):
How to use it: intros and verses that need atmosphere. This is the James Bond theme's signature sound, and it's the DNA of the Stairway to Heaven intro, where the bass falls A–G#–G–F#–F under the arpeggios. On acoustic guitar it's almost embarrassingly easy to play and almost always sounds expensive.
8. The Chromatic Mediant Spicy
The Hollywood jump-cut
Move from your tonic to a major chord a third away that doesn't belong to the key at all. C to Eb. C to E major. C to Ab. No preparation, no apology. It shouldn't work, and yet it's the sound of every epic film-score moment you've ever heard.
The rule: from I (or V), jump to a major or minor chord whose root is a third above or below, outside the key.
Example in C: C → Eb, or C → E, or C → Ab. Strum C for a bar, then hit the new chord with confidence.
Why it works: the two chords share one common tone (or a near-common tone), so the move sounds connected, but the out-of-key root makes it feel like the floor shifted.
Hear it (C - Eb, then C - E):
How to use it: moments of wonder or menace. Because the connection is coloristic rather than functional, don't overthink resolution, you can hop back to C just as abruptly. Film composers use chains of these for "vast landscape" shots; on guitar, one well-placed chromatic mediant can make a simple chorus feel twice its size.
9. The #iv°7 Passing Chord Spicy
The gospel walk-up
Between your IV chord and your V chord there's a gap of a whole step, and you can fill it with a diminished 7th chord on the note in between. The bass walks up chromatically, the harmony gets a wink of tension, and suddenly your progression struts instead of walks.
The rule: insert a dim7 chord on the #4 between IV and V (it also works walking from IV back toward I).
Example in C: F - F#dim7 - G7 - C. The bass goes F → F# → G, smooth as an escalator.
Why it works: the chromatic bass line connects the two diatonic chords, and the diminished chord's tension resolves the instant you land on V.
Hear it (F - F#dim7 - G7 - C):
How to use it: anywhere your IV–V move feels clunky. This is bread and butter in gospel, Dixieland, and country turnarounds, and on guitar, dim7 shapes are movable and compact, so it's an easy grab. Bonus: a dim7 chord repeats every three frets, so one shape gives you four positions.
10. The Tritone Substitution Spicy
The jazz musician's secret handshake
Any time you have a V7 resolving to I, you can replace it with the dominant 7th chord a tritone away, that's the bII7. Instead of G7 → C, play Db7 → C. The resolution still works, but now the bass slides down a half step and the whole cadence turns velvet.
The rule: swap V7 for the dom7 chord whose root is a tritone (three whole steps) away.
Example in C: Dm7 - Db7 - Cmaj7, instead of Dm7–G7–Cmaj7. The bass walks D → Db → C.
Why it works: G7 and Db7 share the same two guide tones, B and F (the notes that actually define the resolution). Change the root, keep the engine.
Hear it (Dm7 - Db7 - Cmaj7):
How to use it: song endings and ballad turnarounds. Even in a pop or acoustic context, one tritone sub at the final cadence signals "I know what I'm doing" without needing a single fast lick. Start by using it only on cadences that resolve to the tonic, that's where it's foolproof.
11. The Backdoor Dominant Spicy
Sneaking home through the side entrance
The front door to your tonic is V7 → I. The backdoor is iv7–bVII7 → I: two chords borrowed from the parallel minor that resolve up a whole step into the major tonic. It's the warm, slightly wistful resolution you hear all over soul, gospel, and jazz standards.
The rule: approach your major I chord with iv7 followed by bVII7.
Example in C: Fm7 - Bb7 → Cmaj7. Try replacing a plain G7 → C cadence with this and hear the temperature change.
Why it works: Bb7 contains Ab and F, notes from C minor that melt upward into the G and E of Cmaj7. Resolution with a sigh instead of a slam.
Hear it (Fm7 - Bb7 - Cmaj7):
How to use it: when V → I feels too obvious or too triumphant. It pairs beautifully with the borrowed iv trick (#2), in fact it contains it. If your song ends on a major chord but the lyric is bittersweet, the backdoor cadence matches the emotion better than any dominant ever will.
12. The Neapolitan Chord (bII) Advanced
Opera-level drama, one fret above home
Build a major chord on the flattened 2nd degree of your key, Db in the key of C , and use it where you'd normally put a ii or IV, right before the V. Classical composers loved it in first inversion (the "N6" chord); on guitar you can simply play it as a barre chord one fret above your tonic shape.
The rule: use the major chord on b2 in the pre-dominant slot, then resolve through V to I.
Example in C: Db → G7 → C. For the classical flavor, put F in the bass of the Db chord (Db/F).
Why it works: it's a chromatic subdominant sitting a half step above the tonic, maximum tension with a clear escape route through the dominant.
Hear it (C - Db/F - G7 - C):
How to use it: sparingly, at the emotional peak. The root movement Db → G is itself a tritone, so the cadence feels like it's stretching before it snaps home. It's especially potent in minor keys (try Bb → E7 → Am), where flamenco and classical guitar have used it for centuries.
13. The Common-Tone Diminished Advanced
Ragtime glitter for a chord that's standing still
When a chord hangs around for two bars and starts to feel static, embellish it with a diminished 7th chord that shares a note with it, then fall back in. The shared tone anchors the ear while the other three notes shimmer around it like heat haze.
The rule: to decorate a chord (usually I or V), play a dim7 that keeps one of its notes, then return, or use it to step up to the next chord.
Example in C: C - C#dim7 - Dm7 (stepping up), or C - C#dim7 - C to sparkle in place over a held tonic.
Why it works: the diminished chord's notes are neighbor tones that resolve by half step right back into the chord you're prolonging, tension and release in miniature.
Hear it (C - C#dim7 - Dm7 - G7 - C):
How to use it: this is the sound of ragtime, stride piano, and early jazz guitar — think of it as musical seltzer, tiny bubbles of dissonance that make a plain chord taste fresh. Use it on a long tonic in an intro, or to dress up the I–ii move at the start of a jazzy verse.
Putting It All Together: A Worked Example
Let's take the most ordinary progression in the world and upgrade it, one trick at a time. Start here:
C - G - Am - F
- Add a secondary dominant (trick #1): C - E7 - Am - F. The E7 makes the Am feel like a destination instead of a stop.
- Add a borrowed iv (trick #2): C - E7 - Am - F - Fm - C. Now the return home aches a little.
- Deceive one cadence (trick #4): on the repeat, let the final G go to Am instead of C, and resolve properly only the second time.
Three small moves, and a four-chord loop has become a progression with tension, nostalgia, and a plot twist. That's the whole craft: familiar bones, one surprising joint.
A Simple Practice Plan
- Week 1: take one progression you already play and apply tricks #1–#5 (the safe ones), one per day. Record 30 seconds of each on your phone.
- Week 2: listen back and pick your two favorites. Move them to a different key.
- Week 3: try the spicy tricks (#6–#11) in a bridge or intro only.
- Week 4: steal from the masters: play Creep, the Hey Jude coda, and the Stairway intro, and name the trick each one uses.
The ear learns faster than the eye. Every trick on this page is worth ten minutes of playing for every minute of reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know music theory to use these tricks?
No. Every trick here is a recipe: "in this situation, play this chord." Knowing why it works (which each section explains) helps you transpose it to other keys, but you can start using them today with nothing but the example in C.
Which trick should I learn first?
The borrowed iv (F → Fm → C). It's two familiar shapes plus one tiny change, it works in almost any major-key song, and the emotional payoff is immediate. The secondary dominant is a close second.
Can I use more than one trick in the same song?
Yes, great songs often stack them (Creep uses a secondary dominant and a borrowed iv in a single four-chord loop). But add them one at a time and let your ear vote. If a section stops sounding like your song and starts sounding like a theory exercise, take one out.
Do these tricks work in minor keys too?
Most of them, with small adjustments. Secondary dominants, deceptive cadences, line clichés and the Neapolitan are all at home in minor, in fact the line cliché and the Picardy third require a minor context to shine.
What if a trick sounds wrong when I try it?
Check the placement, not the chord. Most of these moves depend on where they sit: a borrowed iv wants to resolve to I, a secondary dominant needs its target chord right after it, a tritone sub only works on a cadence. Played in the wrong slot, even the safest trick sounds like a mistake.
The Real Secret
None of these tricks make a song good by themselves. What they do is give you options at the exact moment a song feels stuck, when the chorus won't lift, when the verse loops one time too many, when the ending lands with a shrug. The songwriters you admire aren't inventing new harmony; they're reaching into this same toolbox and picking the right tool at the right moment.
So pick one trick. Put it in a song tonight. Your four chords are about to become a lot more interesting.
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
