These Chords

[Mike20]

Hey, i am listening to this Knife Party track, and i think the chords are extremely well written, however i cannot put my finger on if they are major/ minor or what,

Is there a particular technique to how they have been written.. They seem quite 'unique' or at least different and well written to me

@ 2.08 -

Thanks in advance!a

[BertKoor]

Here's some snippets, what I make of it:

Code: Select all

| D#m .  .  C# | D#m .  .  . |
| D#m .  .  .  | D#m  F#  G# |

Don't look at the position of the bar signs, it's the chords you want. The clever bit is how the bass like goes up while the chord seems to go down. That's just clever chord voicing.

[jancivil]

there isn't anything too unique about those changes, I assure you. what does happen there is the top line goes from A#, of the F# major harmony, to G# while the bass sticks to the root F# to G#. if there is a particular technique that's new to your understanding that's probably it.

[goldenmommy]

I'm not sure what jancivil is referring to, but I think the OP might be hearing the raised sixth scale degree (B# in this case) arising from the IV major harmony (G# major here) in the otherwise minor mode as the unique element? It's certainly not unique but I don't think it's exactly the norm in this style, although I could be wrong there. Famous example of a similar dorian-esque inflection:



In this case the A# -- raised sixth scale degree in C#m -- is the culprit. Michael Jackson's innovations may very well be responsible for this funk-oriented dorian sound finding its way to the electronic dance floor.

[someone called simon]

Ok, at the point 2.08 into that track there is a progression of 3 chords, starting with Eb minor, ending on Ab major. Now, if you're a beginner at this, i'm gonna transfer it to Em as these sharps and flats can be confusing, so lets say it goes from Em to A to simplify things.

The chord in between is the interesting one, its a progression I have used myself a few times.

It helps to think of the chord triad and the bass separately. the chord triad is just Bm. So you can think of it as Em, down to Bm, then down to A. Quite standard.

But the bass note, instead of following those chords down is doing an upward progression, E to G to A, which is itself quite normal. But the chord in between then becomes a Bm triad over a G bass, which is a G major 7. Its quite a pretty, kinda jazzy, slighty more complex chord. So bass note is G, and it contains, higher up, an B, D and F#. Note the tension of the top F# note in the chord over the G bass.
Its a bit more harmonically interesting than is usually seen in this kinda music, using a major 7 as a transition between the 1 and 4 chord, I would say

[jancivil]

I'm not sure what jancivil is referring to, but I think the OP might be hearing the raised sixth scale degree (B# in this case) arising from the IV major harmony (G# major here) in the otherwise minor mode as the unique element? It's certainly not unique but I don't think it's exactly the norm in this style, although I could be wrong there. Famous example of a similar dorian-esque inflection:

In this case the A# -- raised sixth scale degree in C#m -- is the culprit. Michael Jackson's innovations may very well be responsible for this funk-oriented dorian sound finding its way to the electronic dance floor.

There is at some point *A# B# A#-> G#*, as III, F# moves to G# or IV. (However it is a dorian inflection per D#, the tonic. Dorian on D# looks like this: D# E# F# G# A# B# C#. The raised sixth per the chord C#m - which does not appear here - does not amount to 'dorian'; a modal term "dorian" denotes relationships to The Tonic. If I need a third over that bass C#, it's C# major. If we decide C# is tonic, this scale will be C# Major. But C# is VII here.)

i, III, IV is the harmony. D#m, F#, G#. It's very simple and not uncommon.

[jancivil]

Its a bit more harmonically interesting than is usually seen in this kinda music, using a major 7 as a transition between the 1 and 4 chord, I would say

In the actual key, F#^7. In addition to the descending A# to G# there is that E# to D# in one spot. you could say there is a III^7 here.

[Mike20]

Sorry for the later response i took a few days away from the internet/ forums.

Thanks a lot for your replies, it's made it clear to me now what i am dealing with, and yeah i had a slight feeling it was something normal but with a slight variant to make it sound more complex than it actually is, i guess changing one note of one chord can really change the perspective of it

Thanks again!

[goldenmommy]

I'm not sure what jancivil is referring to, but I think the OP might be hearing the raised sixth scale degree (B# in this case) arising from the IV major harmony (G# major here) in the otherwise minor mode as the unique element? It's certainly not unique but I don't think it's exactly the norm in this style, although I could be wrong there. Famous example of a similar dorian-esque inflection:

In this case the A# -- raised sixth scale degree in C#m -- is the culprit. Michael Jackson's innovations may very well be responsible for this funk-oriented dorian sound finding its way to the electronic dance floor.

There is at some point *A# B# A#-> G#*, as III, F# moves to G# or IV. (However it is a dorian inflection per D#, the tonic. Dorian on D# looks like this: D# E# F# G# A# B# C#. The raised sixth per the chord C#m - which does not appear here - does not amount to 'dorian'; a modal term "dorian" denotes relationships to The Tonic. If I need a third over that bass C#, it's C# major. If we decide C# is tonic, this scale will be C# Major. But C# is VII here.)

i, III, IV is the harmony. D#m, F#, G#. It's very simple and not uncommon.

"In this case..." refers to the Michael Jackson song...probably a miscommunication? I'm not sure what you're trying to correct about my statement.

i, bIII, IV is by nature a dorian progression, due to the raised sixth scale degree that appears as the chordal third over the IV. Any song that uses IV in minor mode inflects the dorian automatically. I don't think that the dorian mode is the norm in electronic dance music which is why I think that might be what the OP thought was special about the progression. No, generally speaking this is not a peculiar progression, but I don't really believe in universal laws as far as "common progressions" go. Every genre has its own norms and expectations.