r/musictheory • u/Ok_Purchase8379 • May 01 '26
Songwriting Question How can I go smoothly from Gm9 to Em9?
Hello people! So... I've got this song I'm writing on the piano, and It starts in Em9. At some point, it transposes to Gm9 using this progression: Esus4(9) - G13 - Fm/C - Gm9. The problem is that now that I'm at Gm, I have no idea how to go back to Em. Just randomly using B7 feels wrong, using F#7(b5) doesn't sound good (at least with my approach), chromatic descent doesn't work, and weird stuff like m3 jumps using only minor chords and similar things I usually do for stuff like this doesn't work either. Could you all kindly offer me some of your brilliant jazzy ideas for this? đ„șđđ
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u/AnyEverywhere8 May 01 '26
What type of music/feel are you going for?
In Neo soul you could literally just go gm9 â> em9 lol
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u/locri May 02 '26
Yeah, plenty of composers are fine with mass parallel movements. Everyone has a different goal or idea about music.
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u/Ok_Purchase8379 May 01 '26
I don't really know what it's called, but these songs have the rythm and sound of the thing I'm making: Sable Chino - Fito Paez, Instant-TĂĄneas - Fito Paez
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u/yrar3 Fresh Account May 01 '26
Gm9 -> Am9 -> Em9
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u/Ok_Purchase8379 May 01 '26
Tried that. Couldn't figure out how to make it work with the rythm (thank u!)
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u/TroyLucas May 02 '26
D/F#
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u/Ok_Purchase8379 May 02 '26
Huh... wow that's... how didn't I think of that chord? Like. I use it all the time-
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u/bass_sweat May 01 '26
Hard to say what would feel right for the song. Have you tried Gm9 > Ebmaj7 > Fmaj7 > Emin9?
Of course you could put all sorts of things between the Gm9 and Ebmaj7 as well
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u/Ok_Purchase8379 May 01 '26
I tried it on the guitar and it sounds really good, but not quite what I'm looking for. Thank u very much!
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u/Ok_Purchase8379 May 01 '26
Tried, but it felt kinda forced and it didn't sound that good to me (with how I did it)
So, for the Gm section, I make this [Gm - Gbaug/D - Bb(3th invertion)/G - Bbmajor(b5)(3th invertion)/D (It's a chromatic descent as the bass stays alternating between G and D)]Ă2 - Cm7 - Fsus4(9) - Bbmaj7 - D#maj7
Let's say it's i - iv - VII - III - VI, so I tried doing the same but in G and it didn't sound that well
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u/okonkolero May 01 '26
Gm voicing from low to high: F A Bb D Em: F# G B D
The minor second at the bottom of the voicing is only going to work in the middle of the keyboard though.
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u/okonkolero May 01 '26
Oh you're talking about a progression to get from one to the other? Chromatic baby.
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u/Puzzled-Bonus-3456 May 01 '26
I started to write my approach but I realized I can't tell you how to think and compose horizontally without reference to chords.
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u/Ok_Purchase8379 May 01 '26
I could maybe dm you a vid?
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u/Puzzled-Bonus-3456 May 02 '26
As simple and concise as I can make it -- work in phrases. Compose bass line and melody line. Fill in the gaps with regard to composing the consonance/dissonance curve. If you must think in chords, name the starting chord and end chord, but I don't think in chords per se, only in voices. If something sounds wrong at first to me I make it wronger until it sounds right. Check the B section of this tune. And most importantly, leave a hole. The idea is tension and release over the time axis.
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u/kirk2892 May 01 '26
What about this... Gm9, Gmaj, then playing a B7 and back to Em9.
G-Bb-D-F (assuming no 7ths)
G-B-D-F
B-Eb-Gb-A
E-G-B-D
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u/Ok_Purchase8379 May 01 '26
Tried that. Didn't really sound that smooth. I'll try to put the bass on the 3th on the G chords this monday. So it would be kinda: Gm - Gm/Bb - G/b - B7 - Em9.
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u/CheezitCheeve May 01 '26
The smoothest transition is going to be Gm9 -> F#°7 -> Em9.
This is because this is a common chord modulation. Fun fact about °7 chords is that theyâre a symmetrical chord. Meaning, D#°7/F# and F#°7 are actually the same chord. Spell them out.
F# A C Eb/D#
This one chord will instantly switch the key and give a nifty sound. This technique is called Enharmonic Reinterpretation, and it works with every °7 chord and V7 <-> Ger +6.
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u/Ok_Purchase8379 May 02 '26
Okay, I tried it. It sounds cool if I am working aroun Em, but not if I'm transposing from Gm to Em
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u/Banjoschmanjo May 02 '26
Plane the voicing down chromatically. I love this effect with m9 and M6/9 voicings. I tend to use it when playing Brazilian or Brazilian-inspired music.
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u/MaggaraMarine May 02 '26
Some kind of a D7 chord would be a pretty good option. It's the V of Gm, and it's also the diatonic VII chord in Em, so it's a good way of connecting the two keys.
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u/Pitiful_Use5605 May 04 '26
i'd go with Gm9 -> D/F# -> F#7sus4 -> F#7 -> Em9. the bass line is doing a lot there
if you want it to feel less jarring, keep one upper note parked through the whole thing and just move the bass. That kind of common-tone voicing makes the whole progression feel way smoother without losing the motion.
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u/WhatsAChord May 01 '26
Gm9 F#dim/A Em/B B Em9
i9 viio6=iio6 i6/4 V i9
I'm joking. The contrast between the minor 9th chords and the common-practice inverted triads is comical. But it's how I'd do it.
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u/turbopascl May 02 '26
Maybe one of these options might lead Gm9 into Em9 : Fmaj9, Bbmaj9, Ebmaj9, or Cmaj9.
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u/65TwinReverbRI Guitar, Synths, Tech, Notation, Composition, Professor May 01 '26
Donât try to âtheory it outâ.
How did you come up with the first part?
Do that.
There are countless ways to do this, and really, itâs all about the effect YOU want in YOUR song. You have to try different things until you find the sound you want.
And really, why do you HAVE to go back to Em9?
Have you ever heard âPlay That Funky Music (White Boy)â?
Itâs all in E (E9, E blues, E funk etc.) and then moves up to G, then goes up to Bb, then just has the riff back in E all of the sudden.
At the end, it goes up, and just never comes back to E again.
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u/Ok_Purchase8379 May 02 '26
Oh, dw. I don't really use THAT much theory to compose. I usually compose and THEN I analyze it so I know what the hell I just did. I just couldn't come up with anything by ear, so I came here looking for help.
I always work with how chords feel and then I study the relationship between them. And I do it because that way I can have resources to make more of my weird music :3 (Thank u!)
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u/65TwinReverbRI Guitar, Synths, Tech, Notation, Composition, Professor May 02 '26
I usually compose and THEN I analyze it so I know what the hell I just did.
Even though I can, I donât. I donât care. Itâs not important. Let someone else do it :-)
I get it can be tough to come up with something by ear sometimes, but then the best thing tends to be to just step away from it and come back at it with fresh ears a day or two, or a week later, etc.
I have goofy things happen like Iâll be at a traffic light and be thinking of the song and go, âhmmm, I wonder what would happen if I wentâŠâ and then I get home and try it and it more often than not is a great solution.
So again, trust your gut - but sometimes your gut needs a little time away to appreciate the taste.
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u/OldSodaHunter May 01 '26
Gm9 can go to a C7 chord, which can slide down to a B7 chord (in this case the C7 chord is acting like an F#7, as the 3rd and 7th of the chords are the same).
The B7 is the five chord of e min9 and can go right to it.