White Keys vs Black Keys

[Caine123]

ok now im gonna shock you i guess , the thing is i mostly use the white keys on the keyboard/piano roll for melodyprogression. of course this is BOOOOORING! before i get to chords i need to learn this first, i guess?

EVERY time i hit c -> e -> f-> d -> c .... it sounds ok, melodical, but when i wanna do e.g. use a black key c -> e -> d# -> d -> c....... it sounds amelodical....... when may i use the black keys and when not? is there a good lecture, online tuts etc. so i can learn when to use the black keys or when you CAN use them but staying melodical? this would improve myself a lot!!!!! thanks

[topaz]

its because playing all white keys you are stuck in the key of C Major/A Minor

Learn other keys and it will all make sense.

[do_androids_dream]

It is extremely telling that so much music is written in A minor

[MadBrain]

If you play every white key starting from C you get C major:
C-D-E-F-G-A-B-(C)

If you need to start higher - maybe to better fit the singer's rage for instance - you could start on G. And then, considering that every half-step is equal, you will get 1 sharp:
G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-(G)

As you try starting from different notes, you will get a different number of sharps or flats for each starting key:
D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-(D)
A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-(A)
E-F#-G#-A-B-C#-D#-(E)
B-C#-D#-E-F#-G#-A#-(B)

F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E-(F)
Bb-C-D-Eb-F-G-A-(Bb)
Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb-C-D-(Eb)
Ab-Bb-C-Db-Eb-F-G-(Ab)
Db-Eb-F-Gb-Ab-Bb-C-(Db)
Gb-Ab-Bb-Cb-Db-Eb-F-(Gb)

[thecontrolcentre]

White keys are for pussy's ... try using just the black keys ( nice)

[Numanoid]

but when i wanna do e.g. use a black key c -> e -> d# -> d -> c....... it sounds amelodical.......

Weird, it worked well for Arnold Schönberg

[Caine123]

If you play every white key starting from C you get C major:
C-D-E-F-G-A-B-(C)

If you need to start higher - maybe to better fit the singer's rage for instance - you could start on G. And then, considering that every half-step is equal, you will get 1 sharp:
G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-(G)

As you try starting from different notes, you will get a different number of sharps or flats for each starting key:
D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-(D)
A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-(A)
E-F#-G#-A-B-C#-D#-(E)
B-C#-D#-E-F#-G#-A#-(B)

F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E-(F)
Bb-C-D-Eb-F-G-A-(Bb)
Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb-C-D-(Eb)
Ab-Bb-C-Db-Eb-F-G-(Ab)
Db-Eb-F-Gb-Ab-Bb-C-(Db)
Gb-Ab-Bb-Cb-Db-Eb-F-(Gb)

thanks a lot, i will try those notes at home , what is this topic called so i can start learning and progressing hopefully :/
cause i dont understand when i can use a black key even in your different examples yet.

[fmr]

ok now im gonna shock you i guess , the thing is i mostly use the white keys on the keyboard/piano roll for melodyprogression. of course this is BOOOOORING! before i get to chords i need to learn this first, i guess?

EVERY time i hit c -> e -> f-> d -> c .... it sounds ok, melodical, but when i wanna do e.g. use a black key c -> e -> d# -> d -> c....... it sounds amelodical....... when may i use the black keys and when not? is there a good lecture, online tuts etc. so i can learn when to use the black keys or when you CAN use them but staying melodical? this would improve myself a lot!!!!! thanks

If you want to create melodies that use whatever key, you may try to hum/sing them. Since in your voice all keys have the same colour, in the end you will find that you may (or not) use black keys, but whatever keys (notes) you use, they make sense melodically. That's the good point of melodies - you don't need keys to play them, just your voice.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Just sticking to the white keys is racist

I make my melodies from equal parts ebony, and ivory

[fmr]

Just sticking to the white keys is racist

I make my melodies from equal parts ebony, and ivory

You can use a keyboard like the old harpsichords, where the black keys are white and the white are dark

[Frantz]

Arturia makes a Vox Continental plugin. Just remap any MIDI from the black keys to the Vox Continental and the problem is solved.

[bmrzycki]

Don't think of it as white keys and black keys. They're all just keys. The reason it's laid out that way is so the average person can play octaves with one hand. If all 12 keys were the same size you'd never be able to do that.

The easiest thing to do IMO is pick a new scale, any scale, and start playing with it. Even though all major and minor scales have the same intervals between notes I find that they all are unique. Just one example: D major and G major feel very different to me even when playing the same melody line. Also try scales that have a black key as a root note. C# minor is an underrated scale IMO.

Give all 12 keys some love and you'll be rewarded in time.

[bmrzycki]

After reading your post a little closer I think you'd do yourself a big favor if you spent just a little time learning some theory about scales. Just learn about major and minor scales for now to start understanding the basics.

I used a site like this one http://www.pianoworld.com/fun/vpc/piano_chords.htm when I started to get scale and chord ideas.

The reason your example didn't sound good is because you played E -> D# -> D. Very few scales have three adjacent semitones (half steps). Your brain is trying to fit that sound to previous musical listening events and is failing to find a match.

Use the site I listed above, select the (o) Scale option, change the root note to whatever. Then look at the piano roll and only play the highlighted notes. You'll find many of them that sound "right" that use the black keys.

[skipscada]

Alternatively, you could use only the black keys for a while. = Pentatonic. Goes a long way, actually.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Just sticking to the white keys is racist

I make my melodies from equal parts ebony, and ivory

You can use a keyboard like the old harpsichords, where the black keys are white and the white are dark

Kind like whites 'blacking up' blackface), and blacks doing whiteface