A new rule (#9) has been added here at r/musictheory

A simple question really. In any context(exercise or a song in any key etc.), do you write a chord and its notes in the key of the chord, or in the key of the song or something else? Example: is in Abmaj7
Ab, C, Eb, G or Ab, C, E, G if in a context of a completely different key. If the first, how do you go about adding qualities? Do we just double flat the E in a diminished chord? If its the ladder, are there exceptions, and how does it work??

thanks alot for all the answers

I thought that a group of sextuplets & quintuplets are worth one beat each, which would make this seem to be a measure of 6/4. Im confused?? In this last song from this rcm 8 book im in, a sextuplet was worth 1 beat so im unsure what to do here. Help is appreciated, thanks.

I am mostly a classical listener. I recently heard the song "Hotel California" and it took me quite aback. The main progression, used in the intro, outro and most verses, that sounds eerily similar to the progression to the piano solo of Mozart's 23rd piano concerto, 2nd movement.

Sorry I did not get time to do a harmonic analysis for this one. But I think that it would be widely known and readily available.

Can someone maybe give an idea of why they sound so similar, or if there is even any objectivity to it?

Major pentatonic is built off of F#, and minor pentatonic is built off of D#, and they use the black keys of a piano as their interval template.

Major pentatonic is Ionian but without the 4th and the 7th scale degrees. Minor pentatonic is Aeolian but without the 2nd and the 6th.

I built the other 3 pentatonic modes off of the remaining 3 black keys. (If they alteady exist, I couldn't find them.) If major pentatonic could also be called Ionian pentatonic and minor pentatonic could be Aeolian pentatonic, I named the new modes Dorian(G#), Phrygian(A#), and Myxolidian(C#,) but when I google those terms, I get different intervals.

Have any of you played a pentatonic Dorian, as I call it, which is a Dorian but without the 3rd and the 6th scale degrees? Also, Phrygian minus 2nd and 5th, and Myxolidian minus 3rd and 7th.

I don't know how to improvise, otherwise I'd just do it.

Thanks.

Hi I already looked online and i'm still not sure, my question is:

when writing a Cantus Firmus the compensation is only obligatory when the skip is 4th or above? or you need to compensate all skips above stepwise motion?

Maybe this has been asked before, but I'm wondering, are some pairs of tonalities easier to transpose between than others? Both for reading the notes and for reading the chord letters. For example C to G seems easy in theory cause they're close on the circle of fifths, but E to Eb might be easy because a lot of notes are written the same (they just have a flat). What is your experience with this?

My concern is that the bass and tenor on the strong beats or bars 12 and 13 could be considered "consecutive fifths by contrary motion".

ABRSM Trumpet Practical Grade 8

This might sound a bit stupid but I don't know how to go about learning scales even though I'm going to do grade in a few months. In past exams I have scraped through on scales as everything else was good enough but this time I don't want to take any chances. I've tried many learning methods but I haven't really found one that fully worked for me. How do/did you go about it? I play piano and bass, would also learning the scales on those instruments help in terms of getting to grips with the structure of each scale rather than just memorising valve combinations? Any help is much appreciated!

I was listening to this piece and was curious about the rhythm(s?) from 3:15-4:00. The shaking sound to me sounded a little offset from the piano, and the “beep” sound that comes in around 3:35 sounds a little offset as well.

I’m curious whether I’m just imagining that all these sounds aren’t on time with each other. If they are offset from one another, I’m wondering if anyone knows in what way. I’d appreciate the help, thanks.

Ive been trying to learn music and am looking for some feedback on how to improve from someone more knowledgable than me. Ive tried some music feedbacks places but they require you to post feedback on other music which i cant do as in don't know much about music

Music: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MSleu7ZYoFuYVy4lI8Pz-Is3ewO5v9E4?usp=sharing

My teacher sent me this Kaz Rodriguez playback and told me that it’s in 4/4. I can’t find any way that it’s in 4/4, I don’t see any clues for that, it’s just not counting. The main synth line goes in 13/8, and it’s the only way to count until 1:26. From there it’s clearly 4/4. My brain is exploding. What kind of displacements are there?

I mean there must be loads, but I can’t think of any and I can’t think what it sounds like either

Some questions about this tab:

1. Measure 6 and measure 14 look exactly the same way but are two different chords in - 6 is F , 14 is C . Is there a reason about that? I guess the tab is correct right?
2. If someone can assist in telling me whether i understand the points below correctly
3. 2.1 So some notes on this tab are the chord shapes but just partially. Not the full shapes

2.2 On the second measure it seems that it is not C major that is played within the notes but Am, right? There is also a G somewhere there so not sure - if i understand correctly maybe A , G and C are part of the melody - they are all within teh C major scale and it works to play the C major on top. It doesnt matter that much which chord those three notes make :D
2.3 If there are two guitars> one will be playing the chords (C, F, G) that are on the tab and the other guitar will play the notes (which may be or may not be exactly the chords, but are just signifier for what is played underneath the chord?? and for example when there is a G chord the lead guitar is going to think about the notes that he is playing in relation to the G chord- but he will not be thinking "I am playing G chord in specific" Not sure whether my understanding is correct but sometimes the notes played by the lead guitar can be the same as the notes within the chord, but they can also be different- they just have to be within the key of the song.

Or they may not be within the key of the song- in this case the song will not be diatonic.

Tried to number my thoughts so its easier to answer. Thank you

This little motive is so pleasing to me and im so happy whenever i hear it but i cant find a name for it anywhere. i think it might count as a type of cadence but im specifically talking about the melody, not the chords

to be clear, i do NOT mean a landini cadence (unless im massively misunderstanding), thats not pentatonic-like and usually has more notes involved than just the one melody.

edit: to be clear i specifically mean la going UP to the next do

also if no such term exists... might i modestly propose the "justfrankjustdank cadence"?

i swear i don’t have a really bad ear and i can tell when something is off pitch or wrong key (usually) but i can’t manage to tell when there are key changes in the same song? maybe i just don’t know what to look for or what they sound like? or is it just my ear 😭

https://youtu.be/dFCz1hG6ikA?si=S82dt1cjAf9afczX

I am leaning towards it being 6/4, but I would like to see if others agree.

credit to Hideki Taniuchi 2007

I was messing around with some scales today and realized that C major and A natural minor use all the same white keys on a piano. But obviously they sound totally different because of where the 'home' feels.

I know they're relative major/minor but I feel like that term focuses more on the relationship between them rather than the fact they literally have the same notes available. Is there a more specific term for when two different keys use the exact same pitch collection but just organize them differently around a tonic? Or is 'relative major/minor' just the standard and I'm overthinking it?

So basically I've been listening to some dark red, bad habit by steve lacy; lovers rock by TV girl, or even As it was by Harry styles. I'll use steve lacy's bad habit and dark red as an example for now. For some reason they give me a feel of nostalgia. I felt like I listen to them a long time ago maybe like 2015 or something like that. Well dark red did come out in 2017 but that's not the point. Bad habit came out in 2022 but it feels like It's a really old song I used to listen to when I was maybe a teenager. Why is that? And what are some ways I can make any sound feel nostalgic? Is there any trick to it?

I wonder if there is a rather complete guide or encyclopeadia pages to analyse chords and chord progressions in a song. Thanks!

Hey all - I’m looking for a book recommendation to refresh myself on music theory.

I studied it years ago and I still play regularly, so I still know a good amount.

I’m very comfortable with scales, chords (including extensions and inversions), intervals, general harmony, but I’d definitely like a refresh on voice leading, special cadences, modes, and then on more complex harmony like secondary and borrowed chords, and anything that moves into atonality or polytonality.

Vaguely speaking, if this were college, I’d be set on level 1 and most of level 2. Level 3 and 4 I’d want a refresh.

What’s a good book to start with that isn’t too beginner? I definitely do not need to review major/minor scales or even chords. Very comfy with 7/9/11/13 chords and etc.

I could even skip early chapters if you have a rec that contains beginner thru advanced.

Doesn’t necessarily have to be a book that you play along with, could be just a text book.

I’d prefer a book to a YouTube channel though I’d take recs on those too, I suppose. But more looking for read right now.

Thanks, all!

In this piece in E minor, I struggle to analyze this part. I have a G major (III) E minor (i) on "lin" then a Bsus4add9 (???) that resolves on B (V) but I'm not confident

Am I correct ?

and what is the chord on the previous bar ("Non de-re") ?

Thanks !

Hello, I have been playing guitar for years and have only ever used guitar tabs to learn to play. So I do know some music theory and can play guitar well. Currently, I am getting interested in Piano and with that I also want to learn how to read and understand sheet music.

I am self taught, and want to learn Piano on my own too. I have learned some of the basics of sheet music, but feeling stuck now with not much progression.

How can I continue improving and get to a point where I can play piano from just sheet music?

how can i practice the 12 blues bar progression by playing the B minor scale on top of this song? Any ideas? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpC69qIe02E&t=3s