Rnb Scales/Chords

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S1Ncere

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How do they make RnB tracks to sound like that? like the keys they use sounds so sad. I am pretty new with scales and chords, im just starting to learn it... i looked at this one sheet music from this one rnb song and it seems like theres alot of different keys.. how do you tell which chord they used on certain songs?
 
try putting chords in a particular key in different orders, but more than likely an r&b song has a bridge or change later on. try mixing up different chords tho. i tend to use mainly inverted maj 7ths and min 7ths cuz those chords sound good 2 me. sound effects are the key to bringing out a r&b song too.
 
S1Ncere said:
How do they make RnB tracks to sound like that? like the keys they use sounds so sad.
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It's not the keys. It's the chords. Minor chords have a sad quality to them. Play a Cmajor chord (C-E-G), then play a Cminor chord (C-Eb-G) and hear the difference.

I am pretty new with scales and chords, im just starting to learn it... i looked at this one sheet music from this one rnb song and it seems like theres alot of different keys..
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I would guess that most songs are in only one key. You can tell what key a song is in by the number of sharps/flats in the key signature at the very beginning of the song.

how do you tell which chord they used on certain songs?
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A lot of sheet music will actual write the chords along the top of the standard notation. Look above the staff lines in each measure and you should see "CMaj" or "Emin7" for example.
 
What's an "inverted major 7th"? What's inverted? lol Anywayz, solid major and minor scales with a major 7th and minor 7th and even major and minor 6th chords cover 90% of R&B tracks... Adding 9ths and the "inversions" of certain notes are breaking into the jazz/neosoul realm of R&B. A typical and basic starting point for a sequence of chords is to use the "circle of fourths". For example, if your home chord is C, you go up to F, then G, then back to C. Fa sho, keep it so fo real
 
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There are certain chords and progressions that are used in RnB music, but it really comes down to how the song is played and performed that determines if it's RnB or not. You can make a song with 3 note chords and still give it an RnB feel and likewise make a track with Maj and Min 7th's and not have it sound like RnB at all. It's mostly the feel that lets you know that it's RnB.
 
most rn'b is done with chord sequences all taken from a harmonised scale. By this i mean that a certain scale is taken, and for each of its notes a chord is given so that all the chords are harmonised with one another. When you go up and down the scale just playing these 'harmonised chords"it sounds very natural, and so these chords often make the basis of really open sounding and layed back tracks. Stuff like alicia keys uses these type of chord sequences a lot. Because all the chords are so closely linked to the same scale they have a good flow, and are not to abrasive, leaving it very soulful

eg. in the scale of Cmajor try using these chords.

Cmaj7-Dm7-Em7-Fmaj7-G7-Am7-
Bm7b5

these chords will all work well and its easy to find good sequences out of them.

sometimes also rnb uses chilled out jazzy modes such as the Aeolian or other minors which give that sad sound.

hope this is a help, it works for me anyway.
 
Great post, Holistik.
It seems u know about chords and scales very much. I cant say this about me...I dont wanna look like an idiot but could u xplain how can i use scales in the song? And how can find good sequences out of them?
 
i know a bit about chords from playing guitar. I dont actually play piano, but i use looknohands.com to transpose any chords from guitar to piono. If you got a chord sequence and your wanting to make a melody over it with a certain scale then there are a few starting points, but ultimately its just whatever sounds good. Try playing arpeggios from the scale or going up and down it in thirds or something like that. But ultimately, its just down to the ear. Maby just try improvising on the piano and see what fits nicely. I basically just jam over the track untill i find a nice melody that fits.
 
thanks fatsamurai. To be honest music should just sound like what you think it should sound like. Although i know a bit of theory i still like to just jam around and go with whatever sounds good. This is the real key to composition i think. At least for simple hip hop beats. Im sure mozart didnt just jam around on his midi controller. lol
 
Haha...
It will be cool if Mozart came here to post about chords and scales. :D

Holistik said:
thanks fatsamurai.
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Hmm...it seems u forgot one letter from my nickname...it doesn't sound nice now :(
 
Whats up everybody? I'm new to this but maybe somebody can help me. I've taken music theory 1-4 so I know chords and stuff but I can't make an RanB beat to save my life. My problem is putting chords in order and my chords are just too plain.....
 
superdave, try this simple exercise.

get you a nice slow or mid tempo beat pattern going.

then hit this chord prog/vamp

(standard rb - white key chord vamp)

amin7 => emin7 ==> dmin7 and repeat
a-c-e-g e-g-b-d d-f-a-c


let that loop ride and then play with the rhythm.

throw some melodies on top (using white keys)


you could use that chord vamp for verse and chorus.

on chorus, add the bass line or 808, double up on the hats.


try that exercise and you should get a good feel.
 
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