All Questions
91
questions
11
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Why is the key typically the first and/or last note (or chord) of a song?
Is there a strategical reason when composing for the key to commonly be the first and/or last note (or chord) of a song?
- 347
2
votes
3
answers
617
views
Why does Cmaj7 and Emaj7 sound good (or a name to describe this progression)?
I have an extremely limited understanding of theory, and from what I currently understand, chords will sound good together if they share a common key/scale (e.g. for C major scale, the chords that ...
- 131
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How to handle songs whose scales are neither major or minor in harmonic mixing?
Harmonic mixing typically relies on the circle of fifths, often renamed as the "Camelot wheel" in the context of harmonic mixing. However, that circle/wheel only contains two scales: major ...
- 1,545
3
votes
3
answers
293
views
How many notes does it take to state the key? To Have "Tonality"?
I'm referring to "tonal dominant function" as this gentleman is talking about in this video.
How many notes in a "melody" do you need to state the ...
- 994
1
vote
1
answer
225
views
How to interpret this awkward runs and base chord? La La Land Mia & Sebastian's Theme runs
In the last section of Mia and Sebastian's Theme from La La Land, there were a lot of quick runs. Upon transcription I found the relationship of the scale and the base chord is rather unusual.
First ...
- 183
0
votes
3
answers
149
views
What set of notes does a singer typically do compared to the set of notes instruments play in popular music?
Suppose a song is "in C" and a guitar and bass are playing the notes of C major.
If the singer sings only thirds above the instruments and we isolate the voice, we hear a melody in E ...
- 358
6
votes
4
answers
939
views
A minor scale definition: am I missing something?
I've recently had a discussion with a woman, let's call her Jane, who maintained that the A minor scale features G# rather than a natural G. According to her, the scale goes A, B, C, D, E, F, G#, A. ...
- 173
7
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Do People and/or Robots Speak on Pitch and in Harmony with themselves?
I asked this in Linguistics, but apparently nobody there wants to venture an answer; maybe this is a better place to ask it.
My ear is not good enough to tell via observation whether people speak in ...
0
votes
3
answers
155
views
Term for minor harmony with both major and minor sixths applied
In my bar piano arrangement of the song "Georgia On My Mind" (pub. Schott), in the first measure, half beat, there is an interval of a diminished octave in the left hand: G# and G ...
- 161
3
votes
4
answers
4k
views
How to read movable scale chart for A minor pentatonic?
I bought a guitar chart and it has this figure for moveable minor pentatonic scale:
I know the number 1 box pattern of the minor pentatonic scale (Justin guitar course). I play it starting on the 5th ...
- 131
0
votes
0
answers
158
views
Harmony Lines for Pentatonic Melodies
I found this great video on harmonizing pentatonic melodies. By harmonize in the case I mean creating second lines to go with a melody, rather than finding a suitable chord progression.
...
- 299
6
votes
3
answers
423
views
Is the melodic minor a key as well as a scale?
The title, basically. I always understood that the natural, harmonic and melodic minor scales were 3 different scales deriving from the same "minor" key. I hear people talking about a ...
- 794
0
votes
4
answers
601
views
D Mixolydian key: is it possible?
About the song linked below, is it right to say that its key is D Mixolidyan?
Verse: D Am C G D
Chorus: D Am D Am C G D
The reason I'm asking this ...
- 571
2
votes
3
answers
480
views
How to use sus2/sus4/add9 in minor key to stay within the key
I understand how to use sus2/sus4 and add9 inn major to keep all notes within the chosen major scale, but how can I use the same chords in a minor key and still stay in key?
- 123
2
votes
3
answers
243
views
Relative and absolute tones: does this really make the difference?
Often, in improvisation, you think of the notes of the scale not as the actual notes you are playing but as the notes of the C scale. The concept I'm talking about is that of the movable C, or ...
- 571