Ableton Forum

Hey guys!

How do you find chords, how do you compose them to create right notes ?
I searched a little bit on google but i didn't understand all things

Thanks!

Chord theory is the result of studying how tonality relates over time.

There are no REAL rules for chords, but there are some very convincing ideals.

It helps first to figure out what key your melody is in.

Then you can sort of list all the chords in that key.

For each of those chords, don't be afraid to try 'related' chords.

So you could start with a very very simple chord progression, like I V I. And then develop it further by substituting other stuff in places where it sounds like it could be improved.

But yeah, start by figuring out the scale/root note.

I'm sure there will be other good advice from others

All right thanks but i've always the same problem. How to know the key of my melody ?

And what is I V I ?
Thanks

Learning about chords is not a 10 minute search on google so you need to prepare yourself for extended period of study. By about 4:49 in this video your question "what is I V I starts to be addressed. Good luck

http://oyc.yale.edu/music/musi-112/lecture-7

dsu wrote:Learning about chords is not a 10 minute search on google so you need to prepare yourself for extended period of study.

However, it is a 5 second process to slap a key and chord plugin on a track and then you don’t have to worry about it.

Now time spent on music theory is better spent studying up on the 2 dozen different vintage compressor emulation plugins. Ask any EDM millionaire.

google: J74

To find the key, or scale of your melody, look at the notes in your melody, then google musical key signatures and find the ones that fit your melody's notes. If you have no sharps/flats, you're in C Major / A Minor. F sharp is G Major / E minor, yadda yadda.

I - V - I is only useful once you have the musical key or scale of your song. I is the I chord of the musical scale, and V is the V chord. In the key of C Major, I is the C major chord (C E G) and V is the G major chord (G B D) because G is the fifth note in the scale of C Major.

Common scales are constructed using the notes in a pattern where, you start with a note, let's say C (but it could be F#, or Bb or E, etc), and you choose specific notes up to the point where you come back to the next highest instance of C.

So it's C to C (or D to D or whatever you choose), and it is specific notes.

These notes are most commonly in order. So you will use each letter-note on the keyboard until you come back to C.

C major is C D E F G A B C.
C minor is C D Eb F G Ab Bb C.

Notice how it goes through one of every letter in both cases and does not repeat any letters. You can look up the scale of any key and it'll be one of each letter, with some having either sharps or flats.

For chord progressions, you take that scale, and you give each note a number. Starting with the 'root' (that note you started with).

So:
C D E F G A B C
I II III IV V VI VII I

All scales can be numbered this way, as long as you can count to 7 you can do it :
C D Eb F G Ab Bb C
I II III IV V VI VII I

A B C D E F G A
I II III IV V VI VII I

So, the letters change (and you remember that the letters are from a scale), and the numbers always count the scale. Now if you had an I V I chord progression in C major, it would be C G C. If it was in C minor, it would be Cm Gm Cm (although sometimes it is popular to use G major instead). In A minor (above) I V I would be Am Em Am.

The I V I relationship is special, because if you play back and forth between those two chords.... Let's say you play notes from the scale with one hand and those chords with another ..slowly, trying to get a feel for them, you can sometimes make it sound like there is tension when you go from the I to the V.... And then eventually go to the I again. Or if to do I for a while. Do V for a short period then quick back to I. You get a feel that V is still part of the song... But it's causing some tension that is resolved when you come back to I! Helps if you practice on real keys

Lastly, don't be afraid to make up your own rules and ways of interpreting things. Maybe you find out that something works better like... I II III IV V I. As the way a song progresses, or I VI IV V over and over again. Maybe you'll use a C maj 9 chord instead of C. Etc. you can't really make chords for your songs until you become friends with them and familiarize yourself with how they feel as your songs play.

Look up chord progressions on wiki. Look up I V. Look up 'cadence' and most importantly, try to spot when a V to I is happening in music on the radio! Listen everywhere for harmonic progressions. It's in everything.

Good luck

Free online class in progress from Berklee College of Music. Very basic on the topic of scales, keys, chords, and harmony. Russell is an excellent teacher.

https://www.edx.org/course/introduction ... -oharm100x

Wakeon wrote:And what is I V I ?
Thanks

I V I = roman numerals that stand for the intervals in a chord progression

I =1
V =5

capital numerals = Major chords
lower case numerals = Minor chords
lower case + dim = Diminished chords

if we were using the Ionian mode of the (Major scale) (most common)

it would look like this: I ii iii IV V vi viidim

also, chords come from scales....

also, the different modes are made from using different starting points along the same scale....

since there are 7 notes in the Major scale...there are 7 modes within it also....because you can start from any of the 7 notes

Thanks a lot for all these explanations! Very helpful !

Have a Look here

http://feelyoursound.com/sundog/

7th chords

I like 7th chords, aka jazzy chords!

Disclaimer: I don't really know proper music theory, so I'll explain in semitones (one step up/down in the piano roll). I might also explain things incorrectly, but it works for me.

7th minor example: A-C-E-G (0-3-7-10)
7th major example: C-E-G-B (0-4-7-11)

Usually, I'll also have a note playing one or two octaves below (-12 or -24).

Any note can be the starting point for this formula. Cmin7 would be C-D#-G-A# - just count the number of steps from C, and you'll see the numbers match the 7min formula (0-3-7-10).

You can also move individual notes up or down one octave, to make transitions smoother (shift+up/down): C-E-G-A, E-G-A-C and G-A-C-E are all Amin7.

To get more sophisticated, there are other chords that work, such as 0-2-4-7, 0-3-6-10, 0-4-7-10, etc. I'm sure these have proper names - sorry about all the numbers!
It's also possible to keep the chord but change the bass note. Try Cmaj7 with an A as the bass.

Pros and cons of my way of doing things

Nearly all of what I've done throughout the years is trying all kinds of combinations of these chords, or just random chords. I've found this way of working to be very useful in training my ears, developing a gut feeling for what works, and having fun.

On my own, I can get by with my lack of theoretical knowledge (thinking in semitones, only using sharps, not understanding notation well, being confused by roman numerals, etc). I'm able to make music that I like, and I have decent ears.

I might have gotten the same results faster and better if I had bothered learning more than music theory 101, but I've never had the patience. I've tried learning the piano, but I always get distracted making tunes in Live and entering notes manually like I've done for 10+ years now. In the end, it's all about having fun anyway.

I read this book many years ago. It really helped.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theory-Computer ... 1598635034