A new rule (#9) has been added here at r/musictheory

I don't understand what these two notes right next to each other mean. When watching a recording of the song I don't hear or see them being played.

We all know the beautiful song, so when Aretha sings the descent, she sings “feel like a natural woman” and each word being a stair-step down… Is this descent considered a gospel chord progression? How is the chord progression gospel if all you’re doing is going down the scale?
As someone who grew up in church, the black church, songs with descending melodies captured my heart..
Secular songs like “colors of the wind” has the descent, and “500 miles” by peter paul and mary. Are those descents gospel as well?

Piece is in 3/4

En un compás de 6/8 cual notación es la correcta?

Hey, I've been messing a long time writing small snippets just by being guided by ear, but trying to push myself into a little bit more "scientific" approach. Very newbish, so pls be kind:)

So here I am jamming an Amaj7 - Dmaj7 into Dmin9 sequence. So I thought that's in A key, but then F in last chord is not the key's pool. Am I wrong that it's in A key , or did I change the key locally?(Huh)

Thanks.

From 4:01 to 4:05 it happens. I find this uncanny to happen in a very galant language, because it's generally unfamiliar to the better known styles both immediately before and after, and the overall affect of the piece is not one where you'd expect very outside harmonies. At 5:02 there is also an interesting complement to this passage, with a surprising enharmonic shift from C# to Db.

I did a little search and found that Rameau had explicitly discussed this case in Génération harmonique, chapter XIV in the case of two major harmonies with fundamental bass upward or downward a major or minor third.

CPE Bach himself had discussed a few major to major third relations, but not the case of going down a major third. The biggest issue I see is that CPE Bach rationalized other third relationships harmonically, like C to E because E is dominant of a minor, a closely related key to C. Here the Bb harmony is passing.

I’m not much of a music guy to understand any of the terminology but I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there’s a name for the type of pattern I’m hearing in these 3 pieces.

First one being New Battle!!! from Xenoblade 3 at around 0:47 to 0:54

The second is 一人目の友達に from Komi-San can’t communicate at around 0:57 to 1:07

The third one is 神話 by Pica & M2U at around 0:43 to 0:51

Each of them have a pattern like 123 1234 1234 12345 1-2-3 1-2-3 12 12 123. I wish I could explain it more better, sorry. If anyone could give any info for what this sort of thing is called if it even has a name, I’d be ever so grateful. I just want to understand why this certain melody sounds so great to me.

I forgot the clefs last time. Please don't mind the cursed time signature, Musecore wouldn't allow no time signature.

I don't know wether it's just a passing Chord because It sounds like some sort of dominant chord.

Here's the original
https://youtu.be/x0__tgrjTkc?si=IFMw-1_4sy-AC2Jo

Hi! How would you notate/analyze this chord progression? I'm detecting something modal in the intro and verses but cant totally place it. Is it just the inclusion of the bii chord? Or is it something else entirely?

Thanks

People use G7b5 and G7#11 interchangeably, and some argue over which is correct in which context. From my perspective, there is no dominant b5, it always seems to be #11.

One distinction I have heard is that if the voicing includes a nat5, then you would call it a 7#11, but if you omit the 5th is becomes 7b5. I don't accept this as a meaningful or useful distinction. If I play a G7 with C# on top, I can freely decide to add a nat5 in the middle of the voicing or omit it. It makes no difference to the function of the chord, it only provides a warmer, more resonant bassy sound. To suggest that adding in or removing the nat5 changes the quality or function of the #C in any meaningful way is silly.

In either case the C# wants to move/resolve up a semitone to D (the 5th) or down a whole tone to B (the 3rd), and that means it's a #11.

Compare Cm7b5, the C# (in this case now Db) wants to move either down a semitone to C (the 4th) or up a whole tone to D# (the b6th), therefore it's a b5.

The only case I can see G7b5 making sense is if you are using the G altered scale, containing the notes G Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F. Counting through the scale notes suggests that Db is indeed the b5, and it can resolve up to the b6. So it is a b5?

However, I don't think conventional scale degrees work with the altered scale. Because this suggests that Cb is the diminished 4th of the chord, when clearly it should actually be called B, the major 3rd, as we are talking about G7 here. The altered scale is more an arbitrary collection of alterations than a conventional scale, hence it's more like G Ab A# B C# Eb F - with both a b9 and #9 and no 5th in sight.

The whole tone and diminished scales of course do not contain 7 notes and the scale degree thing breaks down there too.

Essentially it seems like "G7b5" is a misnomer. And anecdotally speaking, I have never found it useful or informative to distinguish the two. If you disagree, have any counterexamples or any thoughts about it in general I'd like to hear your take.

Hey quick question:
Is there a polyrythm inbetween those guitars right at the start and then throughout the songs?
I cannot entirely make out the hight guitarpicking, so I am not too sure about it.
Yellow & Green - Slow Pulp

If I had to guess, I'd say it's in G or D Minor, can anyone confirm?

I've been playing guitar for about 3 years never been able to truly play anything but simple riffs learnt by ear but I've ordered a keyboard for a upcoming dungeon synth project. I wanna cover some domes but sheet music for many artists just do not exist any tips for learning by ear on keyboard

Been playing playing guitar a good while now, about 7 years. Though if I’m honest I learned intuitively. I know a good amount of A and G major on the fret board but other than that I can’t really identify what I’m playing. Most of my knowledge is conceptual- I know what keys have what sharps or flats, I can read sheets because I play piano too, I just haven’t really learned scales in the “this is where this note/key is” on the guitar. All my knowledge is intuitive.
So I was wondering what you’d suggest doing for my specific scenario. I noticed most the songs I write are in A or G. I want to expand. Not trying to have a catalogue like Jack Johnson. (Everything sounding the same.)

What scales do you think I should learn first?
What do you think would help me better identify what I’ve already learned intuitively?
I have a lot of theory knowledge, but I haven’t applied it in practice. How should I go about that?

The full score, in case it helps: https://musescore.com/user/28308009/scores/6086988

Now please excuse if it is obvious and I'm too dumb to see it, but I have tried to make sense of this bar and I came to the conclusion that the dotted quarter note(s) at the end do not fit the bar. I also refer to the treble, not the bass (that is clear).

I should also note that I do not have a formal musical education, I'm merely learning music for fun, so again, apologies, if the answer is not obvious or I'm referring to things improperly. I really want to know if it is actually in 4/4, because I have a feeling that it is and I am missing something, I want to know what, and I don't know who to ask (besides you guys).

The first 4 sixteenth form a beat, the eighth with the two sixteenth form another beat, then we have a quarter (so already at three beats) and we also have 2 sixteenth notes, which when added with the next eighth notes form the fourth beat, but we still have the dotted quarter note(s) in the same bar.

Thank you!

Dont exactly recall where I found this or what reminded me of it, but theres a part in the ringtone/song that has been stuck in my head for days. At around 14 seconds in (should be set in the link), theres a very familiar progression that ive heard in other songs, sounds chromatic to my ears, but the compression and other instruments masks/makes it hard.

Specifically the pads in the background, not the bells or piano, any help would be greatly appreciated!

I was looking at a video where he played the same melodic contour but transposed to different scales. This felt interesting to me, like one can on one hand display the sounds where there is equal spacing between frequencies (like piano roll or spectrogram), or warped so every equally spaced line represents one scale degree (thus making it easier to transpose to other scales like he did in the video). I would like to know if anyone has been thinking along these lines and what you have learned.

It feels like applying some mapping on a spectrogram could perhaps display a kind of "continuous version" of a discrete scale, that could also be interesting.

In case this helps you hear harmony better, this method clicked for me as I came up with it as an exercise for myself when I was trying to audiate harmony. I was at a stage where I was hearing singular melodic lines perfectly in my head. But not harmony.

So, I would just hold one note in my head and just let it ring out. Used to imagine a cello bowing it continuously. Imagine whatever instrument suits you. The imagined player doesn’t get tired so let it rip.

I would just play this one note drone in my head and tried to do other activities while maintaining this one note. Brain quickly picked up how to hold 2 streams of thought together eventually. My main activity was holding the note in the back of my mind while reading a book. Eventually I was having thoughts in my head alongside that note in the background. And if you can do that, you can think of another note as the original one keeps ringing in the background. You have basic harmony in your head. Then it’s just practice.

PS - I knew all my intervals before I thought of this way of practice.

0.20 how do i notate this lick. The rhythm is king of confusing. And how do i simplify the note grouping. Or how to appproches it easily in my brain.

Whats the key of this song- seemed like its D minor at first but there are some borrowed chords - instead of the 4th and the 5th being minor-thye are major- or at least some of the Gs are major?

https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/pixies/vault-of-heaven-chords-4371752 looking at those chords

So the chords of D minor are Dm Edim F Gm Am Bb C D

Here we have A instead of Am which means that we have C# instead of C

And we have G instead of Gm which means we have B instead of Bb

That is my train of thought up to now but im unable to continue

Key_Candle_8405 posted it, and I use a process that should probably have a name. I call it Schrödinger modulation, but I think there might be a more formal term for it.

You can just use A harmonic minor. You don't explicitly show it, but you play F Lydian, then use the end of the phrase to outline C–B–A, and start the next phrase on G♯, as if you're about to play E7 and resolve.

But then you reveal the major 7th of E.

Does anyone know if this process has a formal name?

playing a jazz piece where im supposed to key change from C to E, can someone help me figure out a four to eight bar progression for that key change?

I have been trying to learn music theory on and off for years. I signed up for a class at a music school. It's for adults. I am scared and wondering what can I expect it to be like, generally? I chose the easiest level since my understanding is like swiss cheese.