Playing chords and help a beginner with harmony

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BeatsquadPro

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Now people often talk about chord progressions and i get confused when im hearing some of my favorite producers beats. often the chords played are broken they arent really chords cuz they arent all played at once. and how do the chords dictate the melody movement? i guess i need help with beginners level harmony and melody. thanks!

---------- Post added at 11:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:25 PM ----------

if it helps my influences are all rounda and ear2thabeat. i know they compose mainly in d minor

---------- Post added 07-27-2013 at 12:14 AM ---------- Previous post was 07-26-2013 at 11:29 PM ----------

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taking a nap - I'm a lot older and lot more tired than most people realise

now as far as chords go, it does not matter if they are played all at once (block rendition) or played in a broken form (arpeggio) - what matters is that they occupy some space and time.

Melodically, a chord is a jumping off point for a melody. this should not be confused with the idea that they provide the only notes to use in a melody: that is the same as playing an arpeggio. instead, it should be viewed as a vehicle for creating tension and release over, by using non-chord tones and chord tones to provide tension (non-chord tones) and release (chord tones). the rest is simply commentary on the process.

maybe check out the following two threads to get a better handle on melodic writing and then it's relationship to harmony

practical melody writing tutorials

14 tricks for melodys
 
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I'll try and explain the best I can on the way I think. :)

Think of a chord in terms of an object of time. For example, say you have 4 measures of being in C minor, then another 4 measures you are in A flat major. During the the C minor stage, you are mostly going to be playing the notes, C, E flat, and G. When you change to A flat major, the notes switch to A flat, C, and E flat.

It does not matter if the notes are being played at the same time, in a sequence, or whatever. You're still in the same chord. This is how a chord progression works.

Keep in mind this does not really apply for melodies as much as they are more based on the overall key of the song. The chord progession is based on that key. In the above example I mentioned, you are in the key of C minor and A flat major happens to have the same notes in that key. :)
 
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Also, if you do just play the notes of the chords you are playing in a melody, it's very bland. What I typically like to do is right when I hit the chord (let's say C minor, C Eflat G) I like to hit one of those notes on my melody and then play around with some notes that aren't part of that. So D, F, A flat and B flat will all have more color to them than C E flat and G. However, you still should play C Eflat and G every once in a while, because simply playing the other notes can sound exhaust the listener.
 
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i know my minor and major chords thats about it i dont understand chord flow and how arpeggios work bumped
 
I suggest learning a few songs to get your ears used to how harmony and melody work in actual music. Just learning chords and melodies in isolation, outside of their context, won't teach you anything. A heart surgeon isn't only aware of the heart during a procedure.
And before you go, "waaah waaah, why I gotta learn songs?", why a surgeon gotta know his anatomy and physiology before they can operate on someone?
 
so listening once through

- this is in E minor

Progression appears to be Em - D - Em - D - Em - D - Em - B[sup]7b9[/sup]

Melody is B'-A-G-A-F[sup]#[/sup]-E B'-A-G-A-B'-B'-A-G-A-F[sup]#[/sup]-E-D[sup]#[/sup]-B-B'-A-G-A-F[sup]#[/sup]-E B'-A-G-A-B'-B'-A-G-A-F[sup]#[/sup]-E-C-B-D[sup]#[/sup]-D[sup]#[/sup]-E

scale is the harmonic minor

E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G-A-B-C-D[sup]#[/sup]-E

The D chord is simply a borrowed chord from the natural minor
 
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