Here it is, the second paragraph just as I said.

See how nothing is mentioned about the piano, about any kind of diatonicism, and how the name "chorale style" is used?

If your brains, or whatever is in place, can't connect this with what OP said, then that's on you unfortunately, and I'll have to leave you to figure it out, mr. rest of the world.

 

Yes, you have misunderstood that paragraph. And I'm laughing at you.
You obviously don't know what you are reading, because that is not what the op was talking about either.

No; diatonicism still relevant actually. That's why it was mentioned before that sentence. And instrument is irrelevant. The block chords on a guitar are what they are, block chords, and used in the same way according to me and wiki; not whatever you and the op are making up. But you don't know what it means, I can tell. Doesn't have to be a piano! haha. They are not your block chords, is all I can say to you.
All block chords, even 'choral style', on ANY instrument, is still used in the way that the block chords are.
IE diatonically with the melody.
Strange that others too agree that the op member is misunderstanding something.
He mentions block chords in the op. And chord blocks in the title.

Yeah, you have your last little dig to make yourself feel better when you are in the wrong.
I can take it.
But there was no need for you to be facetious AGAIN either.
Cheers now.

 

hey everyone
im sorry i didnt mean this post to be an argument, i just wanted to have some insight on how you go about making your music and thats all. I realise my question wasnt clear enough so i explained it in later posts. And i also got my answer thanks to all your help

But please dont waste your time arguing on here though lol. i dont mind being confronted over my knowledge or skill. i wouldnt have posted a question if i knew it all. But thats probably not the same for everyone, being so hostile over a simple beginner's question would deter anyone from posting and asking questions again. I see this as a place to learn, please let it be so.
cheers

 

Don't worry, it was 100% clear enough for those who have the capacity to read. If you scroll to page 2, I gave a rather comprehensive answer about what you can do and can expand on any further questions too. You honestly didn't get that great answers here. And any further questions or anything that needs to be clarified, just ask away. The question itself that you asked was good and actually a very important topic regardless of whenever we're talking about improvisation or composition.

 

yeah i saw every answer and appreciate all help, thanks!
Can i pm you if i have to ask any further into this topic?

 

hey thats exactly what i wanted to discuss here

just approaching a different style of producing and arrangement. atleast different for me lol i have a lot to explore and learn as you can tell :D

 

I feel like we've still been beating around the bush of how you ACTUALLY do this. I'm gonna try and give a concise overview, and keep in mind this is AS applicable to production as it is to composition in general:

The most important notes to determining chord type are the 3rd and the 7th. This is why Jazz "shell" voicings are usually made up of just 1, 3, and 7. These notes alone will tell you if a chord is minor, major, or dominant. If you are going to drop the block chords and just have sprinklings of harmony or countermelodies, these are the most important notes to make sure you include. In terms of writing a lead or a "riff", you shouldn't use just these notes, but you should make sure your melodies "land" on these notes at significant points of rhythmic emphasis, like downbeats or hits.

Working over a larger time span, you can give even less information bar-by-bar and still get the point across. For example if you've been consistently using just notes of the C major scale for 16 bars or something, then if you suddenly have a part where the main notes being played are F# and A, your brain would assume that's some form of a dominant of the V chord, or in other words, a chord that is at least in some way related to Dmaj, because that's by far the path of least resistance from C major, rather than assuming it's F#m Or B7 or something that has way less meaning in a C major framework. Of course, you can play with that expectation and eventually fill it in with one of those more unlikely options, but given partial information the listener's brain is gonna go with what makes the most sense.

You can even imply harmony with one note if you set it up well enough. If we have that same C major setup going, and then suddenly you drop everything out and just hang on an Ab note, you bet you're gonna want that sucker to go down to a G and it's gonna sound satisfying when you do. That's a pretty extreme example but it's just proving a point that notes in context can imply a lot.

And the other elephant in the room here is that the bass does a lot of heavy lifting for you. If your bass implies your progression effectively, you can almost put whatever you want over it, with any distribution of instruments. You can change the ebb and flow--sixth above the bass might make it a little more melancholic, a secondary leading tone might make it more stark or driving or whatever--but the bass alone can usually give a pretty strong notion of the function, and once the function is clear the only other purpose of a chord is to sound cool.

 

Can you provide an example of what you're actually looking for? It's easier to talk about when there's a concrete example (as in, just link to a song where you think this is happening)

 

This guy gets it. Also good point about the bass - sometimes I kind of forget how it can do the heavy lifting. I still would reckon that emphasis on third in addition to the bass is generally a good idea in the similar spirit, and after that of course comes the seventh.

 

And of course, feel free to PM, though I prefer these questions in public so that others can answer & see the answers too. But it's up to you, of course.

 

I always find it hard to explain myself using words when talking about music, but I remember the first time I heard a song that was composed of many monophonic sounds which intertwined to imply a chord structure without the use of an instrument, be it a keyboard or a guitar playing the root chords. I will let Peter Gabriel do the talking for me. If you listen to the music it will inform you in a way that theoretical words simply cannot convey.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 15, 2021

one i have in my mind right now is the intro verse in stressed out by twenty one pilots. Just the bass, a faint string sample that hits on the downbeats and the vocals.

 

This is one of those cases where really it's 100% about the bass. It's bit complicated to explain and it'll probably take a few years until you get this, but these kind of things are easier done in minor than they are in major. Even if that was played with actual chords, the progression itself isn't really moving away from the tonic region at all. Most of the modern melodies that use only one to three notes are done often in minor kind of because of this: you can create chord changes without really... moving anywhere. And the melody, likewise, can just float around (and interaction with chord changes can be fairly minimal).

Here the melody is mostly emphasizing the tonic note, but the melody isn't implying much - it's just doing its own thing really.

 

Yeah thats what i heard too. The chords to this mentioned on hooktheory are VI iv i i . And i can hear these even if they arent being played.

Is it because the minor scale doesnt have function as well defined as the major scale?

 

Thanks for your input :D
looks like i got a lot of experimenting to do this week haha

 

You just proved my point.

 

Off-topic:

I know it may sound silly, but I have always wondered:

Is harmony really harmful to music? If it's harmful so why do we use it?

 

Theory is how we define and explain music, how and why it sounds good.
not using harmony is like saying not using physics in science, it doesnt make sense
it just is

 

The main point is that harmony acts as a harmful factor and has a negative effect on music.

Harmony only complicates the appearance of the music and makes it harder to understand, otherwise it does not add anything positive to the music.

Harmony is a tool for people who are not very familiar with music. People who are into music do not use harmony much because they know it's harmful.