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What chords do you need?

jefftk.com

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Re: What chords do you need?

#181

Post by hluska »

jancsika wrote: post #153
lb1lf wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Francis Rossi, of Status Quo fame/notoriety, depending on who you ask, quipped when presented with some award or other - "Wow! Twenty-five years. Three chords. Thank you!" I love it when people do not take themselves too seriously.

Look, I'm just a caveman. I fell in some ice and later got thawed out by some of your scientists. My primitive mind can't grasp these concepts. But there is one thing I do know: When composers want to emphasize the chord they're about to play, they will often choose a new chord consisting of notes within a step or half-step of the original. And they will quickly play that new chord as a way to smoothly introduce the…

Do you blog about music? If so, I’d appreciate a link. If not, you likely should - your comments have been both entertaining and informative.

Re: What chords do you need?

#183

Post by tallies »

iainmerrick wrote: post #178
tallies wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no one 'music theory perspective'. Why not analyze it on more axes? - Rhythmic patterns and variation - Interplay between instruments - Instrumentation and arrangement - Structure - Vocal style - Lyrics - Recording and mixing By these metrics (and the ears of 99% of its listeners) it's a more or less generic 80s adult contemporary song. Yes it has a weird chord progression. Would it be more complex if it coul…

By these metrics (and the ears of 99% of its listeners) it's a more or less generic 80s adult contemporary song. That’s what the word “pop” is being used for in “the most complex pop song ever”. Rick Beato is giving an example of a literally popular song , one that somebody suggested they perform an impromptu concert because it was in the charts at the time, and which sounds totally mainstream, and yet has a very unu…

I agree it's a good anecdote. It clearly still resonates with professional instrumentalists. But popular music has progressed so much since then that 'jazz theory' is unequip to grasp the complexities of modern recorded music. Beato in the video says modern pop music is getting simpler, but he's just using the wrong tools.

Re: What chords do you need?

#184

Post by mrblampo »

jancsika wrote: post #76

Another way to put this is that for most pop music , you could often degrade gracefully to three triads of major or minor quality. But even for something discussed previously on HN-- the Beach Boys "God Only Knows"-- this doesn't work. Wilson really wants a half-diminished seventh chord at the high point of the melody. One could perhaps degrade to a diminished triad in the accompaniment, but he's literally singing th…

Very well explained!

Re: What chords do you need?

#185

Post by ahazred8ta »

jancsika wrote: post #153
lb1lf wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Francis Rossi, of Status Quo fame/notoriety, depending on who you ask, quipped when presented with some award or other - "Wow! Twenty-five years. Three chords. Thank you!" I love it when people do not take themselves too seriously.

Look, I'm just a caveman. I fell in some ice and later got thawed out by some of your scientists. My primitive mind can't grasp these concepts. But there is one thing I do know: When composers want to emphasize the chord they're about to play, they will often choose a new chord consisting of notes within a step or half-step of the original. And they will quickly play that new chord as a way to smoothly introduce the…

Your dry metaphor frightens and confuses me.

Re: What chords do you need?

#186

Post by sfteus »

Taywee wrote: post #127

Tangentially related, but the video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has twelve pieces of different styles and progressions on a melody of only five notes. Dan Bruno did a very nice analysis of the music theory behind the composition of the tunes in the game: https://danbruno.net/writing/ocarina/

8-Bit Music Theory did a great video on it as well, for those that prefer a video format: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SeY_Gss2CY

Re: What chords do you need?

#187

Post by asdff »

tastysandwich wrote: post #174

One thing I've realised is the difference between great songwriters, versus great "players". Flicking through my songbook, so many great songs are just a few basic chords. Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah - C, Am, F, G, E. Somebody to Love by Jefferson Airplane - Em, A, D, G. Hound Dog is just A, D, E. Blitzkrieg Bop is just a few power chords the whole song. One of the first songs I learnt but heaps of fun to play! I have…

In some ways the simple chord structure acts as scaffolding for the rest of the musicians to fill in with their own flavor. I really like listening to Jerry Garcia, I think he is the best guitar player there ever was so far. In a solo its like he lands every note your brain expects to hear next and just floats up and down the neck fast and slow. He was trained as a banjo player so it shows in his fingerwork. In the song "Deal," (1) the chorus chords are very simple - A G D, but Jerry is able to use his knowledge of scales to riff on these notes multiple different ways, and its almost like his guitar is singing its own lyrics.

(1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvwY2psxdl0

Re: What chords do you need?

#188

Post by asdff »

smackeyacky wrote: post #176
tastysandwich wrote: post #174

One thing I've realised is the difference between great songwriters, versus great "players". Flicking through my songbook, so many great songs are just a few basic chords. Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah - C, Am, F, G, E. Somebody to Love by Jefferson Airplane - Em, A, D, G. Hound Dog is just A, D, E. Blitzkrieg Bop is just a few power chords the whole song. One of the first songs I learnt but heaps of fun to play! I have…

It's amazing how much Kris Kristofferson or Townes Van Zandt get out of simple chord structures. Of course, they mix it up with a few hammer-ons and intermediate open strumming when performing but still, the beauty they discovered and that you can reproduce at home with really basic skills is incredible to me.

Beatles songs are great for this. If you play something like across the universe or dig a pony, these are simple enough chords. But you can actually very easily add all the little filler notes they do on the albums just from a few little riffs within those chords. You can even add your own and after a while you can start realizing you can do these little rips in all sorts of songs, touching pieces of the scale you are forming a chord on.

Re: What chords do you need?

#189

Post by mbg721 »

asdff wrote: post #188
smackeyacky wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's amazing how much Kris Kristofferson or Townes Van Zandt get out of simple chord structures. Of course, they mix it up with a few hammer-ons and intermediate open strumming when performing but still, the beauty they discovered and that you can reproduce at home with really basic skills is incredible to me.

Beatles songs are great for this. If you play something like across the universe or dig a pony, these are simple enough chords. But you can actually very easily add all the little filler notes they do on the albums just from a few little riffs within those chords. You can even add your own and after a while you can start realizing you can do these little rips in all sorts of songs, touching pieces of the scale you ar…

If you're on the piano, A Day In The Life is a fun exercise in moving your left hand down a key at a time and seeing what happens.

Re: What chords do you need?

#190

Post by zwieback »

It's interesting the II shows up so frequently once he mostly boiled it down. A lot of old-timey jammers playing the songs he analyzed just don't play any minor chords so that beginners can keep up, so they play the II where it should be ii. I wonder if that's why II and ii is almost the same frequency.
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