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Hi, this is Pedro, and this is 
Part 2 video for even more tips 

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on how to write ambient chord 
progressions. 

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And with no further ado, let's 
dive right in. 

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We'll be covering the use of 
chord inversions as a 

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consequence of voice leading, 
how to use note coloring to 

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create harmonies, to make use of
drones with other repeating 

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elements, and to create ideas 
that evolve over time. 

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Let's go. 
For those of you who don't know,

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a chord inversion is when you 
use a different base note on the

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chord other than the expected 
tonic. 

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But which chord inversion to 
choose? 

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In the context of a chord 
progression? 

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Each chord inversion has a sound
to it, but the idea here is to 

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use it in a way that helps us to
create a good transition to the 

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next chord. 
With that said, try to think of 

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the base melodic movement as an 
almost separate entity that 

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doesn't have to be bound to the 
regular chord inversion 

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possibilities. 
Instead, look for strong melodic

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movement from the base and the 
aim at proceeding to the next 

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chord in fourths, fifths, 
ascending or descending. 

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Or approach it by stepwise 
movement, whole or half from 

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above or below. 
Let me show you what I mean in 

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the next examples, where the 
upper harmonic structure, the 

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chords will remain the same 
throughout. 

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As you heard in these 4 
examples, creating more melodic 

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lines in the bass also works for
the purposes of connecting 

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chords and with the added bonus 
of creating surprise harmonic 

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colors that otherwise you 
wouldn't be expecting. 

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This next technique is another 
option if you're having 

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difficulty in escaping the use 
of standard chord progressions 

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or functional harmony 
relationships. 

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In ambient chord progressions, 
it is common that the goal is to

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play with colors or moods. 
So the idea is that you choose 

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whatever chord that will convey 
a certain mood or emotion, using

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a note as a reference to make it
easier to understand. 

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Think of a hanging note that you
will use to explore the several 

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moods that it could have. 
Now your focus is to play with 

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the chord qualities where that 
note lives. 

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That hanging note can be placed 
on the top or at the middle of 

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the harmonies that you are going
to create. 

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And remember that you don't need
to think about chords in key. 

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Instead, think of this note as 
being the suss 2, the third, the

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7th, or the 11th of the chord 
quality you choose. 

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Here are some examples. 
This is basically cycling 

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through different colors over 
that specific note. 

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And now you could definitely 
take some of these colors that 

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you now have and rearrange them 
in any way you like. 

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In my case I like this sequence.
And Speaking of hanging notes, 

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let's talk about drones. 
In a previous video, to which 

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I'll put the link in the 
description, I talked about 

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using pedal notes, which is akin
to using drones. 

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However, the latter is used for 
much longer periods of time. 

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A drone can be a pitch or even a
cord that supports everything 

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else you throw on top of it, a 
stable base for you to work 

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with. 
But how do you avoid getting 

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bored by that relentless sound? 
One of the ways is to engage in 

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the creation of different 
harmonic colors using the 

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previous technique of note 
coloring, but another is to 

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explore modal harmonies with 
this drone in fifths. 

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Or using model mixture in more 
of a melodic approach. 

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And of course, since we are 
jumping from different modes, 

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why not borrow some chords? 
Another idea that I'll introduce

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so that you can avoid drone 
boredom is to layer elements 

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that can also be repetitive by 
nature, and they may come and go

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as you wish in order to create a
buildup, increase or decrease 

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tension. 
You're in control. 

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And that leads us to it is not 
uncommon in ambient music to 

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hear an idea that seems to be 
evolving throughout the section 

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towards a climax. 
But when you set out to create 

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this effect, sometimes you may 
get stuck in the process of 

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getting there. 
I'm going to show you an 

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approach that you can 
immediately apply in your music,

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and it is very simple and 
effective, I think. 

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So what we want is a climax 
section with a musical idea, 

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which is now presented in its 
complete form, completely 

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developed. 
And this is where you want to 

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start. 
Instead of working towards the 

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climax section, compose it first
and then deconstruct it by 

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taking away elements. 
Simplify it, in other words. 

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Here are the examples of how 
this could happen. 

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First, I'll show you the final 
form of the melody with the 

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arrangement. 
And now how I got there. 

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I'm starting with the stripped 
down version of the whole thing 

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and then I basically add layers 
that are used as ostinatos as 

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the music proceeds and also 
other textures like pads or 

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bases that are present in the 
final form of the arrangement. 

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It's like slowly putting the 
pieces of the puzzle together 

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and make the music piece grow in
that manner. 

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For the sake of the video, this 
piece evolves a bit faster than 

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I would like, but I think this 
way I can also get my point 

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across. 
And that's it, we reached the 

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end of Part 2 for tips on how to
write ambient chord 

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progressions. 
I hope you enjoyed this 

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miniseries. 
I'll put the links in the 

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description for the other two 
videos in case you missed any. 

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If you have more tips like this,
I would love to see them in the 

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comments section. 
Share with the community and in 

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the description you'll also find
links to the blog, the Beyond 

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Music Theory book, online 
lessons, courses, the whole 

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thing to help you progress in 
your musicals. 

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As always, don't forget to like 
and subscribe for more videos 

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like this. 
Thanks for watching and until 

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next time.