Chord Progressions in different modes?

[JumpingJackFlash]

I'm sorry folks, this is all new territory to me, i've been learning chords and the like for about a month now, so I haven't dug too deep yet.

I want a very firm grasp on this though so I can use chords effecitvely in my music

I don't know, for the most part, what i'm even looking at when I read through it all. I need to find some more resources on chords and build up to it.

Personally, I would strongly advise you (and anyone else new to harmony/theory) to learn the basics of diatonic tonal harmony FIRST, then, experiment with modality LATER. - If you don't understand the basics, you will only get confused by modes and stuff.

Now, I know you said you wanted spice, and that's good, but that comes after you are familiar with the basics. - Don't run before you can walk. It's like getting your house all nice and pretty before you've got a strong foundation - no matter how pretty it is, it will not stand.

Bach chorales and the like may not be your cup of tea, but the concepts developed during that era are more or less the foundations of harmony as we now know it, and are applicable to all (Western) musical styles.

Before you even think about modality, you should know, for example, what a chord is, what a triad is, what major, minor, diminished and augmented chords are, what inversions are, etc. etc.
- You will not regret learning these fundamental basics, and the quicker you learn them, the quicker you can progress to more interesting things.

(And by the way, you can get all the spice and excitement you can handle out of tonal harmony without having to venture into modality).

Some people will no doubt disagree with my advice here, but it is my honest opinion nonetheless.

[mistertoast]

>>Now, I know you said you wanted spice, and that's good, but that comes after you are familiar with the basics. - Don't run before you can walk.

I agree with that advice. Start with the meat.

Then add in the most common of the alterations. Things like the flatted seventh chord and the sus4.

There are really good books.

This covers everything you're ever likely to need:

http://www.edly.com/mtfpp.html

As does this:

http://www.jaijomusic.com/id2.htm

These are my two favorites.

[tee boy]

That's the problem with the modes of the major scale. With the obvious exception of the Ionian mode, none of them lend themselves to well defined chord progressions.

Precisely!

The music has to be progressing for it to be a progression, right? Well, technically speaking.

Perhaps this is partly why modes were given a new lease of life by the impressionists, who WANTED unresolved dissonances and what not?

TB

[No name]

You see, I do have a firm grasp on all the things you've mentioned, I can read and write music (not too good at it yet, but I can do it with a little time and focus). The problem comes in when I read through my book on music theory, and all it gives me is arpeggios and block chords. I want to know how to use the chords, and by that I don't mean playing a triad at the beginning of the measure, I know that is a good place to begin, but I feel i'm ready to be beyond that now, and to get into concepts in music theory that are a bit more deeper than the basics. I got down what the different things are..triads,sevenths, what augmented and diminished means, the different keys and scales and modes, all of that, now I want to know how to make it work. I want to know how I use all of this knowledge I have now to not only create music, but to create something that sounds more interesting than playing the typical boring chords progressions they have as examples in my book. If I recall right, alllll they everrr use is in it is a set of four chords, block chords, which all have the same duration of a whole note, and the typical progression they use in there is, of course, in C major. They use the C,Am,Dm,G,C progression that was brutally slaughtered to death in the 60's. I know the basic theory, but my question is, how can I make music with them...more interesting music? I just don't know how most musicians use the theory for themselves, how they apply it to be something more than just 4 block chords and some simple, mary had a little lamb melody (this is yet another thing they always use in the book to explain everything that has to do with melody. I'm getting into counterpoint and the such right now, and it is interesting, but what I guess i'm tryna discover here is how musicians actually do things like write melodies, and how they use these chords to make the music we enjoy.

By the way, for the record, I do absolutely love bach. His name seems to come up a lot when it comes down to the subject of counterpoint.

[No name]

>>Now, I know you said you wanted spice, and that's good, but that comes after you are familiar with the basics. - Don't run before you can walk.

I agree with that advice. Start with the meat.

Then add in the most common of the alterations. Things like the flatted seventh chord and the sus4.

There are really good books.

This covers everything you're ever likely to need:

http://www.edly.com/mtfpp.html

As does this:

http://www.jaijomusic.com/id2.htm

These are my two favorites.

Thanks. I'm gonna look into these books a bit more as i'm going to buy a book to help on pitch recognition too. plus I do need a book that is a bit more deeper now than the one I got, as i'm now on my way to reading through it twice.

[JumpingJackFlash]

You see, I do have a firm grasp on all the things you've mentioned, I can read and write music (not too good at it yet, but I can do it with a little time and focus). The problem comes in when I read through my book on music theory, and all it gives me is arpeggios and block chords. I want to know how to use the chords...

That's good. Maybe what you seek is not books on harmony and music theory, but on melody writing, counterpoint, composition, arranging and orchestration. - These are the things that really teach you how to use chords.

[chardin]

@JumpingJackFlash
Please suggest some book titles on melody writing, counterpoint, composition, arranging and orchestration.

[JumpingJackFlash]

@JumpingJackFlash
Please suggest some book titles on melody writing, counterpoint, composition, arranging and orchestration.

Hmmm. I'm not sure I can actually. I mean, I learnt it in a classroom (and of course, by studying and playing through various music), so I can't really recall any book in that area that I've found particularly helpful. Sorry.

You're just going to have to look around; browse through your library first (if you have one), to preview what there is. Remember what works really well for some people doesn't work at all for others; we all work differently.

I would recommend though, as I said, to play through and analyse as much as you can. - Anything by the greats would be good. Try to study both things in the style that you like AND in styles that you don't, because you will learn more that way. - And then just experiment. We all learn by trial and error; do stuff, see how it sounds, if you like it, great, if not, try again, but always try to decide why you like or dislike something.