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Your practical uses of music theory

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Comments

  • edited August 2022

    @espiegel123 said:

    @raabje said:
    I want to add something, not really related to the OT. Anyway, when I had a synth studio with keyboards, I didn't bother learning to play keys. Then I ditched everything and switched back to guitar and I really wanted to understand the theory, and the construction of chords (The app Solo helped me al lot with this). On guitar you cannot see the position of the notes easily, you have to memorize the position of the notes on the fretboard (6th, 5th and 1st string are easy, but string 4-3-2 needs a work around, I need a reference)

    We also have a digital piano in the house, and now I know the way chords are build up om guitar, on the piano keyboard it all makes sense, because the notes are lined up in a strict linear way. Compared to guitar, piano is so much easier when it comes to chord construction and intervals (specially if you just play Aminor/Cmajor, the white keys and a few black ones to get out of the diatonic sphere, and just transpose the keyboard a few steps for an other key). Playing with my left hand the chords, and with my right hand the melody is also much easier, you can land on chord tones or play arpeggios, and have visual guidance.

    So my tip for guitar players would be, learn to play the piano a bit, it helps you with understanding the guitar.

    Piano is handy no matter what instrument one plays because it is a great visualization tool .. each note can only be played in one place.

    For guitar, a critical thing that some people learn naturally but others (like me don’t) is to train yourself to find all the places where a note or melody can be played (ultimately without looking at the instrument).

    I recently heard a former teacher of mine (a world class musician) suggest an exercise that every musician should do daily. Away from your instrument (he does this often in the shower) hear a short melody (it can be just a few notes) in your head or sing it (sing is best if you can). It can be familiar or made up. Close your eyes and picture how you would play it. Repeat if you need to cement the memory.

    As soon as you are able , go to your instrument and find the notes. And play it. Then find all the places where those notes can be played. Play them clearly.

    At first, you will find that how you picture playing the notes will be totally wrong. THAT IS OK. This skill may take years to develop. Over time you will notice that you start being right some of the time.. it can take days or weeks or months or years.

    At some point, you will find that the learning accelerates. And you will find yourself just knowing where you can find the notes you hear in your head and see them.

    Agreed.

    Another way of doing this is to sing the note out loud.
    Play the first note of the melody that you sing and then
    find the rest of the notes.
    One ends up being able to sing and play the notes with ease.
    That's how I solo on any instrument.

    Once you can sing it, you can play it.

  • @gravitas: I think this exercise also forces us to really get specific in out hearing. It is only recently that I have realized that most of the time when I make a mistake (improvising or not) it is when I am not hearing the music with the mind's ear (which means my playing is literally mechanical...my brain telling my fingers what to do rather than having the movements being guided by that mysterious part of the brain that has learned what motions create what sounds).

  • @espiegel123 said:
    @gravitas: I think this exercise also forces us to really get specific in out hearing. It is only recently that I have realized that most of the time when I make a mistake (improvising or not) it is when I am not hearing the music with the mind's ear (which means my playing is literally mechanical...my brain telling my fingers what to do rather than having the movements being guided by that mysterious part of the brain that has learned what motions create what sounds).

    Yeah, I hear you that in regards.
    When I'm practicing it's mechanical, "do, ray, me, fa, so" etc but as soon as I need to accompany something, improvise or compose it locks into place which is the only way
    I can describe it and all the notes make sense whether they "harmonise" or not.
    One of the things that opened up my improvisation and hearing notes
    was through jazz and using grace notes to land on the more melodic notes.
    Twelve tone theory is another one to look at.

  • @Tamir_Raz_Mataz said:

    @Tamir_Raz_Mataz said:

    Useful chart for using different modes/modus’s on different scales

    I need a chart for which pentatonic scales compatible with which scales

    Every scale is compatible with every other scale—if you like the results. Theory will give you the most basic, vanilla solution. Experimenting and listening will give you the creative, personal solution.

    That said, if the pentatonic scale’s notes are in the parent scale, it will be usually be consonant. I often set up the Animoog controller with a subset of notes from a parent scale. I’ll just pick four or five notes that sound good.

  • edited August 2022

    @Tamir_Raz_Mataz said:

    I need a chart for which pentatonic scales compatible with which scales

    Correct me if I am wrong, pentatonic is 5 notes of the natural minor scale, or major scale. Minor pentatonic can be played over 7 chords or chords in a minor key, major pentatonic can be played over chords in a major key.

    Blues scale is a minor pentatonic + the blue note = 6 notes.

    When you treat the pentatonic scale as a mode, you can mix minor and major pentatonic in the same track when you choose the right chords. The Dorian scale has much in common with the pentatonic scale. Someone else could explain it probably better?

    And about modes, every mode has it's own mood, for example Locrian or Lydian is not very common. Maybe for a soundtrack of a movie or tv serie.

  • @raabje said:

    @Tamir_Raz_Mataz said:

    I need a chart for which pentatonic scales compatible with which scales

    Correct me if I am wrong, pentatonic is 5 notes of the natural minor scale, or major scale. Minor pentatonic can be played over 7 chords or chords in a minor key, major pentatonic can be played over chords in a major key.

    Any scale with five notes is pentatonic. Any pentatonic scale has five modes. There are many, many options.

  • edited August 2022

    @espiegel123
    One of these days I'll do a quick video showing
    how I sing the notes as I improvise before then
    here's something to try.
    I remembered something I used to do, but I'm out of the habit now,
    which is to take the root note of the scale that I'm playing and
    to sing the fourth or fifth above so when I'm soloing
    I'm vocally harmonising the entire scale.
    You have to hold the notes in your minds ear when doing this.

    It's good for ear training and hearing harmonies straight away.

  • @Gravitas said:
    @espiegel123
    One of these days I'll do a quick video showing
    how I sing the notes as I improvise before then
    here's something to try.
    I remembered something I used to do, but I'm out of the habit now,
    which is to take the root note of the scale that I'm playing and
    to sing the fourth or fifth above so when I soloing
    I'm vocally harmonising the entire scale.
    You have to hold the notes in your minds ear when doing this.

    It's good for ear training and hearing harmonies straight away.

    Good idea. Tx. That would be good for me to do. I struggle to sing a note different from the melody. I’ll see if I can make that a habit.

  • @Wrlds2ndBstGeoshredr said:

    @raabje said:

    @Tamir_Raz_Mataz said:

    I need a chart for which pentatonic scales compatible with which scales

    Correct me if I am wrong, pentatonic is 5 notes of the natural minor scale, or major scale. Minor pentatonic can be played over 7 chords or chords in a minor key, major pentatonic can be played over chords in a major key.

    Any scale with five notes is pentatonic. Any pentatonic scale has five modes. There are many, many options.

    There are also ‘pentatonic’ blues scales that have 6 notes. The major also includes the flat 3rd, and the minor includes the flat 5th.

    But as you say, there are many options for forming pentatonic scales.

  • @michael_m said:

    @Wrlds2ndBstGeoshredr said:

    @raabje said:

    @Tamir_Raz_Mataz said:

    I need a chart for which pentatonic scales compatible with which scales

    Correct me if I am wrong, pentatonic is 5 notes of the natural minor scale, or major scale. Minor pentatonic can be played over 7 chords or chords in a minor key, major pentatonic can be played over chords in a major key.

    Any scale with five notes is pentatonic. Any pentatonic scale has five modes. There are many, many options.

    There are also ‘pentatonic’ blues scales that have 6 notes. The major also includes the flat 3rd, and the minor includes the flat 5th.

    Six notes is hexatonic. I say this not to be argumentative or pedantic, but because adding or changing one note of a scale completely alters the vibe and makes into something else. Indian musicians traditionally viewed scales as a means of evoking a raga, which they see almost as living entities, or sound worlds. Rendering a raga by playing its scale according to the raga’s rules is analogous to Aladdin rubbing a lamp to encourage the genie to come out. We are trying to manifest the entity or sound world by calling it into existence through playing its scale.

  • edited August 2022

    @espiegel123 said:

    @Gravitas said:
    @espiegel123
    One of these days I'll do a quick video showing
    how I sing the notes as I improvise before then
    here's something to try.
    I remembered something I used to do, but I'm out of the habit now,
    which is to take the root note of the scale that I'm playing and
    to sing the fourth or fifth above so when I soloing
    I'm vocally harmonising the entire scale.
    You have to hold the notes in your minds ear when doing this.

    It's good for ear training and hearing harmonies straight away.

    Good idea. Tx. That would be good for me to do. I struggle to sing a note different from the melody. I’ll see if I can make that a habit.

    No probs.
    It's really cool for singing vocal harmonies straight away.
    My singing voice is a bit rusty at the moment,
    it seems I have to start practicing again.

    Another thing to practice is singing and playing in semitones.
    So pick a scale your voice is comfortable with
    and sing every note from root to octave.
    For instance using the root note of C.
    C, C#, D, D#, E so on and so forth.
    It enables voice control and more accurate pitching.

  • @Wrlds2ndBstGeoshredr said:

    @michael_m said:

    @Wrlds2ndBstGeoshredr said:

    @raabje said:

    @Tamir_Raz_Mataz said:

    I need a chart for which pentatonic scales compatible with which scales

    Correct me if I am wrong, pentatonic is 5 notes of the natural minor scale, or major scale. Minor pentatonic can be played over 7 chords or chords in a minor key, major pentatonic can be played over chords in a major key.

    Any scale with five notes is pentatonic. Any pentatonic scale has five modes. There are many, many options.

    There are also ‘pentatonic’ blues scales that have 6 notes. The major also includes the flat 3rd, and the minor includes the flat 5th.

    Six notes is hexatonic. I say this not to be argumentative or pedantic, but because adding or changing one note of a scale completely alters the vibe and makes into something else. Indian musicians traditionally viewed scales as a means of evoking a raga, which they see almost as living entities, or sound worlds. Rendering a raga by playing its scale according to the raga’s rules is analogous to Aladdin rubbing a lamp to encourage the genie to come out. We are trying to manifest the entity or sound world by calling it into existence through playing its scale.

    That’s why I put ‘pentatonic’ in quotes. I hear them referred to as “the major pentatonic blues scale” or “minor pentatonic blues scale” relatively often, I always assumed because the underlying scale is pentatonic.

    I know it’s wrong to call it pentatonic, but I kind of see why people say it.

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