New answers tagged scales
1
Some simple guidelines:
Generally:
Playing tones of the current chord on the down beats will make you sound "in" (the harmony). On the up beats you may use any tones; in or out of the scale or harmony.
Specifically:
Ending your phrase on a chord tone of the current chord, especially ending on a chord tone on a (possibly temporary) tonic chord, will make ...
1
To try to avoid too much theory, start and finish your run of notes on those being played in the chord at that time. Watch the rhythm player, and use one of his notes played as a springboard for your phrase, and do the same for your last note. Bear in mind he may or may not be on the same chord that you both started on. Obviously, using the pentatonic notes ...
7
You should focus on chord tones and half-step resolutions.
Let's assume the key of C.
The 7th chords in this key:
Cmaj7: C E G B
Dmin7: D F A C
Emin7: E G B D
Fmaj7: F A C E
G7: G B D F
Amin7: A C E G
Bmin7b5: B D F A
Let's use a classic jazz example, the iimin7 | V7 | Imaj7.
In C, this would be Dmin7 | G7 | Cmaj7.
To ...
1
Semi-longish answer
Under most normal circumstances, resolve from the dominant to the tonic. This known as an authentic cadence (V to I). This is the most common and sounds the most complete.
There are other types of cadences, such as the phyrgian cadence (iv6 to V) and the interrupted cadence (V to anything besides I, usually ii, vi, or VI). These aren't ...
0
First and last chords usually designate the key of a piece - start from home, end back at home after the journey. This way even a non-musical listener will feel a proper trip out and back.
Songs in a key will use the same chords whether they are in maj. or relative min. BUT often the min. will use a major fifth in order to return to the root. Thus - in ...
0
Sometimes a scale can be called "related". For example, there is the major diatonic scale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatonic_and_chromatic consisting of eight notes. On a piano, this is easy to remember. The C major scale is all the white keys. C to C is 7 notes plus the octave.
The related or 'relative minor' can be counted 3 steps backwards.
C - D - E ...
4
C major and A minor scales contain the same notes, but those notes take on different roles.
The root note is the "home" of the melody - often the melody begins or ends on the root note, but even when it doesn't, you should be able to hear how the melody feels "resolved" when it's on the root note.
C is the root note of C major. A is the root note of A ...
0
When I was a kid I learned to play piano first, then a bit of trumpet, then picked up guitar in my teens. Piano taught me to read scales, and I learned a bit about how melody and chords work. Guitar is my favorite, and I played it in jazz, country and rock bands for years.
I decided to take some music theory classes at the local community college, which, ...
-2
You are playing a guitar. All the notes on your guitar (piano etc) are in a scale - the chromatic scale. From my outside perspective if you play some notes together it is a chord, and if you play tunes on a restricted set of notes (ie not playing all the notes) that would be a scale. If you use the same set of notes again you will save time by giving the ...
0
If you played 2 notes that sound the most harmonious you'd choose notes that are octaves apart. These have a frequency ratio of 2:1 (or 4:1 or 8:1 etc.) but this doesn't get you very far in deriving a scale so the next "most pleasant" musical interval is when the notes are in the frequency ratio 3:2 - this will yield a G from a C. Most answers above have ...
0
Perhaps I use the word improvisation differently to others. If I am improvising with the white notes (C Major, A Minor, whatever) Then I am free to play whatever I want, so for me there is no difference. I am not looking back at what has gone before, rather I am looking forward to what is possible.
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