Theory misunderstandings I have (donating $$ to whoever answers though paypal)

S

shingij3

New member
So I started making beats two years ago and only just started learning the theory this year, I only just started getting serious about it. I've got a hold of making the beat and all but I'm still uncertain about theory which makes my beats not that good, mostly just fundamental things.


1. How many chord progressions can you have? whats the minimum? whats the maximum?


E.g Are 3 repetitive chords in a beat valid?

I - V - III


2. Is their any order your chord progression has to be?, or can it be any order just as long as it sounds good? and can you play major chords in your progression then switch to minor? does it have to be only one of them throughout the progression. What are the rules?


3. Can you make a beat without chords or a beat with only a melodie or just baseline? e.g ***** Dab - Migos, that song doesn't sound like it doesn't have a chord progression.

I read on here that chord progressions are just three notes that sound good together. Did they make the chords just sound like one note? if that make sense, is that what it is?...

3. Do time measures matter? can you make a beat without using a proper time measure and just do your melodies random e.g
three notes in one beat, 5 notes in another beat, and if you do use time measures can you switch in up like 4/4 in one beat, 3/4 in the other e.g


4. What are the fundamentals of making a beat, I know chords and melodies already, but what other fundamentals are their? I know the basics percussion and all, I can make beats and got a fair amount of knowledge, but I just want to make sure i'm not missing anything vital

If I get all this questions answers, I will have no more questions about music theory and I will be complete with theory, so this means a lot to me, it will polish off my knowledge, so I am willing to donate money through to someone who answers these questions for me.
 
1. Yes- the vast majority of songs rely on simple repeating sequences
2. Is their any order your chord progression has to be? No
can it be any order just as long as it sounds good Yes
does it have to be only one of them throughout the progression
Depends. Basic entry level music theory says stick to chords from the same key throughout. Slightly less basic music theory says you can change keys, 'borrow' chords from different keys, and there are lots of different ways to do this
3. Yes . Sometimes people start with only a melody and put the chords in later if they feel like it, or not,
4. Sound design maybe, definitely sound selection.
You are no-where near done with music theory btw. You can only be done with music theory once you're done with music.
 
1. no min or max chords
2. No rule on order of chords plenty of guidelines though. I "usually" prefer progressions with a mix of major and minor chords..
chords can have as many notes as you like
3. Chords are optional although for me there's always a chord progression even when there isn't
3.( you have 3 twice... Most urban music sticks with 4/4 but its completely up to the makers
4 " I know chords and melodies already" severe Dunning Kruger effect.. No requirements in music you can make a beat by slapping yourself on the butt and rattling a bag of frozen vegetables..
 
Answer

1. How many chord progressions can you have? whats the minimum? whats the maximum?

E.g Are 3 repetitive chords in a beat valid?

I - V - III

There can be endless number of progressions in a song. When you write a song, it depends on the songwriter. Most hip hop beats only have two or three alternating chords to make up the chord progression while there are jazz tunes such as Coltrane's Giant Steps which changes the key every bar. So there is no min or max, just depends on the composer. If you are composing, then it depends on you.


2. Is their any order your chord progression has to be?, or can it be any order just as long as it sounds good? and can you play major chords in your progression then switch to minor? does it have to be only one of them throughout the progression. What are the rules?

There is something called music theory, and music theory in part deals with common chord progressions that's been used throughout history. What you have to recognize here is that music, as with any other field of knowledge, the practice comes first and correspondingly, a theory develops. What this means is that players, artists, bands, etc play, and when a certain pattern forms, it is set down in theory. When you switch from major to minor, the theoretical name for it is called "modal interchange". It is and has been used in countless pop songs. The rules are so many and so vast and still in development that I cannot just write it down for you right now.

I think a common misconception new aspiring artists have is that they think they are creating a new chord progression when they really are not. They just don't know the theory so they think it's new or experimental when it really is not.

3. Can you make a beat without chords or a beat with only a melodie or just baseline? e.g ***** Dab - Migos, that song doesn't sound like it doesn't have a chord progression.

I read on here that chord progressions are just three notes that sound good together. Did they make the chords just sound like one note? if that make sense, is that what it is?...

Chords are technically defined as at least three notes in harmony. But in popular music two notes (i.e. power chords) are extensively used. From what I listened just right now, In ***** Dab, it is in a minor key and it seems to go repeatedly in I-V. You probably mean by "beat without chords" as in a beat where you can't really hear the chord well (since it is not being played by a piano or a guitar). You can make a song without chords and that would be like ethnic African music with only drums. But as for 99% of the stuff you hear out there, it has a chord. You might think it is just the bassline or melody, but those stack together (i.e. bass + vocals) to make a chord.

3. Do time measures matter? can you make a beat without using a proper time measure and just do your melodies random e.g
three notes in one beat, 5 notes in another beat, and if you do use time measures can you switch in up like 4/4 in one beat, 3/4 in the other e.g

The correct term is time signature or meter or measure signature, but time measures is like wtf?? First. For hip hop and house music (dance music), it is made in 4/4. The reason it is called dance music in the first place is because people dance to it. And for people to dance to it it has to be repetitive. So yes, I guess you can make hip hop or house in 5/4 or 13/8 or whatever, but you ain't really gonna be feeling the groove haha.

As for other music genres besides hip hop and house that uses what we call "odd time signatures", just look up any math rock / djent or avant-garde music such as Frank Zappa. I can go on days about this as well, because rhythm is another facet of music theory that is endless. And music theory, by itself, is a whole another field that is bottomless.


4. What are the fundamentals of making a beat, I know chords and melodies already, but what other fundamentals are their? I know the basics percussion and all, I can make beats and got a fair amount of knowledge, but I just want to make sure i'm not missing anything vital

If I get all this questions answers, I will have no more questions about music theory and I will be complete with theory, so this means a lot to me, it will polish off my knowledge, so I am willing to donate money through to someone who answers these questions for me.f

As for now, I'm going to take a wild guess and assume you have basic knowledge. I tell my students all the time to think like a band when they are composing. For example, if you have a six/five piece band with one vocals, one keyboard, two guitars, one bass, and one drums, you need to have more or less the same amount in EDM or hip hop. So in EDM you can have pads or pianos instead of keyboards, plucks instead of guitars, a sub bass rather than a bass guitar, and drums.

If you have more questions fire away~
 
Just adding some food for thought....

Let's say for example, that someone asked this question:

"Am i supposed to stop when the light is red, or yellow? If you answer this, I'll know everything i need to know about driving."

As every logical person can reason, that is most certainly not all you need to know.

That's is analogous to this post. Reading this, I can tell that if you're having these types of questions, there's a lot of smaller, fundamentals, and rudimentary things that you are missing, or have at least glossed over. I would recommend starting from the beginning with learning music theory and at each point, apply what you learned to 'making a beat.'
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top