Q. Like, let's say I establish a melody that uses...I don't know, F# and B flat. What would that mean? And how do I know what chords sound good with which notes?
Basically I'm looking for a lesson on musical theory for really, really dumb people. Like, you're going to need to dumb it down majorly.
Your help is very much appreciated!
A. 1) You first need to understand the chromatic scale. In other words, you need to realize that there are 12 unique notes that repeat every octave. You see how on the piano that there is a pattern after every 12 notes?
2) Next, you need to know the Major Scale. The major scale is the cornerstone of music theory - learn it, live it, love it. First we need to define Whole Steps and Half Steps. A whole step is when you start at a note, and make a jump of 2 notes (like from C to D, or A flat to Bflat). A half step is a jump of one note (like from B to C, or F# to G). The major scale is first formed by picking a random note, lets say, C. Then you follow the major scale pattern: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. So if you start on C, the major scale would be C,D,E,F,G,A,B, and back to C. Another example: If you start on G, then the G Major scale would be G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G.
3) The key of a song basically tells the band what major scale to play in and pick notes to play from. This is very important because if your song is in the key of G major, but if a band member plays A flat, then that note will sound "off-key" - it will sound wrong.
4) It is also important to realize that chords come from the individual notes of the major scales as well. Lets say we are in the key of C Major. The notes in our key are C,D,E,F,G,A,B, and C. The C major chord is formed by playing the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the C major scale together. C-E-G played together will be a C Major chord. Notice that the chord is formed by stacking 3rds. By this I mean that to go from C to E, you go C - D - E. You had to go up 3 notes in the major scale to get to the E. So just realize that C-E is an interval of a third, and E-G is an interval of a third. Now, you will see that there are In fact more chords that exist in the key of C Major. There are a total of 7 chords that can be played in each key. Staying in the key of C Major, the other chords are: If you start on D, you can get the chord D minor by playing D-F-A at the same time, you can get E minor by playing E-G-B at the same time, F Major: F-A-C, G Major G-B-D, A minor: A-C-E, and B diminished: B-D-F. Each chord has its own charataristics. Major chords tend to sound happy, minor chords tend to sound sad or dark, and diminished chords have a lot of tension.
5) Chords themselves, each have a vital function and interact with the melody played at the same time, and previous chords played. It is worth pointing out that we assign the chords in each key a number. For example, in C Major, our 1 chord is C Major, because if we start on the first note, we get C Major. Starting on the 2nd note, we get D minor, so D minor is our 2 chord. 3 is E minor, 4 is F Major, 5 is G Major, 6 is A minor, and 7 is B diminished. The reason we number the chords in each major scale, is because each chord number has a function. Songs usually start and end on the 1 chord, sometimes the 6 chord if it is a sad song. The 5 chord has tension that wants to get resolved so the 5 chord likes to go to the 1 chord after it is played. It is common to play the 2 chord before the 5 chord, in fact, the 2-5-1 chord progression is the most important chord progression of all time. Other common chord progressions heard in pop/rock music include: 1-5-6-4, 6-4-1-5, and 1-6-4-5.
6) If you have a melody, you need to figure out what key it is in by finding out what major scale contains all (or most) of your notes. Your song has a melody with F# and B flat. This could be F# Major, B Major, or C# Major, depending on the rest of your melody or desired harmony. Once you decide on a key, you can find out what chords fit into this key, and play them under your melody.
I know it is a lot of information, don't get discouraged. It will take a while for it to all make sense, but don't give up. It will be totally worth it when you are making all kinds of music you like!!!
How To Start and Indie Folk Rock Band?
Q. Im thinking along the lines of Sufjan Stevens meets Seabear and Fleet Foxes in that style, how could i make my own.
I know the use a lot of organic acoustic instrumentation such as Toy Pianos, Melodicas, Tambourines and Acoustic Guitars.
What else goes into that kind of music that just makes it stand out from the rest??
A. Find a local (or internet store) that specializes in folk music instruments. http://www.hobgoblin-usa.com/info/glossary.htm - Find out which instruments you really like the sound of. Learn to play them. Find at least 1 or as many as 2 to 4 other musicians who would be interested in working with you to write and record music. In short, you just do it. What instruments do you want to include in your music? What do you like (what ingredients) from existing folk songs which you can emulate and incorporate into your music. What rhythms, pauses, chord progressions, beats, sounds, etc. Now use your imagination ... what other sounds can you incorporate into your music to give it an original feel? Sounds of water, birds, animals, rain, thunder, unique vocal sounds, maybe even a fart or two. Be creative and then put it all together into something that you are extremely proud of. The just share it with the world.
How to compose music well?
Q. I constantly see bad repetitive music being played by teenage bands and who always play either rockish punk music, or metal. I see these bands and think 'did they not even think about the song'.
Anyway, the point is, I want to start a folk-indie band, but I really want to take time with my music and create something we (my imaginary band mates) can be proud of. So I ask you for tips, pointers, help, whatever. Just something to separate my band from the rubbish that is being played by so called 'musicians' around my area. Thanks. Any input welcome.
A. I absolutely love the genre for one. It's a great style to play yet a very very difficult style to master. I'm 19 and i wrote an album about a year ago and it took me a while to get into the rhythm of things, pardon the pun. If you are looking for artist to take tips from, there are no better than my indie trio, Damien Rice, Ray LaMontagne, and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). If you are looking for faster paced music yet still indie folk, you can try artists like Andrew Bird, Fleet Foxes, or maybe even another one of my favorites, "Monsters of Folk" which is a combination of M. Ward, from She and Him, (a band made up of him and Zoey Deshanelle), the Lead singer of Bright Eyes, as well as the lead singer of My Morning Jacket. These bands have mastered the ability to write and produce music that is extremely unique and has a lot of replay value. If you want tips on writing the music here is how I do it. I've written like 20 decent songs and consider myself pretty good at what I do. I'm guessing you plan an instrument, hopefully guitar of piano. Basically to start, look for simple chord progressions that sound good together:C, F, C, G, C, F, C, G, Am, F, C, G... things like that. And don't play those stupid powerchords on guitar. stick to basic open chords as often as you can. also if you do play guitar, a neat indie trick while playing is to keep your pinky and ring finger on the highest two strings on the third fret and then play all the chords with that included. Damien does it all the time. once you have a basic chord progression then you can start working on a melody. as funny as it sounds it helps sometimes to play the chord progression over and over and mumble words with a melody that simply sounds natural. Every once and a while you will say a word that sounds good in that given spot. from there build a sentence out of it. try to use a simple sentence that can be built upon. all of my songs are built off of a single phrase that simply "sounded good" from there build outwards. make another sentence that sounds as good and rhymes. stick to easy rhymes, don't try to stretch. Andrew bird has some crazy rhymes in his songs and it becomes distracting. Also try to write with heart. it sounds dumb but don't write in a rush. some of my best songs were writen over 5 hours of straight playing. it's just how it goes. be patient tho. the words will come. don't let your band mates screw up your music either. there is nothing harder to write to then a chord progression you hate. Do it yourself, complete the whole song, and then present it to the band. Once you have a few sentences in a row, decide what part of the song you want it to be. The natural progression of an indie song goes like this... Verse 1, Verse 2, Chorus, Verse 3, Chorus, Bridge (or solo) Final chorus. the verses should be slower and softer with more of a sense of telling a story. The chorus is the summary of everything you are trying to say. put it in simple words. imagine a crowd singing the chorus together. the words must be easy and simple to pronounce and it must have a catchy melody. avoid na na na's and other things like that. they are cliche. Listen to the live version of "Fix You" by coldplay. even if you hate them... listen to the crowd sing the chorus. there is a reason it gets sung by the whole audience. it is easy to remember the words, it has simple rhymes and the melody is catchy and slow enough to where the words don't all mush together. from there rearrange the song to your liking and add harmonies if you wish. it's all about your own personal creation. You can do better then 99 percent of the crap on the radio now a days. listen to some of those artists first. Try Blowers Daughter by Damien Rice. It has the EXACT pattern i just described. Good luck in your writings! Don't let anyone change your creation. Email me if you need more advice! uoflruler@hotmail.com
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