composer – Page 6 – Daily Music Writing Tips

Tip #212 – Building a Jazzy Progression from a Chromatic Line

Say that you have a chromatic lead-line like this below:

How would you harmonize this line? Write down all the possibilities.

Well, one way you can do so is with a frequently used chord progression amongst blues/jazz artists (as well as Stevie Wonder):

I – Imaj7 – I7 – IV – iv

Another variation is to substitute the iv chord with the bVII7 chord. It would look something like this:

Try it out and see how many songs you know use them!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

Tip #211 – Understanding the Naganandini Scale

The Carnatic music of South India has 72 scales (melakartas) comprised of seven different notes in either an ascending (arohana) or descending (avarohana) fashion. These scales are used in a kind of India music called rāga and are extremely beautiful. In addition these scales are grouped into different chakras, based on certain similarities.

Today’s melakarta is the Naganandini scale (translating to “mountain born”), the sixth scale from the fifth chakra.

Below is a representation of the scale as if it was put into Western notation:

Both the first (SA) and fifth (PA) scale degrees are in a placement normal to most scales found in Western music. In addition, it contains the major tetrachord in the beginning with a chromatic run at the top of the scale.

Try playing around with the scale, possible harmonies, and progressions!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

Thinking Out Loud – Happy Mistakes?

This is a philosophical issue that I have been struggling to resolve, so do not expect there to be a right or wrong (or even a conclusive) answer at the end of this blog post. The purpose of today’s post is to pose a debate.

The scenario:

Say a person was asked to write a hit pop song combining modern influences of the time with trap beats, EDM-like bass, and retro synthwave dance. That was the person’s intention. After writing the song, it happened to become a classical song worthy of Mozart’s praise.

Did this person write a good or bad song?

Is it good because the music is good and the person is being artistic? Or, is it bad because it did not fulfill the original intention?

If you say that the song was good, then how do we define a good or bad song then if it seems the only criteria for it to be good is that it received praise?

On the other hand, if you say that it was a bad song, does that mean all “happy accidents” (like playing an unintentional note during improvisation, but working really well with the harmony) are labelled wrong or unmusical because they were done without fulfilling the original intention?

Personally, I am still undecided, but it is still worth to talk about and say…

Just thinking out loud.

Tip #210 – Jazzy Progression with the Hindu Scale

For those that don’t recall the Hindu Scale, I suggest looking back at some music theory posts I have covered. But to bring you up to speed, the Hindu scale is one of the modes of the melodic minor scale – specifically, the fifth mode.

That being said, we can think of the Hindu scale as the dominant (or mixolydian) of the melodic minor scale. And what do you know! Take a look at what kind of chord is built on the root of the Hindu scale. A dominant-seventh chord.

But that isn’t the only dominant seventh chord of the scale. In fact, there are two that are found in it, creating this famous jazz progression:

I7 – bVII7

While this progression certainly sounds modal because of the scale as well as jazzy because of the dominant-seventh chords, it flows well because it is similar to the “backdoor” progression we have talked about before. Only now the tonic is an unstable dominant figure.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

Improve Your Lyrics – Tip #42

In songwriting, you come across different terms for different sections. Verse, chorus, bridge, refrain, post-chorus, etc. But what is the difference between them? Specifically, what is the difference between the chorus and refrain?

Both the chorus and refrained are sections that repeat unchanged. In addition, both sections are typically where the title is as well as where everyone in the audience sings along. Furthermore, they come after a verse-like section. So are they the same?

Not exactly. They are a different purpose for the song. A chorus indicates the start of a new section, while a refrain indicates the conclusion/wrapping-up of the verse section back into a new one. In addition, refrains are much shorter in length than choruses.

As you are debating on how you want to structure your song, consider the purpose of each line and their function.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

Teach Yourself Music Theory – 32.) Building Triads from Scales

Continuing with our topic of triads, we are going to be discussing what and which triads are built from scales… covering major, natural, harmonic, and melodic minor.

Beside the lead-sheet note note names, the Roman numeral figured-bass and triad quality remains the same from each respective scale regardless of starting pitch.

Let’s start with the major scale:

Building triads on each note, we get what we have above. 3 major triads, 3 minor triads, and 1 diminished triad. Chords I , IV , and V will always be major in a major key.

Now, natural minor:

We have the same amount of major, minor, and diminished triads… but they are in a different order.

As for harmonic minor:

With the inclusion of the raised leading tone, we see a quality of the chords change. Instead of v being minor, V is major in harmonic minor. Also, we have two diminished chords.

Finally, melodic minor:

With two raised pitches, we get another completely different group of triads. Now, the ii chord is minor… but the vio chord is diminished.

NOTE: the “B” symbol in the pictures means “flat” just like the “b” sign.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

Tip #209 – Understanding the Dhirasankarabharani Scale

Today’s melakarta is the Dhirasankarabharani scale (roughly translating to “the jewel of Shankara”), the fifth scale from the fifth chakra.

Below is a representation of the scale as if it was put into Western notation:

It is really a major scale.

Try playing around with the scale, possible harmonies, and progressions!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

Tip #208 – Jazzy Progressions with the III7 Chord

Oh no, here is another dominant chord.

Well, this isn’t as boring as it could be – trust me. While dominant chords appear often in music (as well as in these blog posts) there is something new to learn about them every time.

Typically, a dominant chord would resolve down to the chord a P5 below it. So in this case it would be III7 – vi like in this progression:

I – III7 – vi7 – Imaj7

But, another way that I found interesting that appears in jazz music is a resolution up a m2 interval to the predominant chord:

I – III7 – IVmaj7 – Imaj7

Here we see a motion opposite to that of the tritone substitution bII7 chord, but this time it is resolving up. Also, the root motion of III to IV is common in music, so the ear tunes in to the bass. Try it out!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

Improve Your Lyrics – Tip #41

When beginning with the frame of your song, there are many things to consider. We have talked about brainstorming an idea, building a catchy title, writing a great opening, detailing the plot, and setting a conclusion in mind. Now that these pillars are set, we need to talk about the form.

Without a form in mind, your lyrics will lack structure that that can hurt how the listeners will enjoy or even remember the song. In addition, it is good to know about multiple kinds of forms. Why? Each year in music sees a new trend. Plus, old styles have an importance as well. More tools that you have, the better you are.

Today, let’s talk about the 12-Bar Blues form. This post will only focus on lyrics, so I suggest to look at previous posts about the musical form and blues scales from previous posts as well.

The lyrical structure of the 12-Bar Blues form is a couplet (two rhymed lines) with the first line repeated (with a bit of variation) forming the lines AAB or AA’B:

Oh you hurt me good, my baby girl

Yeah you hurt me real good, my baby girl

I never felt a pain like this, in the entire world

Each line is dedicated to 4 measures in the 12-Bar Blues form (4×3=12), with about each line leaving roughly 1.5 measures at the end for improvisation. See older posts for more information.

While each “couplet” can talk about a different thing, there is usually a linear progression as to the story. Possibly like indicating the problem, explaining how one feels, talk about the resolution, etc.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

Teach Yourself Music Theory – 31.) Figured-Bass and Lead-Sheet Notation

Even though we have been using the staff and writing notes to communicate which notes to play, there are other ways of notating music.

The first way we are going to talk about is figured-bass, which is a more “classical music way” of using Roman numerals and symbols to notate what chords to play in relation to the key. To notate with figured-bass, you take the following steps:

Start by finding the key that you are in (with the example below, we are in C major)
Next, determine the chord harmonies with their qualities and inversion
Place a Roman numeral underneath each chord, with the numeric value corresponding to the root of the chord in relation to the kay
If it is a major triad, use uppercase letters
If it is a minor triad, use lowercase letters
If it is a diminished triad, use lowercase letters plus an “ o “ symbol
If it is an augmented triad, use uppercase letters plus a “ + “ symbol
Finally, add extra figures if inverted
If it is in first inversion, add a “ 6 “
If it is in second inversion, add a “ 6 “ with a “ 4 “ below it

Notice how the “ 6 “ and “ 4 “ correspond to the interval made with the root during an inversion.

Another way is lead-sheet, which is a way commonly found in jazz, pop, and rock tunes of writing out the letter names, chord qualities, as well as inversions of the harmonies. To notate in a lead-sheet style, you take the following steps:

Determine the root of the chord and write it in an uppercase letter above the chord
If it is a major triad, do nothing more for its chord quality
If it is a minor triad, add “ min “
If it is a diminished triad, add an “ o “ symbol
If it is an augmented triad, add a “ + “ symbol
Finally, add extra figures if inverted
Add a slash mark “ / “ and write the bass note after it

Tah-dah! There you have it. Give it some practice, but we will be using these forms of communicating and writing for now on.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.