There are so many songs that dont have block chord pads playing in the background, but you can still kinda tell that there are chords/harmony, and there is a progression.

I do kinda have the idea that different instruments and the vocals must be playing the 1,3,5 notes, but should i only stick to these notes when there are no chord blocks?
Is it okay to play other notes and extensions?

 

You can (indeed should) do anything you like on your tracks - especially if it improves or augments what's already there.

 

of course you can and if you're not familiar with the rules of harmony go for the 'mood'. you can try to convey a certain mood or impression with different chords.

 

checkout a million dreams from the greatest showman soundtrack, maybe some info you can gain there, song in G major key but the bridge part is where the interesting things happen.. there's chord doesn't fit in g major scale.. i have hard time to analyze on my own but thanks to this blog from pro pianist i kinda learn something about coloring..
https://www.google.com/amp/s/kieranquinn.blog/2019/01/17/a-million-dreams-answers/amp/

my music theory suxs btw.. just sharing things related.. i think its related is it? i think so.. welp~ happy chording~

 

No idea what a "chord block" is supposed to be, but in simple terms: if you have multiple melodic instruments and they play different notes within the same key, this basically creates a chord. Don't forget that chords / harmony goes beyond your generic 1 - 3 - 5 pattern. A chord played at once by the same instrument (eg piano) might be more immediately recognisable, but it's often much more interesting if the harmonic structure is created by the interaction of different melodic layers.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone! you guys are a great help

this is what i mean by 'blocks'

i want to move away from using these and have the instruments imply these chord notes. no synths or pads playing 'blocks'.
Thats why i ask if i should avoid extensions to chords when there is no stable chords being played in the background.
I have been experimenting and i've found that avoiding extensions is best in this case.

 

There is no such thing as implied harmony, if the notes don't sound, they are not there. You can have a sense of movement with just a melody or 2 note dyads, what is the harmony there? Depending on the notes, they can be probably harmonized in various ways in most cases. Nothing is set in stone.

 

I don't know why you call them blocks. They are chords. You can do with them as you wish. They can be a dominant factor in a song or used in a subtle way, but they are there nonetheless. They are as stable or as unstable as you wish but once established as the foundational elements of your song they will anchor your composition whether you like it or not.
I am unsure of your meaning when you speak of extensions. Your so called blocks are simple major chords. Do you mean to add a major 7th for example? Do you know why you would do this and how it would affect your composition?
With respect, may I ask if you know any theory and also how long have you been making music?

 

You are mixing up implied harmony with harmony here. The key word is "implied".

You are right in that a melody can be harmonized in different ways. You could take the melody to "twinkle twinkle little star", and put different chords on it then what we are used to hear.

But still, the melody in itself, even with no harmonizing bass notes or chords can imply a chord change. Most musicians would, even if they never heard the melody to "twinkle twinkle" would harmonize it the same way with the same chords.

If the musician wanted to "spice things up" they could harmonize it in a way that is not expected, substitute chords and so on. Jazz musicians do this all the time. But if you do a lot of substitutions you are not following the implied harmony, the implied harmony would be about the same as what we are used to hear or what we are "expecting to hear".

Different melodies can have a different degree of how strong the implied harmony is.

A melody only using the 1,3,5 chord tones of the tonic (I) for two bars and the 1,3,5 of the dominant (V) would strongly imply the chord changes I to V.

If you add non chord tones to this melody the implied harmony could become less clear or different. Notice I said "could", adding non chord tones doesn't have to change the implied harmony. They could be seen as passing notes or embellishment or they could suggest colorings such as sus2 etc.

Here is a video explaining implied harmony;

 

Man i think i put this thread in the wrong section. My question is simply production based. I know music theory.
I call them blocks as you see them on grid in a daw.
Most edm producers simply put these 'blocks' of midi chords played by a synth pad or something.
advanced producers use different instruments to voice notes of chords - not one instrument playing all the notes.
Like the guitar playing the 3rds, the bass altering in the 1st and the 5th.
All i was asking is should i have an instrument playing the 7th or the 9ths too.
And i found my answer like i said, its best to avoid extensions when theres no solid 'block' of a chord being played by a synth, it starts sounding ambiguous.

I wanna know how you guys make your music, do you too use a synth like those edm producers and youtube tutorials?

(other than sampling and loops, i know thats popular too but i am talking about making stuff from scratch)

 

By implying chords i mean how you make them heard to the listener, i didnt mention 'implied harmony' anywhere
i know its confusing lol sorry about that, couldve avoided that, but thats how i have read a few articles on advanced production say it. How theres multiple ways you can 'imply' chords to the listener. And how theres all kinds of stuff about instrument voicing.

 

If you know music theory can you understand how this composition works?

 

You want me to prove myself or do you genuinely want to know?
No i cant break this song down kinda beyond my level honestly.
And i asked a simple question and wanted to know how you guys go about producing, not to have a debate and prove my skill lol.

 

It's very much related to your original question and no, I do not expect you to break it down into chord structures. I've been listening to it for 40 years and I can't figure it out. I just pointed to it as an example of a total lack of block chord structure. All instruments are playing independently of each other while implying a root foundation. You can feel where the song is anchored but it is all suggested by the interplay of instruments. So yes, you can do away with chords. You can allow notes their freedom, but like the guys in this band, you need to know what all the other sounds are doing. You are free. But not to make incoherent noise. Well, to be honest some people do that. We call them jazz musos.

 

You are totally right about implied harmony being a thing, see my post above.

If you want to learn how to imply chord changes, I think you are on the right track.

Start with skipping the "block chords" and try implying chord changes only using the melody using the 1,3,5 notes of different chords.

After you master this you could start adding to or substituting triad 1,3,5 notes in your melody with 2,4,6,7.

When you construct you melodies you could think of these as either

1. Passing notes in the melody leading to "stronger" notes such as 1,3,5
2. Chord tones suggesting more complex chords such as sus2, maj7, sus4, etc etc

 

I agree with this for learning and getting better at composition
But my question has more to do with production. I already got my answer, but i'd like some more insight from you guys about it like i said here:

 

You are right. And this implication of root foundation is non functional harmony and treads towards 'modes'

I am talking of simple functional harmony, nothing complicated.
I wanna know how you could get creative with making chords heard in a production point of view. Like advanced producers like max martin do. I could mention 2 songs like faded by alan walker, who uses the same boring technique of 4 block chords played by hypersaws, and stressed out by twenty one pilots, which uses the same 4 chords, but the way they make them heard is brilliant. Theres no synth playing in the background.
Notice how clean and uncluttered the intro of the song sounds. Just three instruments playing singular notes, the bass, a string sample and the vocals. And you can still tell the chords and the function.
I think Helter Skelter gave the right approach for this one in terms of composition. But its also got a lot to do with production.

 

@jishnu Could you post links to the songs you are referencing?

 

No offense, but if you really understand the fundamentals of music theory (= melody, harmony) you would most likely not ask such a question to begin with.

The notes (keys) within a chord (or "chord block" as you call it) can be played by one intrument or by more than one instrument - that's totally up to you. Meaning: You don't need to have one instrument playing all the keys within a given chord, you can distribute these keys to be played by multiple instruments.

The harmony is created by the fact that at a given moment multiple keys play, that in combination create a chord, there is no rocket science to this, even though it helps to understand which chord progressions are possible and how to apply them in various scales other than just Cmaj.

It seems that you have taken the short route to music theory and rely on premade chord packs (like the Unison bs). You need to realize that these chord packs are just a product designed for ambitious beginners, who think that buying them will make them a top producer. It all boils down to marketing. I'm not saying they cannot be useful, but evidently they don't help with really understanding the fundamentals. Invest less time and money in chord packs and more time into actually practising your craft and learning from direct experience how melody and harmony works in a composition.

 

Don't know how serious your remark was meant, but unless we are talking pseudo-arty "free jazz" combos of snobby upperclass university graduates, I would not agree. Classical jazz musician manage to play very coherent music, while following an approach that is very much based around spontaneous improvisation and interaction - that is actually what makes jazz so fascinating and also exciting to watch for the audience.