I have been analyzing a lot of these melody packs and a lot of them use melodies in scales that are not the usual.. What are some cool scales to try out and which ones start with a HS instead of a WS

 

Post deleted . saving my breath...

 

Last edited: Mar 25, 2016

Octatonic Scale is HS,WS,HS,WS,HS,WS,HS,WS... Can some maybe just show me a quick tree with branches of the scales leading down in complexity.. I'm trying to wrap my head around this. I know it's not needed for making EDM music but I am a curious monkey.

 

Try Google

 

Rule of the thumb: minor scales for house & techno, major scales for pop & "american EDM". Further more: the sub bass will sound the best in a club between F (44 Hz) and A (55 Hz) - so this should narrow down your scales by a lot. Don't try to rediscover the hot water. Still hoping on that discount when you'll start your live tutorials on how to make electronic dance music.

 

That doesn't exist, complexity isn't an attribute for scales.

What you might be looking for are deviations from the major scale. Major modes, minor modes, then the altered (non-diatonic)/exotic scales leading up to scales with more than 7 notes.

You can have scales with very few notes and understand them as arpeggios and you can also view full scales as arpeggios with added notes. Either way, complexity isn't a thing in regard to scales or arpeggios.

 

Interesting.. And yes audiosex members will receive free lifetime access to my tutorials and live streams of me producing my hit records. I do not forget who helped me on my journey.

 

Use Google and search out 'Modes' some of the melodies you might be listening to may be in a different Mode to what you might be used too.

 

Most of hands up ,trance,techno,house..are in harmonic minor,but Also major.

 

I understand modes on a primitive level

 

Below is an example.

Understanding Modes

A scale that is built from the natural notes of one scale is called a mode of that scale. If there are seven notes in a given scale then there will be seven modes available. Each mode has a unique melody because of the different intervals. The most commonly used are the modes of the natural major scale. However, every scale has modes whether it be the natural major scale or a foreign scale like the spanish gypsy (one of my favorites). Remember they are technically each a different scale. Since we are starting at different points within the reference scale and playing to it’s octave, each modes interval formula (ie. whole step, half step) are different. For the natural major scale there are 7 modes… one for every note of the major scale. Earlier we talked about the relative minor scale. It is the sixth mode of the major scale, called the ‘aeolean mode’. We started on the sixth interval. A mode is referenced according to it’s root note just like any other scale. The mode name is based on the notes position within the reference scale. Based on the triads built off each interval we can know whether a mode is minor or major quickly. So, using the C natural major scale as our reference scale we have these modes naturaly associated with their root triads: C Major(Ionian mode), D minor(Dorian mode), E minor(Phrygian mode), F Major(Lydian mode), G Major(Mixolydian), A minor(Aeleon mode) and Bdim(Locrian mode)

Here are all seven of these modes according to their position in the major scale and their formulas based also on the major scale from which each was formed and whether it is major or minor.

Root- Ionian Mode (natural major scale)
2nd- Dorian (minor) 1-2-d3-4-5-6-d7
3rd- Phrygian (minor) 1-d2-d3-4-5-d6-d7
4th- Lydian (major) 1-2-3-#4-5-6-7
5th- Mixolydian (major) 1-2-3-4-5-6-d7
6th- Aeolean ( natural minor) 1-2-d3-4-5-d6-d7
7th- Locrian (dim minor7) 1-d2-d3-4-d5-d6-d7

Applying the modes

So how do we use the modes? Easy. Look the chord progression! You can play a different mode over every chord change. For example the Dorian mode is minor because it has a flat third and natural fifth so we can play over a basic minor triad and also minor7 chords because it has a d7 also. Even if we have a progression using min7 chords like iv7,v7,i7 we could play a Dorian mode over each chord change and still be ok because our modes have the essential triad notes of each chord. For example if this progression is in A minor we have: Dmin7, Emin7 and Amin7. So we would play D dorian, E dorian and A dorian scales. However, if we wanted to stay entirely key related (meaning not using any modes with unnatural notes of the A minor scale) we could simply play the modes associated with each chord interval; D dorian, E phrygian and A aeolean scales. How did I determine this? Because the the A minor scale’s relative major scale is C major. All the chords in the progression are centered around the C major scale so it is the reference scale we use know what modes naturaly relate to the progression.

As long as you are following the basic rules you can do what you want. Jazz players do this a lot. For example, if I wanted to get Jazzy using the dorian minor mode, I might create a progression like i7,iv7,v7. This is a minor 1-4-5 progression using min7 chords. I might play a dorian mode over each change. For a jazy mixolydian sound… mixolydian modes over each change of a I9-IV9-V9 progression. Make sense?

Vintage blues was 12 bars of domI, domIV,domI, domV, domIV,domI. The fifth mode the Mixolydian has the flat seven and is major so we can think of it as the dominant mode. So we could play this mode over each chord change. Ofcourse, you might play a minor pentatonic scale or ever change for the vintage blues sound. I like to mix things up and use both.

If you want to play certain modes you should write chord progressions based on the modes you want to play. As with the blues example above; the primary mode would be the mixolydian. Jazz does this quite often- playing modes over each chord and changing keys often also. In conclusion, each mode has a unique melody and is to be used over the chord(s) they can form.

Solo tip; When playing modes over each chord change in a progression I like to use "chromaticism"(moving up or down in half tones) and quite often it sounds cool. Look for those opportunities. Like in 12 bar blues I use chromaticism when the V-IV change occurs. When playing the minor or major pentatonic I like to use chromaticism between the 4-5, d7-1, d3-4 and 2/3, 5-6, 1-2 intervals respectfully.

 

Last edited: Mar 25, 2016

F u Major

 

lol i use everything it's called creativity!don't label chords example - dim minor for evil and mayor and others for good even mayor can sound morbid when you put him in the right place

 

You're thinking it out wrong.

Scales aren't things that you dig out of a book and play. You play them, then someone writes them in a book.

Maybe you don't understand the concept of a scale. You have a center (the tonic), and you go from there. Any scale that you build that has a half step above the root will be... a scale that has a half step above the root.

 

try the hagenolian, it seems the most used one:

B# - E - Y# - U# - S - E# -L - F

 

Steve, we seem to be going around in circles here. Why didn't you read the Dance Music Manual as per previous advice, it reveals every minor technicality in mind numbing detail

 

Last edited: Mar 25, 2016

start in minor, then relative major for the break/interlude (the happy part) if your song has one, then back to the minor you started in. pretty much all genres of dance are like this

 

Last edited: Mar 25, 2016

make it easy, stick to the white keys, start on A for the minor part, then goto C for the break, then go back to A for the rest

 

Information gleaned from page 8/9 of the Dance Music Manual ...

* Most dance records are written in A minor, D minor or E minor. A recent survey of the past 5 years, more than 42% were written in A minor. A further 21% were in D minor, 16% in E minor.

* Club DJs use harmonic mixing matching the musical key of different records. A track is more likely to be played if the key is A minor, E minor or D minor as they are are harmonically closer.

* The most important area for bass reproduction is 50 to 65 Hz, and the root note of A1 sits at 55 Hz.


For info regarding the construction of melodies see page 9-13.

 

Last edited: Mar 25, 2016

We've all heard the phrase, 'music is the universal language'?


There are no short cuts.
Truly understanding scales, modes and theory is as hard as picking up a 2nd language.


Start with simple major and minor triads with their two inversions, using only the white keys.

You did get a keyboard?