Q. I am trying to create a transition between 2 songs - the first is in E flat major, and the second is in F major. The songs are children's hymns, so the transition should fit well with that style. I can play the piano well, but I know next to nothing about theory. Help!
A. Okay, so you need to modulate up a whole-tone, and you don't want to confuse the kids. If you're going to use pivot chords, I suggest you use a long transitory period, because you'll need to hammer home that you've changed keys in fact. One of my favourite cop-outs is to go octatonic, but if you do that, you'll confuse your audience with all the inherent tri-tones.
What if you somehow tonicised iii in Eb (that's ii in F). Could you go between V and I twice, then do V^7 of iii, for a surprise? (Actually, that could genuinely modulate you to g minor.) A simple scale with "A natural" in it would work if you landed on E. Your chords are EbM7-Gm/D-Gdim/Db-C. (C7 would also work, but it might be almost too directive. I think you want a clearer sound than the seventh quality gives.) You start the scale on an upbeat, and descend majestically to the E, changing chords every two steps. Medleys are tough. If I were you, I would have transposed it into Gb.
Anyway, if those options don't work, you can always just use a "go" modulation. I think kids are used enough to hearing it in pop music it won't confuse them. The question is, "Do you want to educate their ears, or do you want it easy on them (and therefore you)?"
Hope I've helped.
Tips on learning guitar with prior experience?
Q. I've played piano for a couple years, some percussion (bass drum and bells) in marching band and have recently picked up ukulele and have loved it. I am taking guitar class and Music theory A.P. next year as a junior. But I want some tips. I realize transitioning from ukulele to guitar is difficult. I absolutely love instruments and the beautiful sounds they produce. I feel like I will practice. Are there any tips you guys have? Thanks :)
A. Santo has provided some great advice and tips for you and I will elaborate a bit on his suggestions.
Practice slow and maintain control of your instrument (that is a suggestion that the great Chet Atkins had said).
Be patient with yourself in forming chords and producing quality tones from each string. Playing guitar is an alien expression of your fingers; they simply do not want to cooperate at first. You must force your fingers to form certain chord shapes and one finger that will give you trouble is the ring finger.
There are no instant guitar players because it takes weeks, months, and years of devoted practice and application. Use the upcoming theory class to your advantage and apply what you learn for the guitar. Playing standard notation on the guitar is made possible through the treble clef--although the pitch is an octave lower.
Learn the Chromatic Scale asap. This is a process wherein you learn the names of notes and chords in each fret going up and back down on each string. In example, the guitar has two E strings and you can start by knowing that E is the name of the open string. Following are the names in each fret:
1st fret: F
2nd fret: F# or Gb
3rd fret: G
4th fret: G# or Ab
5th fret: A
6th fret: A# or Bb
7th fret: B
8th fret: C
9th fret: C# or Db
10th fret: D
11th fret: D# or Eb
12th fret: E
13th fret: F
What sort of chord progression should I use?
Q. I'm trying to write something on a piano. The "verse" consists of one bar of C, one bar of A, one bar of Gb, half bar of F, half bar of E, then repeated. I'm not quite sure how to work with the chorus though. Any suggestions?
A. What you have so far is pretty unusual.
You're coming down in minor thirds C - A - Gb and then finish chromatically F - E.
There is no real connection to a key center as finishing on the E chord does not lead naturally back to C.
Do you have a key in mind?
You could go to F for the chorus or Dm.
Whatever you do, make it a different shape. Move around less like:
F /// | E /// | Dm /// | C /// | F /// | E /// | F /// | G /// | or simile.
It sounds to me like you could do with some harmonic variety instead of just a bunch of major chords.
But then who am I to judge!
Some free info here that might help:
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
Title : How do I modulate from the key of E flat major to the key of Fmajor?
Description : Q. I am trying to create a transition between 2 songs - the first is in E flat major, and the second is in F major. The songs are children...