How important do you think it is to stay in key?

[constrobuz]

but those chords arent accidental free in every key so that is deceiving to OP

A Csus2 chord has no accidentals in the key sig C.
A Dsus2 chord has no accidentals in the key sig D.
A Esus2 chord has no accidentals in the key sig E.

What is so deceiving about it?

You saying that you can "pretty much" only use maj/min triads without accidentals, now that was deceiving.

well ur more deceiving

[3za]

but those chords arent accidental free in every key so that is deceiving to OP

A Csus2 chord has no accidentals in the key sig C.
A Dsus2 chord has no accidentals in the key sig D.
A Esus2 chord has no accidentals in the key sig E.

What is so deceiving about it?

You saying that you can "pretty much" only use maj/min triads without accidentals, now that was deceiving.

well ur more deceiving

And i'm the unintelligent troll in this thread

May god help this forum.

[Monosphere]

I personally feel having some key signature in place is a good idea. I think having that sort of structure in place is going to go a long way in creating the entirety of your song. But there's definitely uses to going out of key. It's quite prominent in horror film scores for instance. It all really comes down to the context in which it's used in your songs.

In the end it really just needs to sound good and actually make sense to the song it's in. If you're going out of key then at least make sure you're doing it for the right reasons.

[firstboyonthemoon]

But right now I'm writing a tune in C minor, and I notice C# is NOT in the c minor scale, but this one melody, that really makes the tune imo, has a C# note in it and it's the only note that sounds good with the rest of the melody.

A few notes:

1) Trust your ears. Train your ears, for sure. There aren't really any "rules" to music, but a lot of people have spent a lot of time thinking and writing about what works and how it works and it's definitely worthwhile to learn from their collective wisdom. But ultimately, you're the only who knows how to make your music and you're the only one who can decide what your music should sound like.

2) Scale notes are, generally speaking, "safe" notes. That is to say, they will sound "good" in the sense that they won't sound "bad". But they also will tend not to sound very interesting on their own. I like to think of music in terms of tension and motion. A chord tone, for instance C Eb and G over a C minor chord, will sound stable or at rest. A non-chord tone, say, a D, will tend to sound like it wants to move toward a chord tone. An exercise you can try is: play a C minor with your left hand. Play a D with your right. Then, play a C with your right. You should notice that it sounds like things are ending or falling into place or similar. Playing a Db (enharmonic with C#) followed by a C should give you a similar feeling, though the Db will tend to sound a little more abrasive against your C minor.

3) Beyond the natural major and minor scales is a whole world of ways of dividing an octave. From the seven natural modes to melodic and harmonic minors to augmented and diminished scales to jazz modes to non-western scales... but just for fun, try Googling "C Phrygian".

[cpdwane]

Yeah, your ears are certainly the most important thing. I play violin in a youth orchestra and from playing in that the first thing I can tell you is that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to keeping music in specific scales; even composers like Tchaikovsky and Holst would regularly slip out of a specific scale completely, sometimes even to the point of dissonance, in order to convey a specific emotion for a certain part of a piece.

The other thing you get in classical music alot is a switch to a different scale completely halfway through a piece, although I think for EDM you are better staying with roughly the same "mood" for an entire piece.

I find that as long as you stick to roughly the same set of notes throughout a track you can't go too wrong, be they in the same scale or otherwise. For example if you have a part that plays a certain chord for half a bar and then switches to another chord for the other half, try and make sure that for the first half of the bar the notes you pick for the melody fit with the first chord, and for the second half those of the second chord. I don't think you can go terribly far wrong doing that, unless you want to start writing really complex melodies and counter melodies into your song.

[Benedict]

Why do we listen to music?
Why do we read books?
Why do we have conversations with each other?

Answer: to have an emotional response.

"Entertainment is the juxtaposition of idiosyncrasies." - Benedict Johnson (2013)

Just because Celine Dion's Titanic theme "My Heart Will Go On" has a key change in it, doesn't mean that the rest of us should automatically avoid them. Why?

Changing key is a semiotic; a signification, an analogy or metaphor for something that can be interpreted (usually without realizing it).

Consider the most utilitarian form of music of all: film music. (TV, radio etc).
Film music is unique because:
> it is purely a catalyst to enhance the emotional reaction of the audience
> it's purpose is to serve the images on screen, not to be listened to in isolation

Successful film composers know how to use their emotional tool-kits, and how to juxtapose idiosyncrasies.

This thread could also be asking how important it is to use varied instrumentation or speed up/slow down the tempo, and the answer would be the same. Technology has given us oscillators and sequencers but the basic semiotic factors have not changed in hundreds of years.

[deadly_habit]

"If you think you know what the hell is going on, you're probably full of shit." - Robert Anton Wilson

[fragments]

"If you think you know what the hell is going on, you're probably full of shit." - Robert Anton Wilson

I don't know who this man is, but based on that quote I'm going to find out more

[Benedict]

"If you think you know what the hell is going on, you're probably full of shit." - Robert Anton Wilson

Mr. Wilson sounds like a smart fella

[Kit Fysto]

Wow, there's a lot of great posts in this thread. I have to agree with everyone saying, "trust your ears." If it feels right, then do it. I have always thought of keys as more of a guideline, not an absolute rule.

[Sinergy]

While we're on the topic of keys and what not.

Sub Bass... So I';m writing this tune, and I kinda went off of instinct to think that if you have a midrange or lead/whatever in say... C, then the sub bass line should also be in C, no matter what, right?

Becasue I;m having the problem where I've written the subbass line, but some of the subbass notes are getting reeeeaaalll low, like getting to the point where its getting inaudible, yknow that like 30-40hz range, which i'm sure if you've got a massive system that can reproduce that very well it doesn't matter.

Here's where my issue comes in. I've got a subbass line for a specific sound that goes: F, F, F, C, D#, C.

Now, the midrange layer of this is the exact same note pattern, but all begin at C2 and go up from there. Whereas the subbass, I have the C, D#, C, in an octave higher because a C2 subbass note is very quiet and almost too low.

Is this messing with the melody sort of? Because while those first three F notes in midrange are HIGHER than the following C D# C, the first three F Notes in the sub bass line are LOWER than the following C D# C

And when I "car tested" this tune (I know it's not flat, but i know my car stereo very well), what would happen is certain bass frequencies would come in super loud, and others very quiet (usually those very low 35-45 HZ notes). While in other tunes I listen to this happens to some extent, but it seems the bass doesn't go so low that its getting somewhat inaudible.

So, is this a mixing thing where I should just really crank up those lower notes? Or do I have it wrong that you should have the midrange and subbass note be the same note?

[Genevieve]

I'm writing a tune where the sub is a low E and the bass is a C.

Sounds sweet. Do it

Don't crank the notes, though. If the meter says it's -14 or whatever, it's -14. It'll make a big system sound absolutely brutal.

[rockonin]

Its not really important to stay in key all the time, an accidental can sometimes make it more interesting . But if your constantly playing random notes it could turn to experimental jazz lol Which is not bad thing if thats what your after.

[hifi]

You are possibly in C phrygian.

[hifi]

but those chords arent accidental free in every key so that is deceiving to OP

A Csus2 chord has no accidentals in the key sig C.
A Dsus2 chord has no accidentals in the key sig D.
A Esus2 chord has no accidentals in the key sig E.

What is so deceiving about it?

You saying that you can "pretty much" only use maj/min triads without accidentals, now that was deceiving.

well ur more deceiving

And i'm the unintelligent troll in this thread

May god help this forum.

your music on soundcloud is absolutely terrible in comparison to constro's. your opinion doesn't count nor does it matter.

[3za]

your music is absolutely terrible in comparison to constro's. your opinion doesn't count nor does it matter.

What music have you heard of mine?

[hifi]

your music is absolutely terrible in comparison to constro's. your opinion doesn't count nor does it matter.

What music have you heard of mine?

Soundcloud

Everything is incredibly mediocre. Obviously it's been a years time so I cannot judge any further. Send me your current tunes and I'll have my final judgement. Your remix of "Cillian John" is the most terrible piece of noise I've ever heard in regards to "electronic" music as you've labeled. I'm doubting you, prove me wrong.

[3za]

Send me your current tunes

I'm not sending you shit

[hifi]

Send me your current tunes

I'm not sending you shit

Then I can only base my opinion on your previous tunes. Your music is garbage.

[3za]

Your music is garbage.