Originally Posted by: faith83And yes, Christopher, thanks, that's exactly what it is and foreshadowing in songs is a technique I use consciously all the time.[/quote]

Good deal.

Originally Posted by: faith83I try not to have a brand new chord just appear in the middle of the song (with the exception of I, IV and V, which are fair game anywhere, IMO, whether they've been used before or not) without having foreshadowed it somewhere, otherwise it risks feeling disjointed.

This is an interesting observation. Because I definitely get that you want any chord used to have a purpose, use or function that helps the song structure.

But, the first time a new chord appears it has to just appear by definition! Thereafter it can refer to its earlier appearance. But there has to be a first time. This is where, when & how some of the more interesting melodic & harmonic twists & turns can happen!

[quote=faith83]

But this is the first time I've been able to hear the tangible difference between when you foreshadow and when you don't. I guess I didn't realize that what I was already doing intuitively actually did have such a very specific impact, besides psychological, on the sound of the chord progression.

Good observation!