hi everyone !
i always run in an issue when i try to make a song from scratch . for example when i create the bass lines i usually use minor keys ( A minor for example ) and then i try to program a lead line using ( C major) . i usually get frustrated in the sense the it sounds out of tone when i try to combine the A minor with the C Major. am i doing this wrong ?
or i supposed to use A minor for the lead too? i am really confused.
thanks in Advance
ned help with the minor and Major keys !
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- KVRist
- 132 posts since 10 Dec, 2009 from Greensboro
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- KVRAF
- 6937 posts since 4 Jun, 2004 from Utrecht, Holland
The notes in the scales of A Minor and C Major are the same.
Is this some sort of a joke, a bad attempt at trolling, or what?
Is this some sort of a joke, a bad attempt at trolling, or what?
My MusicCalc is temporary offline.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
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- KVRer
- 24 posts since 28 May, 2010
You seem a little confused on composition.
For one, you should understand that the key of A minor is the relative minor key to C major. So the notes in both scales are quite the same. The difference between a song written in A minor and a song written in C major lies in where the melodic lines and chord progressions resolve to. Typically an A minor chord progression will always resolve to an A minor chord (in many cases the very first chord in the song will be A minor!). The same goes for a C major chord progression, except that the progression will resolve to C.
So if you write a bass line in A minor and a chord progression in C major on top of that, it's not surprising that it sounds funny!
Try this.
Write your bass line using an A minor scale. Then use some combination of these chords on top of it: Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, G.
Now they won't all sound good all the time, but some chords will line up with your bass line quite nicely, and if you find a few in a row then you have yourself a chord progression!
When the bass line resolves (at it's most basic, every time you hit an A) try and nail an Am chord and line up your chord progression to the bass line that way. Or if you want to create some tension you can resolve to the fifth which is the Em. There's lots of combinations of chords you can use and some general guidelines for how to use them but those are some basics to get you creating.
It's a bit awkward to try and explain it in writing, but hopefully that helps a bit.
Also, these are very general rules, so as always you can break them, you just kind of have to know how and when to break them in order for it to still sound good.
For one, you should understand that the key of A minor is the relative minor key to C major. So the notes in both scales are quite the same. The difference between a song written in A minor and a song written in C major lies in where the melodic lines and chord progressions resolve to. Typically an A minor chord progression will always resolve to an A minor chord (in many cases the very first chord in the song will be A minor!). The same goes for a C major chord progression, except that the progression will resolve to C.
So if you write a bass line in A minor and a chord progression in C major on top of that, it's not surprising that it sounds funny!
Try this.
Write your bass line using an A minor scale. Then use some combination of these chords on top of it: Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, G.
Now they won't all sound good all the time, but some chords will line up with your bass line quite nicely, and if you find a few in a row then you have yourself a chord progression!
When the bass line resolves (at it's most basic, every time you hit an A) try and nail an Am chord and line up your chord progression to the bass line that way. Or if you want to create some tension you can resolve to the fifth which is the Em. There's lots of combinations of chords you can use and some general guidelines for how to use them but those are some basics to get you creating.
It's a bit awkward to try and explain it in writing, but hopefully that helps a bit.
Also, these are very general rules, so as always you can break them, you just kind of have to know how and when to break them in order for it to still sound good.
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PurpleCatfishBettie PurpleCatfishBettie https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=211816
- KVRAF
- 3278 posts since 22 Jul, 2009
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 132 posts since 10 Dec, 2009 from Greensboro
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- KVRist
- 140 posts since 20 May, 2005
The ear works from a tonality-- which means there is one note that all the others gravitate to. For example, when you sing a song, how do you remember how it goes? Its because your ear naturally has the ability to relate the different notes to a tonal center. This note is the most stable, resting sound, and is very often the last note of a song (but not necessarily the first).
So--- in answer to your question, a song that is based on C major would imply that the song has C as its 'tonality". You should be able to hear this, while you are trying to write the melody. Play the note C, and see if it sounds like the tonal center.
But if you are writing the song in A minor, well that means that the note A is your tonality. And the note C won't sound all that resting, or stable, or final. Instead, the note A will do those things. So if you are basing your bass line and harmony around A minor, then generally you should be basing your melody also around A minor.
So--- in answer to your question, a song that is based on C major would imply that the song has C as its 'tonality". You should be able to hear this, while you are trying to write the melody. Play the note C, and see if it sounds like the tonal center.
But if you are writing the song in A minor, well that means that the note A is your tonality. And the note C won't sound all that resting, or stable, or final. Instead, the note A will do those things. So if you are basing your bass line and harmony around A minor, then generally you should be basing your melody also around A minor.
Sam