Chords

[Timo]

Originally Posted by Trance Explorer

What sort of chords\scales get used alot in trance?

im struggling to write good riffs and melodies.. they never sound how i want them

Umm, major and minor, lol. That's it!

[Trance Explorer]

i guess you can tell i dont know much

i know how to work out a chord. but how does that apply to writing riffs? do i only use the 3 notes in that chord?

i hear people talking about using chord progressions and picking chords when they start to write a song.

its all really confusing

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by Trance Explorer

i guess you can tell i dont know much

i know how to work out a chord. but how does that apply to writing riffs? do i only use the 3 notes in that chord?

A riff is (a lot of the times) 4 chords in a row. It doesn't have to do with the tones used in the chord, but a lot more with the root note of the chord.

For instance, you've got a C major. This is

C-E-G.

This chord has variations - instead of C-E-G you can play E-C-G and G-C-E (the first note is the lowest in pitch).

Of those chords, C is still the root note (basis).

Chord progressions can follow the I-IV-V system. This shows the 'distance' between the white keys. If you started counting at C and every semitone added 1, the I-IV-V would look like 0 - 5 - 7.

So let's start with the C-E-G. We add 7 - which brings us at G-B-D. Alternatively we could choose to play a minor chord - G-Bb-D, or a variation of that so it'd be D-G-Bb (the actual 'distance' would then be C>D, E>G, G>Bb - 'smaller' than with the original).

We could then return to F (because Bb + 7 = F) and play C-F-A, and then top it off with a G major again.

That gives you Cmaj > Gmin > Fmaj > Gmaj and would form a nice basis for a guitar-based pop song.

A way to learn all this is to listen to an awful lot of pop, write the chords down, and find certain patterns. Then when you're composing yourself you'll slip into the routine; which'll be more inspiring since you won't be looking for chords, resulting in faster songwriting and easier jamming with friends.

Then you can 'spice' the chords up - with 7's and 9's. Just sprinkle 'm on, see what it does.

i hear people talking about using chord progressions and picking chords when they start to write a song.

its all really confusing

Nah. Just check out http://www.chordmaps.com/ and it'll give you a 'map' with frequently-used chords - all you have to do is pick a starting point and a direction.

Or buy a Korg Karma

[Trance Explorer]

Wow Thanks Yoozer! 8O

Thats a massive help, i read you reply from the start a few times over but couldnt understand a few parts...

But then after looking at the website you linked further down its all starting to make sence.

I'll post again soon to let you know how i get on

[Wandering Kid]

i guess you can tell i dont know much

i know how to work out a chord. but how does that apply to writing riffs? do i only use the 3 notes in that chord?

i hear people talking about using chord progressions and picking chords when they start to write a song.

its all really confusing

a riff is just a derogatory term for a sequence of chords. nothing more than that really.

with riffing, i just jam and make stuff up whilst improvising around scales. if i like what i played, i stop recording, cut out the relevant portion and save it as an mp3 then archive. if i dont hate it 2 weeks later it stays.

do you only use the 3 notes in that chord?

technically yes although its common to see people repeat the same notes of the chord in different registers. for example:

a G chord is technically: G, B, D although a guitarist often plays it as G, B, D + D (an octave higher) + G (an octave higher).

on guitar this is partly for comfort and partly because adding the extra notes in the next octave adds a little brilliance and sparkle to it.

there is nothing stopping you adding the root, 3rd and 5th note an octave up if you want to. its still a g chord. when you add 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and/or 13ths though the chord is technically different. if you added major 7th it would be Gadd7 i.e. G, B, D + F#

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as for chord progressions. this is something you will have to figure out for yourself as there are no rules - whatever sounds good to you goes really.

normally i dont think of chord progressions in terms of chords - i think of them in terms of the root note and subsequent harmonies.

lets keep it in C to keep things simple.

visualise a piano roll with a a C note being sustained for 1 bar. what ill do usually is start with a basic ascending or descending movement. a nice simple one would go from C up to E, up again to G and down again to E over the course of four bars. simple but very plain. adding sucessive notes in harmony adds a little life to it. so try adding E up to G up to Ab and down to G again.

starting to sound trancy i know. you can then start with a 7th and add another layer of harmonies. you could take the E to G to Ab to G, copy it and transpose it up an octave. in this case you arent really playing chords but intervals. but you get the idea - to create a kind of rising, falling movement using notes which then form chords. once you get confident you can experiment with the formula a bit more. if a whole note up sounds like a step forward, think of a half note up as a tentative or reaching step. in the right combinations you can create a series of chords with a kind of feel - in this case a kind of rising action with a tentative, unsure lift to it before stepping back. in this way, hopefully you can see how expressive music can be if you really sit down and look at whats possible with various permutations of 12 half steps. different notes take on different characteristics and expressions depending on the timbre of the sound you are using - another reason why synths rock so much - create your own timbres!

in my estimation it is unwise to just pick a chord for the sake of it and stick with that. or heaven forbid just rattle up and down the same scale for the hell of it. sometimes a little dischord works to break things up. a little counter melody also. it doesnt matter so much what note you start with but you have to think of everything else in a chord sequence in relation to the root note you are playing in. otherwise things can go awry. but other than that go nuts.

hope that helped.

[MADSTATION]

Great post!
Thanks a lot
You're pretty good at explaining this stuff!