I write pop-related material and am knowledgeable about theory from a writing poing of view and used to teach it privately. This is what you need to know and hopefully it will clear things up. Please don't take this against what others have said or suggested, but this is the meat and bones of it.
First, however, don't pay any attention to any of the stuff mentioned about jazz ANYthing here or anywhere. It has its own rules and they will only confuse you and aren't even relevant. Besides...jazz sucks. "Stone Cold" said so.
Seriously...here's the best answers that I told my students when I was teaching...
Pop songs RARELY if EVER (meaning NEVER change from major to minor key, say from A MAJOR to A minor...HOWEVER, you may have a verse part in C MAJOR (for example) that goes to a bridge part in A minor (which is called the "relative" minor). Each MAJOR KEY has a RELATIVE MINOR which is basically the same scale but starting on the 6th note up. (C D E F G A = 6 notes).darrenn wrote:Hi
I have been trying to get to grips with some music theory and have some things that I need to get clear in my head.
Below are some statements and some questions from my understanding so far - I would appreciate anyone taking the time to make sure I'm on the right track.
Songs are written in a specific key - be it major or minor.
1. Only chords from the chosen scale should be used in composition of a progression.
2. Any chord progression should start from the I chord (i.e. C minor if the scale is C minor).
3. Melodies and basslines should also only use notes from the chosen scale.
4. Notes or chords that are outside of the chosen scale should never be used.
5. The relationship between one chord and the next is used to create tension or release - it is this tension and release that gives a song it's emotion or energy.
Lets say for arguments sake I am writing a song in C major.
I create a riff or bassline (eg C C C E E E G E) and play this over the first chord in my progression (i.e. C Major) - when I come to the second chord in the progression D minor I transpose the riff to start on D the next note keeping the intervals the same is G# which clearly is not part of the C major scale. Do I use G# regardless and break the rules above or do I adapt my riff to play over each chord?
The other topic that is confusing me is when would I use modes or pentatonic scales. Am I right in thinking that you would only use a particular mode if it used the same notes as the songs key i.e. you could write a melody in A minor to fit in a song played in C major.
Are modes that relevant to modern music?
I mostly produce dance or pop music but most theory books are based on classical music or jazz - is there anything different about composing modern music or is the theory all the same.
Thanks ever so
Darren
Careful with the word "should", because sometimes doing things like using the Minor Second in the scale degree (Bb in an Am scale, for instance) can be rather cool-sounding.
1. Chords from the chosen scale are normally used for pop/rock/dance/etc, I'd say around 98% of the time except for an exception for "coolness" like a minor second or flatted fifth - play with those on your own.
Note - learn scale degrees for the Major and Minor. Like the 1-4-5 in Major Keys are always Major, but minor for minor, etc.
2. The progression does NOT have to start on 1. Starting sometimes on the 4 or 5 works well also. 1 is just the "strongest" degree to start on. 7th is probably the "weakest". 5 and 4 are second and third strongest, and 3 and 6 generally lead to other things around them.
3. See # 1. Same answer.
4. Same answer as #1. Pop/rock/dance tends to stay in the scale because it sounds better. NOTE THIS EXCEPTION - YOU WILL *RARELY* AND I MEAN *FRIGGIN RALRELY* EVER modify this with a minor 6th if you're using a major scale and v-v. It simply sounds like poop. The flatted second and flatted fifth generally work. Sometimes in the major scale you'll use the minor 7th - this can sound cool.
(Remember- that's the only "reason" to do anything - that it sounds cool.)
5. Forget tension/release concepts in pop/rock/dance. It's more important to take a song you like and analyze it's chord progression and what the melody line is doing that to get academic. For classical/composing/etc it's important, but doing the above is the thing that'll make your writing really take off.
For your last example - you've come to the point where everyone does in their theory thinking. TO put it bluntly, in pop/rock/dance/etc, you do NOT USE THE NOTES OF THE SPECIFIC CHORD YOU ARE USING. You simply use the notes of the main scale/key that the song is based on. This itself provides the tension/release that you described. The chords that you use fit in the overall picture of the main key. The lead/melody line does this also in it's own way. It's more important to use the scale degree of 1-3-5 in the key itself than the specific chord. Don't transpose your riffs because you think that the underlying chord has it's own specific notes.
Okay - modes. Remember, this whole post is on reality and not "shoulds". NO NO NO NO NO. Don't even worry or think about modes.
The best way to think about modes is this -
Take a major scale, say "C". C + 7 notes is the major scale. Start on 6 that's the minor scale (or "mode"). Start on any other note and it's a different "mode" (but the notes have to be from C Major).
This is pretty useless from a "sounds good" point of view in pop/rock/dance/etc. The things to do to "alter" sounds are what I mentioned above - flat the 2nd, 5th, sometimes the major 7th in a major scale, and 99.99% of every pop/rock/dance song will NOT go outside of these "rules" - which are more just like guidelines, anyway.
BOTTOM LINE - ANALYZE THE SONGS YOU LIKE. IF YOU DON'T DO THIS, NOTHING THAT YOU INTELLECTUALLY "KNOW" WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Take care - hope this helps.
- Paul
