The backbone of so much music we know and love is made up of chords and chord progressions. In music, a chord is any harmonic set of frequencies consisting of multiple notes (also called "pitches") that are heard at the same time. And a chord progression is a series of chords played one after the other.
A common debate among songwriters out there is the question of … how many chords are needed when writing a great song? Some fall on the spectrum of more is better - saying that more chords provide a wider palette to draw upon when conveying emotion to the listener, while others say that having too many chords in a song detracts from the lyrical impact and emotional delivery of the song.
Well on today’s show we are going to examine, and in some instances, try to make the case for the less-is-more side of this debate as we discuss our favorite songs with 3 chords of less!
Today we are joined by singer songwriter Paul Kleinert from PK and the In-Betweens. Paul is a lifelong resident of the Lehigh Valley and kicked around the greater Philadelphia music scene during the 90s with his original band Waiting for Rain until the band dissolved in 2000. Other than a few open mics and a reunion show with his old band, Paul has remained off the stage and under the radar focusing his creative talent and energy on his career as a high school teacher. He returned to the studio in 2019 with Philly Producer and Engineer Brian Bricklin at the helm. Backed in the studio by a team of Philadelphia all-stars including Erik Johnson and Kevin Hanson of Huffamoose, Brendan McGeehan, Howie Gordon and Joanna Pacitti, Paul released the EP “A Lifetime of Almost” in early 2020. PK is currently finishing his 2nd EP with Brian and working on a separate song cycle with Tyler Skye at Monoplane Recording Studio.
Spotify Playlist “Songs with 3 Chords or Less”