344 Answered Questions for the topic Theory

06/18/19

Do seventh chords and extended chords create more dissonance?
I'm wondering if seventh and extended chords are used to create dissonance/tension where the more you get to the basic triad the more consonant the sound. So C major > C major 7 > C major 9... more
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06/18/19

Looking for a high level Music Programming language?
I'm looking for a high-level programming language. I did some googling and found a number of examples (some summarized here http://users.soe.ucsc.edu/~sasha/proj/musicpaper.pdf) but haven't found... more
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06/17/19

Do the notes in a scale have to be played in order?
Beginner here, it seems like a scale just defines a particular set of notes that don't have to be played in any order to me. But if you look at A minor pentatonic scale you have A, C, D, E, G, yet... more
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06/16/19

Is it possible to create a completely new genre of music?
This question might appear really weird, but still I ended up asking me this. Every genre of music as we know today comes from some previous genre (as an evolution, a combination of two different... more
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06/15/19

Accidentals in First Species Counterpoint?
On page 39 of Alfred Mann's *The Study of Counterpoint* there is a passage concerning justification of using accidentals in first species counterpoint.Here is the passage:>Aloys: [...]but why... more
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06/14/19

Tension and Tonic?
It is widely known that music "wants" to be resolved on the tonic. But does it mean that I can end with the tonic, let's say, one/two octaves higher or lower than the whole melody that is being... more
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06/14/19

How could I create a musical vocabulary based on a group of similar classical pieces?
Sometimes I'll be working on a group of pieces and realize that I'd like to experiment with abstracting some of the musical ideas (rhythms, harmonies, etc) into a musical vocabulary that I could... more
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06/13/19

Does a cadence cover all "punctuation marks" in a musical phrase?
Does a cadence cover all "punctuation marks" in a musical phrase?
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06/13/19

How to compose a Shout Chorus?
How do you compose a [Shout Chorus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrain#Shout_chorus)? I don´t know how to start and I need to compose one for Wine and Roses.
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06/13/19

Harmonic/Melodic Minor in Keys?
How does one find the key to a scale like harmonic minor, or is out of key?
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06/13/19

Does a walking bass line usually consist of chord tones?
Do we define a walking bass by it consisting of mainly chord tones? So it's just a skeleton of a chord progression? What if it wasn't just chord tones, would it still be considered a walking bass... more
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06/12/19

Why do we have key signatures as they are? Could a key with unconventional accidentals make sense?
I mean Western music, classical music, circle of fifths and all that. Why can’t I have a key with, for example, three sharps -- though not the usual F, C, and G, but instead some other combination... more
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06/12/19

4/4 vs 3/4 time signatures?
I'm new to music theory so I'm sorry if my question is trivial. Is it correct to say that, in practice, the only difference between 4/4 vs. 3/4 time signatures is where the accents are located? To... more
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06/12/19

How can I pick a minor II - V on a Real Book standard?
I'm having trouble understanding when to play minor7♭5 and dominant7♭9 chords. This is definitely because I didn't pay enough attention during my lessons (sorry teachers). I'm... more
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06/12/19

Can chord substitutions take place unrestrictedly without invalidating a progression?
Can chord substitutions take place unrestrictedly without invalidating a progression?
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06/11/19

Formalizing "surprising, yet inevitable"?
My music teacher told me that one property of great music is that it is both surprising and inevitable - you don't expect something, but looking back you see that it has been carefully prepared... more
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06/11/19

Is it possible to accomplish a Shepard tone effect with arpeggios instead of scales?
Is it possible to accomplish a Shepard tone effect with arpeggios instead of scales?
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Theory Music Theory

06/11/19

How are Dorian and Aeolian different?
In, e.g. the Drunken Sailor, we start the melody on a Dm chord then go down to a Cmajor chord. Well, it ends the melody on the D note but...we seem to rest a bit on C as well. It's like C is not... more
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06/11/19

Correct Notes for C## in Harmonic Minor Scale?
Is the following scale correct for C## Harmonic Minor? C##, D##, E#, F##, G##, A#, B# I read on a good music theory page and they had B## as 7th note in the key, so I was wondering, but I'm... more
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06/11/19

Want to learn composing and producing music with a DAW. Where do I start?
I am a computer engineer and a passionate music listener. I have been listening to movie scores and soundtracks for many years now and it has really inspired me to want to learn more about music... more
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06/11/19

The concept behind relaxing music?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXgqDlrqmzoI am interested to start making some songs that are very relaxing, like the one posted above.The song above is indeed one of the most relaxing songs in... more
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06/11/19

Do piano composers often start out with C major?
I'm wondering if composers write their pieces starting with C major since it's just the white keys, and then later transpose the finished song to the key of their choice? Or will starting with the... more
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06/11/19

How do you compose using the chromatic scale?
Writting a piece of music using the chromatic scale would be interesting, but I can't think of a way to start it? What kind of structure would a piece have? Is it all subjective and up to the... more
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06/10/19

Are chord progressions used in classical music?
Apart from Pachelbel's Canon which uses (I V vi iii IV I IV V) I didn't see any other classical music that uses chord progressions (?) Think Bach, Beethoven, Mozart kind of classical. Would it be... more
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Theory Music Theory

06/10/19

Can songs in a major key be sad?
Can songs in a major key be sad?
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