What one bit of Music Theory was really helpful that caused your songwriting to improve ?

Chords, scales, harmony, melody, etc.
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IncarnateX wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 5:49 pm
branshen wrote: Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:41 am Most definitely the progression ii-V-i, as used in Jazz!
Yes, that is the standard “front door” in Jazz where we still have a V-I, however, wouldn’t you benefit from thr backdoor progression iv7-bVII7-I too, which may give it a little more “jazzy” flavour?
Just heard some examples. I have heard lots of songs that use it but didn't know about the progression concept. Thank you for the amazing post!

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Oh, one thing was to consider a rhythm differently from grouping it differently (this is from Konnakol, an Indian drumming pedagogy): so you are beginning with triplets but now you think of them, perhaps by accenting, in groups of 4. In, eg., accenting the first of four strikes you may perform a metrical modulation; your 4 is now at a 3:2 relationship to your primary tempo. And you pay close attention to your action so you may modulate right back to it this same way. Or you can keep moving; considered against the original pulse you're creating cross-rhythms and excitement via tension, and when you 'resolve' it's so satisfying.

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Eh..Jan? Is this a comment to something going on here or one of the other threads? I know we have more than a few in play now and I lose track myself but this ^^^ seems like belonging to the “polytonality” discussion in the A# key thread.

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"What one bit of Music Theory was really helpful" appears to still be the topic title:

"Oh, one thing was..."

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Scales. Simple and sweet. If nothing else, learn what a minor scale is and that is good enough for most electronic music. Theory isn't required, but going that route, it's the bare minimum I think.
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jancivil wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:23 pm "What one bit of Music Theory was really helpful" appears to still be the topic title:

"Oh, one thing was..."
Ah. I see. Sorry. Had just read the a# thread and it seemed like a direct response related to that. I am the one out of tune here.

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jancivil wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:13 pm Oh, one thing was to consider a rhythm differently from grouping it differently (this is from Konnakol, an Indian drumming pedagogy): so you are beginning with triplets but now you think of them, perhaps by accenting, in groups of 4. In, eg., accenting the first of four strikes you may perform a metrical modulation; your 4 is now at a 3:2 relationship to your primary tempo. And you pay close attention to your action so you may modulate right back to it this same way. Or you can keep moving; considered against the original pulse you're creating cross-rhythms and excitement via tension, and when you 'resolve' it's so satisfying.
How do you resolve it?

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For instance completing the metrical modulation, which there means the 4 pulse is 50% faster than the original; or you may simply finish at 1 and resume.

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I feel like I can see the notes of a chosen piece as a single chord now. A key/scale, is a chord, so to speak. To change chord truly, and not superficially, I'd have to change key, I think. Has this kind of radical occured to anyone else or am I mad?

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There will be contexts where that can work, but in and of itself, not a very good truism I'd say. Or a definition of 'chord'.
I just watched something where there is an illustration of 4 scales from a single tonic in increasing tension, and the person talking about it has 4 color areas, and tension zones accordingly. The two are pretty much married, there.
(But that is a certain thing, which I would call pan-modality, although the basic premise there accords more with jazz 'chord/scale theory'. There I would still agree with 'modal' insofar as it's limited to a single tonic.)
But even here, there are sonorities which give more tension than others.*

However, in the dominant/tonic paradigm, the two are not interchangeable. The tension does not dissolve just by ignoring it.

Turn it around: you may add tensions to dominant V7 which are not found wihin the seven-note scale, but it's still dominant V7.

But you do not have to consider diatonicism exactly so, you may do what is known as pandiatonicism where whatever momentary tension (*: basically out of the tritone, particularly as per the dominant/tonic paradigm or conventional tonality) is not given that kind of weight. It would get kind of anodyne before very long, probably. Pastel, or indistinct. It depends. If it's all the same weight, your interest would tend to be linear or textural. I mean you're obliterating harmony.
As a truism/as a 'per se', you''re about to go off the deep end IME.

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jancivil wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 11:08 pm

Turn it around: you may add tensions to dominant V7 which are not found wihin the seven-note scale, but it's still dominant V7.
All very interesting, But the phrase turn it around, I've heard it before, is that what it means, to add a chromatic tone to the dominant7?

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That the treble and bass clefs can have different keys or different modes or different scales. That opened up so many more harmonic sounds.

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Stamped Records wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 1:45 am
jancivil wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 11:08 pm

Turn it around: you may add tensions to dominant V7 which are not found wihin the seven-note scale, but it's still dominant V7.
All very interesting, But the phrase turn it around, I've heard it before, is that what it means, to add a chromatic tone to the dominant7?
I just meant look at it from the other perspective.

But harmonically, a turnaround tends to mean go through V back around to I.

The point was, dominant V, if it is that, is that, full stop, scale notwithstanding.

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It was a bit of wisdom from Robert Fripp I think. He said (and I’m sure this is not verbatim, but close enough):

“There’s no such thing as a wrong note - just think of it as an opportunity to take the music in an unexpected direction”
Sweet child in time...

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and embracing mistakes, accidents can be magic

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