relationship of scales and chords you can play

W

Whytemic

Guest
i wanna clear things up. ive been looking for an answer for a while now but havent found nothing thats clear to me. how do i know which chords i can play based on the scale im using? can i only use notes to construct the chord that are in the scale im composing in? i know i should probably read a book on theory but havent had the extra cash to do so lately and i have some what of an uderstanding of chords just im not real clear on the chord progressions i can use that will harmonize with my melodies. any one who can clarify things for me
 
Last edited by a moderator:
just mash a few keys together and if it works it work. if you listen to alot of neo soul stuff there are chords you can hear that sounds muddy but in the context of the song it works.
 
well.... in todays music.... most compositions in Hip hop or dance (not euro).... the composition is written in a minor key.... this means the notes in the scale of C would be .... C D Eb F G A Bb C..... or a melodic minor... C D Eb F G Ab B C..... the most important keys being C Eb G... in jazz the 7th would come into play along with alterations, but for our sake lets keep it simple.....

Typical chord progressions in pop music usually involve the I , IV, V......

so in the key of C Minor - it would be I (C Eb G) IV (F Ab C) V (G B D)......

the most important note not to mess up on in these minor keys is to play a lowered third (in C Minor play Eb not E).... other than that, other notes you wouldn't really want to land on for extended periods of time are C# F# G#, as these aren't in a normal standard minor key or scale...

If you want more info, hit me up!!!

Hope this helps!!
 
well.... in todays music.... most compositions in Hip hop or dance (not euro).... the composition is written in a minor key.... this means the notes in the scale of C would be .... C D Eb F G A Bb C..... or a melodic minor... C D Eb F G Ab B C..... the most important keys being C Eb G... in jazz the 7th would come into play along with alterations, but for our sake lets keep it simple.....

Typical chord progressions in pop music usually involve the I , IV, V......

so in the key of C Minor - it would be I (C Eb G) IV (F Ab C) V (G B D)......

the most important note not to mess up on in these minor keys is to play a lowered third (in C Minor play Eb not E).... other than that, other notes you wouldn't really want to land on for extended periods of time are C# F# G#, as these aren't in a normal standard minor key or scale...

If you want more info, hit me up!!!

Hope this helps!!
 
honestly.. i know a bit of music theory but i just really learned every triad chor there was (now i'm learning 7ths and suspended which gets way complicated... ) but learn triads of each scale and experiment... that is what i've done for hours at a time; the notes of every chord don't have to be in the scale of whatever key your playing but its really just what sounds good... in conclusion, if your wanting to learn chords and chord progressions it really just takes practice, practice, practice, and lots of trial and error but when you eventually get it.....you really can make a song with the right progression.

here's a few starts.....(sorry i'm a timbo fan [JT] and can play all these songs on the piano)

Justin Timberlake - Cry me a River... Chords are Aminor, Eminor, F major, and Dminor

another JT - what goes around... Amin, Cmaj, Gmaj, and Dmaj

yet another JT.. My love.. Emin, Bmin x 2, Amin

try those chord progressions to try and get a feel for how they work.. two of them are in the key of Amin but the other one is in the key of Emin..


But for the love of god, if you want to make music... then you MUST learn music and hopefully be able to play music of somesort... The amount of people that try to get into music who have no idea about music piss me off....... How can you want to make music but not know anything about notes/scales/chords/melodies..
rant=over.
hope i could help
 
Last edited:
for simplicity, look at the keys you touch for your melodies. Use those keys to make your chords.

Use those ears. Pick 3 notes and then play them together, sound good or sound bad? does it fit with your melody?

Many guys learn this way. They started by playing by ear,discerning what sounds good/bad, and then as they progress the application of theory follows.

The problem is if you don't have the ears, then you are stuck and need to hit the books or learn from someone.

Do both, develop your ear, develop your ear/hand coordination, and start using some of these free internet resources on theory/scales/chord voicings/chord progressions/.
 
muscldancr said:
well.... in todays music.... most compositions in Hip hop or dance (not euro).... the composition is written in a minor key.... this means the notes in the scale of C would be .... C D Eb F G A Bb C..... or a melodic minor... C D Eb F G Ab B C..... the most important keys being C Eb G... in jazz the 7th would come into play along with alterations, but for our sake lets keep it simple.....

Typical chord progressions in pop music usually involve the I , IV, V......

so in the key of C Minor - it would be I (C Eb G) IV (F Ab C) V (G B D)......

the most important note not to mess up on in these minor keys is to play a lowered third (in C Minor play Eb not E).... other than that, other notes you wouldn't really want to land on for extended periods of time are C# F# G#, as these aren't in a normal standard minor key or scale...

If you want more info, hit me up!!!

Hope this helps!!
Click to expand...

Great INFO, i took music fundamentals in school and i already forgot all this lol, its was just last semester too. Anyways i'll post some my notes in this thread to help out.
 
Sleazy E said:
honestly.. i know a bit of music theory but i just really learned every triad chor there was (now i'm learning 7ths and suspended which gets way complicated... ) but learn triads of each scale and experiment... that is what i've done for hours at a time; the notes of every chord don't have to be in the scale of whatever key your playing but its really just what sounds good... in conclusion, if your wanting to learn chords and chord progressions it really just takes practice, practice, practice, and lots of trial and error but when you eventually get it.....you really can make a song with the right progression.

here's a few starts.....(sorry i'm a timbo fan [JT] and can play all these songs on the piano)

Justin Timberlake - Cry me a River... Chords are Aminor, Eminor, F major, and Dminor

another JT - what goes around... Amin, Cmaj, Gmaj, and Dmaj

yet another JT.. My love.. Emin, Bmin x 2, Amin

try those chord progressions to try and get a feel for how they work.. two of them are in the key of Amin but the other one is in the key of Emin..


But for the love of god, if you want to make music... then you MUST learn music and hopefully be able to play music of somesort... The amount of people that try to get into music who have no idea about music piss me off....... How can you want to make music but not know anything about notes/scales/chords/melodies..
rant=over.
hope i could help
Click to expand...

In all honesty, why do people make learning music so difficult? All a chord is, is a combination of tones. If you wish to know how to form any chord...

The chord always takes the name of the root ( C,E,G = C Major, etc... ). If you want to find a Major chord, pick a note, than build on it with a Major 3rd ( 4 half-steps ). If you want a Minor chord, pick a note, than build on it with a Minor 3rd ( 3 half-steps ).

With substituted chords, you substitute the Minor/Major 3rd with either a 2nd, or 4th.

With added chords, you do not change anything as far as the structure of the chord goes- you just add whatever is called upon ( added 2nd, added 9th, etc... )

With Inversions, put basically, you switch the Bass note of the chords ( C Major's bass note is C ), with either the 3rd, or 5th. ( 1st inver. of C Major = G, C, E / 2nd inver. = E, G, C )

With Diminished chords, all there is to do is flat the 3rd, and 5th.

With Augmented chords, you just raise the 5th, as opposed to flattening it, as with Diminished chords.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apply these same concepts with 7ths, etc... & you know every chord there is.
 
Good, fundamental stuff. To add my thoughts, in my limited experience with hip hop stuff recently I'd like to add that the arabian type scales (for example use - C, C#, Eb, F, F#, A, Bb) seem to be quite common. Add diminished chords for that dramatic feel (sort of sad like minor but threatening) and the cliched semitone drop in chords (e.g. F dim to F minor) for an instant vibe. Cliches can be useful, just don't overuse them!
 
thiers also a plugin that lets you cheat. its called chordspace, it tells you what notes will go good together, i cant remeber where i found it, but i think its free
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top