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I find it so hard getting a decent chord. Everything i make ends up sounding faintly melancholic but never upbeat or dance friendly (in a non cheesy way).

I guess the perfect example of this kind of upbeat thing would be Disclosure.

Is it just about luck of the draw finding a particular sound that creates an emotion or is it necessary to know a fair amount about chords / progression?

cheers.

Learn chord progression, that will allow you to build tension as you progress threw the track.

here some basic chord music theory

http://www.musictheory.net/lessons/40
http://www.musictheory.net/lessons/42
http://www.musictheory.net/lessons/45
http://www.musictheory.net/lessons/48
http://www.musictheory.net/lessons/47

hope it helps

i have the same damn problem lol

Since you said disclosure I'm going to assume you're making house. In that case its all about the minor 7ths, 9ths, add 9 and whatever other numbers you can put behind it.

Google "how to find triads" and start from there. If you already know some scales sometimes you just have to experiment and get an ear for harmony.

I hate telling people to learn theory but it's unavoidable if you really want to get your chord game up to some next James Blake level.

It's a useful thing to learn and it's great for fleshing out tracks and giving them a real sense of movement.

many western chord progressions start from the tonic, go up towards the dominant, then go down towards the sub dominant.

what are some good ways to learn music theory? sometimes i read a little bit about it but it literally just goes into my eyes and out the fuckin window. should i get a book combined with practice? should i read on the internet? how do i practice? i find it hard reading like about tonics then trying it. im not as worried about the actual playing of the piano so much as i am just knowing when to do what melodically.

iv been putting off learning music theory for a while now and its really holding me back and making me lose inspiration.

just run some scales on a piano or guitar or something while you're learning it. Same with chords and shit. If you dont reinforce it, it is just gonna go out the window bro.

These are the right chords;
C Am F G

Sample crappy YouTube videos of kids playing their keyboards..

Please someone get the reference

Killamike49 wrote:just run some scales on a piano or guitar or something while you're learning it. Same with chords and shit. If you dont reinforce it, it is just gonna go out the window bro.

true. i almost feel as if i need lessons because im just not good at teaching myself music theory. im awesome at teaching myself the technical side of things and i always have been good at things like that. but music theory isnt clicking for me that easy.

ehbrums1 wrote:Sample crappy YouTube videos of kids playing their keyboards..

Please someone get the reference

rayman612 wrote:

ehbrums1 wrote:Sample crappy YouTube videos of kids playing their keyboards..

Please someone get the reference

Trust rainman to remember everything

lol rainman
lol 3za
learn heart and soul chord progression and then go from there. or C F G. or C A D G. or do some chord progressions from reggae/ska happy stuff.

I just stick to a scale and mash buttons until something stands out. Sometimes the chords themselves sound bland but throw in a few scattered notes and bam, magic happens. It's dance music so the melody's often layered on the rythmic stuff rather than the opposite, playing along with a basic rythm helps getting a feel of where should go this or that. Haven't listened to Disclosure in a while but I think I remember they have lightning fast chords with short release in the busy parts and long airy stringy synths during breakdowns so maybe you could experiment with that. Stacking octaves does wonders too.

3za wrote:These are the right chords;
C Am F G

Hah I think my sig is something similar to that!

Eat Bass wrote:what are some good ways to learn music theory? sometimes i read a little bit about it but it literally just goes into my eyes and out the fuckin window. should i get a book combined with practice? should i read on the internet? how do i practice? i find it hard reading like about tonics then trying it. im not as worried about the actual playing of the piano so much as i am just knowing when to do what melodically.

iv been putting off learning music theory for a while now and its really holding me back and making me lose inspiration.

Man I'd take a class if you can this stuff is kind of esoteric and if you can have someone knowledgeable explain it to you it's a huge help. That said if you're gonna learn on your own you're definetly gonna need to know how to read notes on a staff! Shit is not going to make near as much sense until you can see how 'nice' sounding progressions often share notes.

Eat Bass wrote:what are some good ways to learn music theory? sometimes i read a little bit about it but it literally just goes into my eyes and out the fuckin window. should i get a book combined with practice? should i read on the internet? how do i practice? i find it hard reading like about tonics then trying it. im not as worried about the actual playing of the piano so much as i am just knowing when to do what melodically.

iv been putting off learning music theory for a while now and its really holding me back and making me lose inspiration.

Work out chords yourself,

I would first get to understanding major and minor.

Major from root is WWHWWWH that is W=Wholetone note H=semitone
Minor WHWWWHW

IF you start on C and move using only the white notes you will easily see this patern for major... So if you forget it just count tones from C.. same thing with Minor and the D scale.

After that understand triads and practice finding them on the keyboard, This is easy.. You should be able to get the finger placement fairly quick and soon it will not even be a thought you will just know how to find chords.

NOW it is time to learn chord progressions. This is a bit tricky and im still trying to get the hang of this. Learn circle of fifths.. Then learn tonic,dominants, ect. Then learn the actual progressions like I>IV/iiv>iii blah blah.. I would literally take notes on this because it is hard to concept at first<pun . Then take a chord, work it through a progression on paper. Try it on the keyboard and see how it sounds.... Rinse and repeat.

I took multiple classes on music theory but forgot it all, but I remember basic knowledge about chord progressions

STILL i could never figure out how to make big soulful house chords like the MAW, BOP, Mood II Swing etc...



how u do that?