Simple music theory question (Scale)
-
- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 4 posts since 11 Jan, 2010
So I usually just make drums, bass sounds & jam them out using any old random notes and 'voila I have a tune'….
I'm going to attempt to write musical arrangements - and have some questions:
If I was to pick a scale for Dance music - say B Minor = B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G
Can I sequence these notes in any order for melody, bassline, top line, arpeggio and it will work every time because they all are in the same scale + will just work?
When it come's to chords - is it ok to use Major and Minor chords adding 3rds, 5th's, 7th's etc to the notes listed above?… even though some of these notes will then fall out of the scale notes listed above?
I'm going to attempt to write musical arrangements - and have some questions:
If I was to pick a scale for Dance music - say B Minor = B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G
Can I sequence these notes in any order for melody, bassline, top line, arpeggio and it will work every time because they all are in the same scale + will just work?
When it come's to chords - is it ok to use Major and Minor chords adding 3rds, 5th's, 7th's etc to the notes listed above?… even though some of these notes will then fall out of the scale notes listed above?
-
- KVRian
- 588 posts since 3 Oct, 2011
Well, yeah. Scales aren't meant to tell you what you can or can't use. Remaining strictly diatonic is pretty boring.
Check this out, it's pretty awesome:
http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mus ... s-piano-1/
Spend some time just playing around with chord progressions. Listen to where the tones want to move. The more you do this, the less you rely on constructs like scales.
Check this out, it's pretty awesome:
http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mus ... s-piano-1/
Spend some time just playing around with chord progressions. Listen to where the tones want to move. The more you do this, the less you rely on constructs like scales.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
-
JumpingJackFlash JumpingJackFlash https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=44005
- KVRian
- 1227 posts since 10 Oct, 2004
The simplest thing to say is; if it sounds good, it is good.
Feel free to stop there and not read any more
So, this leaves you with the following possible chords, all of which belong to B minor:
B minor (B-D-F#)
C# diminished (C#-E-G)
C# minor (C#-E-G#)
D major (D-F#-A)
E minor (E-G-B)
E major (E-G#-B)
F# major (F#-A#-C#)
F# minor (F#-A-C#)
G major (G-B-D)
A# diminished (A#-C#-E)
A major (A-C#-E)
Note that these take into account the variable nature of the 6th and 7th degrees of minor keys. Some of these triads will work easier than others (there are voice-leading concerns and so on).
For more information, check out my Introduction to Music Theory.
Feel free to stop there and not read any more
Not necessarily. Just because the notes belong to the same scale (diatonic) doesn't mean that they will always sound good together (consonant). For example, if you have a C# and a D sounding at the same time, the result is going to be a clash (dissonant), even though both notes belong to B minor.SilentJ wrote:Can I sequence these notes in any order for melody, bassline, top line, arpeggio and it will work every time because they all are in the same scale + will just work?
Well, you can, but then you're leaving B minor (chromatic). This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, to stick in B minor and give the work more coherence, use only (or at least mostly) triads that are found within B minor (diatonic).SilentJ wrote:When it come's to chords - is it ok to use Major and Minor chords adding 3rds, 5th's, 7th's etc to the notes listed above?… even though some of these notes will then fall out of the scale notes listed above?
So, this leaves you with the following possible chords, all of which belong to B minor:
B minor (B-D-F#)
C# diminished (C#-E-G)
C# minor (C#-E-G#)
D major (D-F#-A)
E minor (E-G-B)
E major (E-G#-B)
F# major (F#-A#-C#)
F# minor (F#-A-C#)
G major (G-B-D)
A# diminished (A#-C#-E)
A major (A-C#-E)
Note that these take into account the variable nature of the 6th and 7th degrees of minor keys. Some of these triads will work easier than others (there are voice-leading concerns and so on).
For more information, check out my Introduction to Music Theory.
Unfamiliar words can be looked up in my Glossary of musical terms.
Also check out my Introduction to Music Theory.
Also check out my Introduction to Music Theory.
- KVRAF
- 25051 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
there are no quick fixes or perfect formulae really. if you're at all serious, you need to disabuse yourself of this kind of idea.SilentJ wrote:Can I sequence these notes in any order for melody, bassline, top line, arpeggio and it will work every time
it's done all the time. adhering to scale tones might be safer but you might run into a problem of bland sameness. it depends. at this point you want to start picking up what you like by ear and analyzing it and see what your model has done.SilentJ wrote:chords - is it ok to use Major and Minor chords adding 3rds, 5th's, 7th's etc to the notes listed above?… even though some of these notes will then fall out of the scale notes listed above?
-
- KVRist
- 31 posts since 30 Aug, 2012
I do it the other way around! So write a melody or chord sequence or whatever and then figure out what key it is in and what other sorts of tonalities you can use. It would be pretty dull if you just picked a scale randomly and decided to only use notes from that.
- KVRAF
- 15207 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
Maybe read this:elnn wrote:sorry for the offtopic, but how did the OP write these sharp signs?
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind ... -questions
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
- KVRist
- 239 posts since 1 Jun, 2011
Most of the time, yes.Can I sequence these notes in any order for melody, bassline, top line, arpeggio and it will work every time because they all are in the same scale + will just work?
Most of the time, no.When it come's to chords - is it ok (…) even though some of these notes will then fall out of the scale notes listed above?
Last edited by Vospi on Wed Feb 27, 2013 9:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
https://soundcloud.com/vospi
I love music, worked with a number of music/rhythm/dance games like Pump It Up, In The Groove, Cytus and Deemo, and teach music production.
I love music, worked with a number of music/rhythm/dance games like Pump It Up, In The Groove, Cytus and Deemo, and teach music production.
- Rad Grandad
- 38044 posts since 6 Sep, 2003 from Downeast Maine
alt key codes, hold down alt and use the numbers in the tableelnn wrote:sorry for the offtopic, but how did the OP write these sharp signs?
http://researchmaniacs.com/Symbols/AltKeyCodes.html
The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound, purpose‐larger‐than‐the‐self kind of understanding.