Writer's Block? What's that?
There is a way to escape the occassional episodes of writer's block or rehashing the same old thing over and over. It is by increasing our Scale and Chord vocabulary. The more Scales and Chords we are aware of, the more opportunities we can see.
Over the years I have collected Scales, Chords, and Chord Progressions as a way to increase my Scale and Chord vocabulary. This was a slow path of trial and error. But as I collected Scales and Chords I began to organize them into a very unique database.
I have harmonized 99 World Scales by identifying Chords that are members of each Scale. This database is written in 100% HTML and the user can explore it exactly the same way we explore internet websites.
You can select a Scale and a Root and you will see a page that shows all Chords that are members of the Scale and Root you selected. You can also select a Chord Type and Root to see how to play the Chord on the keyboard and you can see all Scales that parent the selected Chord. It is a complete forward and reverse lookup feature that enables you to instantly see relationships between Chords and Scales.
You can find this special CD-ROM database here: The Infinite Chord Guru!
If you have been trying to learn to play chords on the piano or synthesizer one-song-at-a-time, this special 200 MB database can immediately open musical doors for you to freely explore!
It contains Scale and Chord charts for the Piano and MIDI Samples so you can hear how each Scale and Chord sounds before you attempt to play them yourself.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
TimeStreams - A Source Of Energy
When we first learn to play chords we usually start out playing each chord for a full bar or four counts. This is good practice as we learn to juggle the notes of each chord and change from one chord to another. However, if we always play each chord for the same length of time it can become boring and dull after awhile. Once the feel of each chord is mastered and we are able to change from one chord to another without much effort, it is time to play with TimeStreams.
TimeStreams is a concept of creating energy by playing chords with different durations. Here is an example:
4/4 [ D(Add9)[E] E(Sus2)[Q] E(Sus2)[Q] E(Sus2)[QE] D(Add9){1} :][ Repeat five times
The chords above are played with the first chord having a short duration and the next three chords having longer durations. The fifth chord is played a full bar to separate each phrase. This is an interesting pattern to practice. This sounds very different than playing each chord for a full bar. When all chords are played for the same duration it is like a pool of water that is very still and has no movement. When chords are given different durations it is like adding ripples to a pool of water. All of the sudden there is energy produced by a changing TimeStream!
You can click on the chord progression above to hear a sample of it.
You will notice the [E] notation appended to the first chord. This represents playing the chord for a duration of an Eighth note. The [Q] tokens represent Quarter notes and the [QE] token represents a Quarter plus an Eighth or a dotted Quarter note. The {1} token represents a full bar of music. This is a special notation I use to write chord progressions in text format. It is a very handy way to share chord progressions on internet forums and blogs.
TimeStreams is a concept of creating energy by playing chords with different durations. Here is an example:
4/4 [ D(Add9)[E] E(Sus2)[Q] E(Sus2)[Q] E(Sus2)[QE] D(Add9){1} :][ Repeat five times
The chords above are played with the first chord having a short duration and the next three chords having longer durations. The fifth chord is played a full bar to separate each phrase. This is an interesting pattern to practice. This sounds very different than playing each chord for a full bar. When all chords are played for the same duration it is like a pool of water that is very still and has no movement. When chords are given different durations it is like adding ripples to a pool of water. All of the sudden there is energy produced by a changing TimeStream!
You can click on the chord progression above to hear a sample of it.
You will notice the [E] notation appended to the first chord. This represents playing the chord for a duration of an Eighth note. The [Q] tokens represent Quarter notes and the [QE] token represents a Quarter plus an Eighth or a dotted Quarter note. The {1} token represents a full bar of music. This is a special notation I use to write chord progressions in text format. It is a very handy way to share chord progressions on internet forums and blogs.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Ray's Secret To Learning Popular Songs On The Piano
Here is a tip that has worked very well for me. Whenever I wanted to learn to play the accompiament chords of particular song I would first create a special notation of the song that represented the chord changes.
Let's say the chords were:
4/4 [ D(Maj){1} ][ B(Min7){1} ][ G(Maj){1} ][ A(Maj){1} ]:
The {1} appended to each chord represents playing one full bar of each chord.
I would reduce the chords to a single note Chord Sketch using the Root of each chord. The above would translate into:
4/4 [ D[W] ][ B[W] ][ G[W] ][ A[W] ]:
(The [W] notation indicates to play each note for one Whole Note value, or 4 counts.)
I would then pratice this simplified sketch of the chord changes playing single notes instead of the whole chord. Over and over I would practice until I had the FEELING of the chord changes memorized.
What's the big deal, you say?
Well the Big Deal is that by reducing the complex chords into single notes, you can focus on memorizing WHEN to change each chord to get the FEEL of the chord changes. I would also sing the melody with my voice as I played the simplified chord sketch. Then only after I had the simplified chord sketch memorized I would then begin to fill in the chord sketch with the complete chord.
This way you are not trying to do everything all at once as you learn a new song. You first reduce the song into a simplified Chord Sketch in which each chord is represented by a single note. You then memorize the simplified Chord Sketch and sing the melody along with it. Finally, once the Chord Sketch is memorized you start filling in the Chord Sketch with the actual notes of each chord.
Almost like magic your fingers know what to do! Just think, if you tried to learn the chord changes all at once you would have to play all of the notes of each chord and change chords at the right time. This is difficult for beginners to do! However, once you have memorized the feeling of the chord changes by playing only the root of each chord, when you then start filling out each chord you have half of the work already done. It is much easier to focus on playing all of the notes of each chord AFTER you have memorized the chord change timeline of a popular song.
Let's say the chords were:
4/4 [ D(Maj){1} ][ B(Min7){1} ][ G(Maj){1} ][ A(Maj){1} ]:
The {1} appended to each chord represents playing one full bar of each chord.
I would reduce the chords to a single note Chord Sketch using the Root of each chord. The above would translate into:
4/4 [ D[W] ][ B[W] ][ G[W] ][ A[W] ]:
(The [W] notation indicates to play each note for one Whole Note value, or 4 counts.)
I would then pratice this simplified sketch of the chord changes playing single notes instead of the whole chord. Over and over I would practice until I had the FEELING of the chord changes memorized.
What's the big deal, you say?
Well the Big Deal is that by reducing the complex chords into single notes, you can focus on memorizing WHEN to change each chord to get the FEEL of the chord changes. I would also sing the melody with my voice as I played the simplified chord sketch. Then only after I had the simplified chord sketch memorized I would then begin to fill in the chord sketch with the complete chord.
This way you are not trying to do everything all at once as you learn a new song. You first reduce the song into a simplified Chord Sketch in which each chord is represented by a single note. You then memorize the simplified Chord Sketch and sing the melody along with it. Finally, once the Chord Sketch is memorized you start filling in the Chord Sketch with the actual notes of each chord.
Almost like magic your fingers know what to do! Just think, if you tried to learn the chord changes all at once you would have to play all of the notes of each chord and change chords at the right time. This is difficult for beginners to do! However, once you have memorized the feeling of the chord changes by playing only the root of each chord, when you then start filling out each chord you have half of the work already done. It is much easier to focus on playing all of the notes of each chord AFTER you have memorized the chord change timeline of a popular song.
This strategy takes advantage of a special memory called muscle memory. You have three memories working for you as you play music. First, you have visual memory that represents the visual representation of the song. Next you have aural memory that represents your memory of how the song sounds. And then there is muscle memory that represents how the song feels to your fingers.
You may start off with visual memory get get you started, but it will be the muscle memory that you can depend on the most to enable you to play a song smoothly from beginning to end. Your aural memory will act as an alarm system that will alert you if you stray too far from the song's structure.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
What is a C(Maj)/F Chord?
I had seen chords in sheet music that looked like fractions. They were chords like C(Maj)/F or A(Maj)/G. It was not until I watched someone play an arrangement on the piano that the role of a fractional chord finally made sense to me. I could hear a whole new type of energy that did not exist when I simply played the literal chords in the chord charts. These alternate variations of a chord seemed to make chords to pop out into three dimensions like a 3-D picture!
The fractional chords are known as chords played over an Alternate Bass. They work to change the shade of the chord. One way to imagine it would be to think of a color and then consider what would happen if you increased the intensity of red in the color. As you increase the intensity of red, the original color would change into a different shade.
In the same way the following chord progression is an example of changing the intensity of the bass by stepping up the bass while holding the chord constant.
Example:
C(Maj)/C, C(Maj)/D, C(Maj)/E, C(Maj)/F, C(Maj)/G, C(Maj)/A, C(Maj)/B, C(Maj).
To play this progression you would hold the C(Maj) chord constant with the right hand above middle C. Then as you play the C(Maj) chord over and over in a loop you walk the bass up ascending from C one octave below middle C up to middle C.
As you do this notice how the C(Maj) chord does not sound like an ordinary C(Maj) chord when the bass is D, E, F, G, A, and B. These alternate shades of C(Maj) are used often in popular music. They are most likely the chords you were reaching for in the past but could not find in the chord charts by playing the literal chord chart alone.
One of my favorite fractional chord progressions is the following sequence:
G(Maj), A(Maj)/G, A(Min)/G, G(Maj) - This chord progression has a feeling of lift or flight.
You can explore fractional chords easily by slowly playing a scale under any chord. As you do you will be creating all possible fractional chords that exist within the scale. The scale that you play under the chord should start and end with the root of the chord. For example, if you explore Alternate Bass for a G(Maj) chord you would play scales that start and end with G in your left hand below middle C as you play the G(Maj) above middle C with your right hand. This will exponentially increase the number of chord colors you can create and add a new dimension to your chord progressions!
The fractional chords are known as chords played over an Alternate Bass. They work to change the shade of the chord. One way to imagine it would be to think of a color and then consider what would happen if you increased the intensity of red in the color. As you increase the intensity of red, the original color would change into a different shade.
In the same way the following chord progression is an example of changing the intensity of the bass by stepping up the bass while holding the chord constant.
Example:
C(Maj)/C, C(Maj)/D, C(Maj)/E, C(Maj)/F, C(Maj)/G, C(Maj)/A, C(Maj)/B, C(Maj).
To play this progression you would hold the C(Maj) chord constant with the right hand above middle C. Then as you play the C(Maj) chord over and over in a loop you walk the bass up ascending from C one octave below middle C up to middle C.
As you do this notice how the C(Maj) chord does not sound like an ordinary C(Maj) chord when the bass is D, E, F, G, A, and B. These alternate shades of C(Maj) are used often in popular music. They are most likely the chords you were reaching for in the past but could not find in the chord charts by playing the literal chord chart alone.
One of my favorite fractional chord progressions is the following sequence:
G(Maj), A(Maj)/G, A(Min)/G, G(Maj) - This chord progression has a feeling of lift or flight.
You can explore fractional chords easily by slowly playing a scale under any chord. As you do you will be creating all possible fractional chords that exist within the scale. The scale that you play under the chord should start and end with the root of the chord. For example, if you explore Alternate Bass for a G(Maj) chord you would play scales that start and end with G in your left hand below middle C as you play the G(Maj) above middle C with your right hand. This will exponentially increase the number of chord colors you can create and add a new dimension to your chord progressions!
Myth - All Songs Can Be Played With Just Three Chords
I often heard this myth from friends and fellow guitarists when I was first learning to play the guitar. It has become an urban legend and I still hear this assertion every now and then. This myth promoted the idea that if you learned just the C(Maj), F(Maj) and G(Maj) chords you could play any song. Early on however I saw through this false promise and found that this myth works only in one scenario. If the song is being performed by musicians who are all playing the actual chords of the song, it is possible for another musician to follow along playing C(Maj), F(Maj) and G(Maj) and it would sound like the musician playing just three chords was playing the whole song. However, if the same musican played the song all alone with the same three chords it would be exposed that just three chords on their own are not good enough to convey the whole song.
Chords are like words. The larger the vocabulary of chords we know, the more colorful musical statements we can make. In fact, there are some Chord Progressions that have a lot of historical significance. They are easily recognized and found in many popular songs. One such progression is the D(Maj), B(Min7), G(Maj), A(Maj) sequence. You could try as hard as you like and if you used only D(Maj), G(Maj), and A(Maj) you would not be able to reproduce the same mood and emotion that is invoked when all four chords are played.
There is a path to learning to play chords and that is by exploring many chords. As you learn more chords you will begin to hear them as you listen to your favorite music and you will be able to use them to construct your own original chord progressions.
Chords are like words. The larger the vocabulary of chords we know, the more colorful musical statements we can make. In fact, there are some Chord Progressions that have a lot of historical significance. They are easily recognized and found in many popular songs. One such progression is the D(Maj), B(Min7), G(Maj), A(Maj) sequence. You could try as hard as you like and if you used only D(Maj), G(Maj), and A(Maj) you would not be able to reproduce the same mood and emotion that is invoked when all four chords are played.
There is a path to learning to play chords and that is by exploring many chords. As you learn more chords you will begin to hear them as you listen to your favorite music and you will be able to use them to construct your own original chord progressions.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Techniques for composing Chord Progressions
When I started composing Chord Progressions I mostly reused interesting Chord Progressions I found in my favorite popular songs. This was alright at first but I soon discovered this method to be a trap. Although I was able to generate interesting arrangements they did not permit me to explore new landscapes or be as original as I would like.
I took a formal class on Music Theory and was exposed to the concept of scales parenting groups of triads. For example, a C Major scale would parent the triads of C(Maj), D(Min), E(Min), F(Maj), G(Maj), A(Min), and B(Dim). I liked this idea and quickly extended it by organizing scales with more than triads. I would analyze a scale and find all of the 6th, Maj7, Min7, 7th, Maj9, Min9, and 9th chords that were members of the scale. Mostly I worked with the Major and Minor scales.
Once I organized chords in this fashion I found that I could try out various sequences and compose my own original Chord Progressions. Later a quantum leap happened as I began to collect scales from all over the world. Over time I acquired a library of 99 World Scales which provides a very large musical universe to explore.
I can now start with any World Scale of my choice and create original Chord Progressions. I can then jump beyond this another level by combining Chord Progressions of multiple World Scales into a single composition!
This technique provides a lot of freedom within a very safe environment. Almost any chord sequence I string together sounds good because the individual chords are all members of a group of related chords. This technique provides the freedom to be as original as you like.
I took a formal class on Music Theory and was exposed to the concept of scales parenting groups of triads. For example, a C Major scale would parent the triads of C(Maj), D(Min), E(Min), F(Maj), G(Maj), A(Min), and B(Dim). I liked this idea and quickly extended it by organizing scales with more than triads. I would analyze a scale and find all of the 6th, Maj7, Min7, 7th, Maj9, Min9, and 9th chords that were members of the scale. Mostly I worked with the Major and Minor scales.
Once I organized chords in this fashion I found that I could try out various sequences and compose my own original Chord Progressions. Later a quantum leap happened as I began to collect scales from all over the world. Over time I acquired a library of 99 World Scales which provides a very large musical universe to explore.
I can now start with any World Scale of my choice and create original Chord Progressions. I can then jump beyond this another level by combining Chord Progressions of multiple World Scales into a single composition!
This technique provides a lot of freedom within a very safe environment. Almost any chord sequence I string together sounds good because the individual chords are all members of a group of related chords. This technique provides the freedom to be as original as you like.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Hello Blog!
This is my first blog. I am a musician, programmer, and a telecommunications engineer with a hobby of creating sofware to improvise music. The software behaves like a large database of musical properties. During the past few weeks I have written a CD-ROM that shows how to play 99 World Scales on the Piano or Synthesizer. Each scale page displays all Chords that are members of the scale. There are over 200 MB of pages and MIDI Samples. Each MIDI sample is in GM (General MIDI format).
I taught guitar 1976 to 1980 and played piano and synthesizer in several music groups. I compose on the Roland JV-1010 Synth Module and like to create surrealistic musical landscapes.
I taught guitar 1976 to 1980 and played piano and synthesizer in several music groups. I compose on the Roland JV-1010 Synth Module and like to create surrealistic musical landscapes.
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