Hey guys, just want to offer my advice for anyone struggling with music theory particularly in chord progressions. I just want to mention this because its an area which many people have asked assistance on in and its an area which if you havent studied an instrument as such, chances are you havent studied music theory. So I just want to try and break down the key things to focus on which can help when piecing together the more musical sides of a composition. One thing id really like people to remember when they are structuring a chord progression is to keep the key in mind that you are composing in. Stick to the notes that are included in your chosen scale and only build chords around those notes. That discipline will help you hear a whole progression in a key. If you are questioning notes that you might want to change then chances are its not in the scale and sounds weird to your ear. Another thing that I want people to be aware of is that chord progressions that sound natural and flow easily, are due to their movement. If you are rigid with your chord types then you will get that effect. The only way to move fluently is by using inversions. When I play chords, my left hand is somewhat lazy, by lazy I mean its a support role for right. The left is doing more a job of guidance thru singular notes and octaves, which role could be compared to a bass player. Its the guidance which can dictate your flow though. Its this part where I feel the chord progression begins and comes from, then right hand follows and plays the character chords. If when you compose some chords, start with the guide and build from that. Copying chords and transposing them could potentially break the key that you are writing in, so its not a thorough approach to definitely know all your chords are correct. Its definitely best to layer the notes individually so you can pull out the chord you are after if you are programming the notes in. Intervals are massively important too, and training your ear to recognise intervals and understand them can really help with direction and purpose behind what you might want to express musically. One of my favourite is the super tonic, which is 2 semitones down from your root key. I love this one because its really useful for end phrases which can be a highlight of a musical flow. These scales and keys and chords are applicable to when its needed, a lot of dance music is very chromatic and some tracks feel like all you are really hearing is pitch bend, so you might want to use keys in a context which allows you to do it and express them freely.Id recommend anyone to write some tracks in blues keys, just so you hear the overall sound of the song in that key. Here is a hit list of what I think are the most important things to learn for producers. -Scales -Intervals -Chords -Inversions -Key Signatures When we look at that list for every single key it can be quite daunting to someone who doesnt know their way around, but if you break it down one key at a time and start from the easy ones, you can build up a few keys to work in. No 1 is C major and A minor which are relative keys. While it popped into my mind, I hate to nag, but EVERYONE. You have 5 fingers and you have to use them ALL. So many times I see chords being played,and the little finger is left out ! hanging in the air like its not involved in the party. This is potentially the worst technical habit to ever get into for playing chords, because you learn the shapes like that and stick to them. Then you have to unlearn it which is long. So please. Use your little fingers, they actually play some of the most important intervals, so dont let them off just cus they are little ! There are only 3 main shapes of chords which have a slight change in hand position, but only slight. When you start moving around and your fingers are all spread out, stop. Its the extension of your thumb that should spread out further and play bigger intervals, and thats cus our hands were given to us this way. I call them mitts. You gotta play with your mitts. When you start spreading your fingers out into bigger intervals is when things can get tricky. If playing is something that you want to achieve too then technique plays a big part in this free flowing movement which allows you to play easily, comfortably and naturally. This is why mixed in key slightly pisses me off, mostly because its great that its helping people to mix in key, but its not particularly in the same format that music theory is. I think they are missing a trick, because its so widely used you could teach people a lot of theory without them knowing, over time and mixing records, it could wear off and people gain an understanding they previously didnt have. That is a slightly different topic, but when mixing, knowing your intervals and keys can help you move in and out and take your set where you need to go musically. Mixed in key is potentially harmful if djs get too sucked into one key and having their playlist dictated by numbers.Understanding the intervals at least and the relationship between keys can help to find a set. If anyone has any questions about anything Ive mentioned then please ask.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 00:58:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015