What scale and why?

Which chords and how to write them?

What are the other notes?

Which pattern? Why that pattern and not the other patterns?

What details?

What is my own?

If I follow your guidelines, mine would be totally different than you. Why do you choose some notes and I do other ones?

 

Theory books choose a piece of music (a small part of a piece of music) and begin to mark and analyze those marks.

These books do not teach how to write a piece of music from zero to the end. The reason is obvious, because the analysis tools are not powerful enough to examine all the different aspects of a work and even try to create a work similar to the original piece.

If you read those books, you won't know which note and chord to choose with complete certainty at a particular moment of creating a piece of music.

My problem is that in every moment of music, how do we know that the best choice for that particular moment is just that one note? How do we know that our choices are the best choices at different moments?

 

...because he has different musical tastes than you, largely informed by temperament and a multitude of cultural mores.

I don't ever know which is the best choice until i reach a point when either (1) it sounds pleasing to my ears or (2) i abandon the initial, erroneous choice and make another that sounds better or more interesting. Ultimately, it's a question of personal faith i.e. trusting your inner ear...

Wed to a self-limiting, absolutist obsession with rhythm-free musical theory and a reactionary christian worldview, this explains why all of your music sounds like generic/traditional church hymns.

 

Last edited: Mar 23, 2023

I consult Lucifer, either through a direct blood ritual or incubus dream anomaly. He always comes up with good ideas, I guess you should ask Him how, really.

 

by removing all unwanted notes

 

I just play what I think sounds cool

 

Oh I see, you like the deep cunt of philosophy. I don't work at Starbucks & I don't know why the choochie beans makes water instead of paste but I think they still go tits up at the end of the water fountain base.

Just do what No Avenger said, flip yer damn coin, or figure out why paper beats rock but then for fucks sakes draw in some notes instead of wondering what sort of Vitamin C makes up the entirety of fairy mist which creates thought in the end.

Just pick a scale then write into it like a bot. Do you like what you made? Try that scale again, or move to an adjacent scale next time you write. I can't tell you which flavors you will like, taste is subjective. It's not much different than you asking me what color you should like, then me having to make improvised pimp-like decisions with the back of mine hand on the spot.

I may not like a scale that you do but that's not here nor there so don't worry about why. Just start doing it and the apetite will come in the middle of having a meal. I've no idea why the sky's blue or I like that titty up scale so much but it is what it is so I will just have a second helping instead of wondering why up titties makes me feel so happy which will succ all the philosophical happiness right out those precious nipples.

Everybody knows a tits not a tit without the nipple. No reason to even censor it or wear a bra without that awesome nipple in the middle tit'n things up so titly. So stop trying to bum tits out over there, man. Write some awesome music with ho-nouns instead of wondering about the existence of pronouns.

 

Last edited: Mar 23, 2023

Notes are like DNA molecules and Chords are like genes:




If the notes and chords fit together correctly, a human is made:





But if the notes and chords are not put together intelligently and correctly, a creature other than a human being is produced or maybe nothing will happen.


I want only a human to be created not another creature.

 

Even though a book will not normally hold your hand through the process it can definetively teach you things you can use to get to where you want. And if you really want something that guides you through the whole porcess, you can always take a class.

Can confirm. I once played a C followed by a H#maj360NoScope on the eleventh inversion and tarn into a dog.

 

Sometimes fuggin widda coupla missing chromosomes is what adds just enough human soul that fucks widd the funk for your track to be a slam dunk. Yes, I'm sort of referring to the anti-quantize method but what I'm referring to more, is learning enough rules to break them tastefully. You will do this differently from others much like you will choose to wear different clothes than others because you can't get away from your influence & taste.

What scale you choose, what notes you add or subtract. They way you process, design, & dress those notes up will all be you through to the way you mix & master it. I look at everything as a stylistic choice like fashion where scales are fabric & the way people put it together is style. People like certain artifacts left in or added back in after things have gotten far too clinical so things don't feel far too surgical.

That's why the noise floor has been sweeped out after everyone complained about it for ages but now we willingly put it back with tape machine plugins anyways because nostalgia & soul is a helluva drug. I would much rather watch a street punk band do a free show, get hammered then forget all the lyrics while playing the wrong chords, rather than watching an AI orgy trying to integrate soul into 1's & 0's when they can't use other numbers or divide by zero for that matter. Shit, I can't either.

There are like 8 more numbers to choose from to make lyrics for fucks sakes. But a 1 will fit into a 0 moistly, so after writing the AI mating code, there was nothing else they needed to write after giving them code to mate themselves into existence. No wonder they don't use other numbers, I'd get lost in metal fuck land too if I was them then end up not fluent in bank overdrafts n shit. Anyways I'm accidentally getting into side quests here...

 

Last edited: Mar 23, 2023

I tend to write my chords in hungarian notation, and the next note is always a very bassy brown note. Anything else is just wrong.

Well, except what @Djord Emer said.. I suppose that works

 

As gawd is my witness I will do an album just to use this as the title.

 

LOL some funny answers here!

Circle of Fifths/Fourths, handy to know

 

With inspired logic like that, it follows you need merely ask your mum...

 

I chose based on my ears, pleasure, inspiration and feeling.
Not egocentric enough to be interested in explanation of my own artistic process because explanations are for theorists , composers do what they feel inside.
That's my exclusive logic.

2 reasons for this:
1. You're not really looking for an answer, you just want to prove your own arguments.
2. There IS no answer. There are infinite different possible creative process.
Depending of so many factors.
Just to give a few examples: Composing for a movie, with stylistic directives from the director.
Writing a song for/with a singer, who have her/his own views.
Creating a song with a specific genre in mind, you don't write a blue as you write a metal track.
Writing totally "free" ("free is relative, because of culture, experience etc...) But here you could do any chord change of your taste, write an Eb Melody on an F if you wish and add any rhythm change you want. (BTW you exclusively ask for notes and chords, it seems that you have completely ignored the tremendous importance of rhythm, which says a lot, pure intelectualism.)

Again, you are looking for ONE and only truth, where there is none.
Intelectualism does not work in art, so after so many time you ask the same in different ways my kind advice to you is:
Play ( in both sense of the word, don't take it so seriously) , let it go, don't ask yourself what's good or bad while you're doing it, then listen, keep what you like, and go ahead.
Repeat.
HAVE FUN

 

Last edited: Mar 23, 2023

For me it's simple. I always choose the one that sounds best to my ears. The fact it follows a recognised path (Scale) is irrelevant, or sheer blind luck but it just does!

 

You never know and accept it. Doubt IS part of Art.
If you're looking for certainties, go for mechanic.

 

Have a cat on your keys...it will show you the right sequence:

 

So much wrong with this thread.

@Glori For all you've said, you still haven't specified your goals. And nobody asked! You're asking how to choose chords. I ask - based on what goal you're trying to choose? What do you want to accomplish, what is your perceived endpoint?
For what it's worth, you're trying to approach music while excluding human emotion, which would be the end goal in any normal setting, but don't specify your own goals.

 

Imagination/creativity. Hear a song in your head and slowly transfer it into notes, chords, and rhythm. Hum out loud the hook or melody that's inside your head and play any instrument until you find the progression that makes you happy.