I am sitting at my piano looking at the two first bars of La Pastorale (Burgmüller) and I have three questions: How would a music theorist analyse the notes? I personally hear a G chord with bon-chord tones added but there are more to it than my simplistic explanation? How would a pianist performing this piece analyse it? And what about bar 15 and 16? Is it Gdim and F#dim or..? If it had beeby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Howdy folks! I am very interested in playing country music as piano solo. So my question is: how does one do this and where does one start? I think the best way to start is by learning to play the bass and melody. This would be 2-part harmony. One could probably add notes and make it 4-part harmony. Does anyone have ideas on where to start? Is it even a country thing to play 4-part harmony aby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
When you sing or play a melody in country music and you have the ii chord in the progression what scale or scales should be used for creating the melody? You can't use the Major blues scale of that particular key if there is a ii chord in the progressions, right? Isn't the ii (or ii7) chord used in the country song Knocking on heaven's door? What scale did Bob use?by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Why not try the D minor pentatonic scale and now and then use the other notes from the D Dorian when you feel like it helps making your solo/melody more melodic!by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Hi! In page 4 of this book there are some examples. There are some numbers written in the sheet music. What does those numbers refer to?by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Hi! I found this amazing book: There is one question I have after reading this book: In, eg country music which I like to play, you can just learn some chords (and the inversions used in this book) and add some rhythm in order to play with the band. I was wondering how classical music differ in this case. I mean, you can play all the chord progressions and cadences written in this book but I hby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Often in rock n' roll the drummer plays the snare drum on beat 2 and 4. It seems that the piano (stomp rhythm) doesn't play on 2 and 4 (and neither in boogie woogie). Beat 2 and 4 is the back beat that makes people dance some say. Why then not play a boogie stomp with emphasis on the 2 and 4?by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Hi! Lets say you're playing the 1-4-1 chords (triads in the key of C) in order to add a little bot of a gospel sound to the song, The 4 chord (F) contains notes from the F major pentatonic scale. The 2 chord (Dmin) also contain notes from the F major pentatonicc scale. Instead of playing C (root position) - F (second inversion) - C (roor position) you could play C (root position) then go downby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Hi! I am learning boogie woogie and rock n' roll. After listening to Jerry Lee Lewis piano style I noticed sonething about his bassline in the left hand. He doesn't just play a straight boogie without grace note on the minor/major third. There is something other interesting thing going on. Some pianists say rock n' roll bass lines are simply straight boogie woogie (although some say otherwise)by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Ok! Any good recording of Johnny Cash with piano?by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
I am aware of the country guitar playing that makes things sound like Johnny Cash. If you play C-C(an octave higher)-G-C (octave higher) this is how you do it. Sometimes you do a walk up (with the scale). I am not really sure about the rhythm. It feels like going away from playing straight rhythms is very important when playing boom chicka boom. What do you think? The thing is: I play thby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Please explain this: "I think of the half note as a "beat" and I play 3 notes per that beat". When learning a new song do you listen to the music and just play? Or do you analyse the rhythms first? I am aware of how important listening is but is there any analysing when you learn a new song with a special rhythm?by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Tripplets can be hard sometimes. Do you just think of them as notes that should be played a little faster? An example would be if you played three crotchets (quarter notes) and then played them as tripplets. Would you think: let's play them a little faster 'cause it's tripplets? or is there another way that is much better, you think? In eg. blues you have that long-short rhythm. In drum notatby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Hi! I wanted to write a blues song in C major which will feature both a 12 bar progression and an 8 bar progression. I know very well how to write a 2-5-1 progression in the 12 bar form but how should that be done in the 8 bar form? You may even think that's a stupid idea but maybe it's cool. Is it good to mix different blues forms in one song? I know very well that it's possible to do so butby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
I wonder about the chords in this song: I have piano sheet music for this one and it gives only a D chord in the intro (even though the G note is played). On the website there is both a D and D4 chord. What is a D4 chord? What to think about this? The melody seems very much pentatonic but there is a F natural as well. There is also a C chord in the song (that's not a part of D major. Please expby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
No no, I only play the piano or keyboard. But I have been trying to figure out how different instrument are used in different songs. Actually, the question had more to do with me not really understanding what playing by ear really means. I am aware of how you can practice playing by ear or figure out eg. a saxophone solo. Let's put it this way: If you play Für Elise you have the sheet music. Tby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
But if you have no sheet music it's way more difficult to play it like the keyboardist. I guess that people are against the idea of doing the exact thing as the keyboardist on the recording. If you play it by ear there is no way it will be the same notes even if you try. Am I right?by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
JonR Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > iamanders Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > How do you learn to play songs like this? Do > you > > find sheet music/midi or is there another way? > > With Für Elise you find the sheet music and > then > > ask your teacher if there is a techniby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
torabora Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When melodies are composed before chord > progressions , are there ways through music > theory to help musicians compose a set of chord > changes that can be performed behind the > pre-established melody . > can any one explian that in detail ? I tried this on my piano: I was told to play a bluby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
How do you learn to play songs like this? Do you find sheet music/midi or is there another way? With Für Elise you find the sheet music and then ask your teacher if there is a technical problem in your piano playing. This is not really they way to go with songs like this, I guess. I did download the midi file but it feels like I'm doing it the wrong way. How would you learn it?by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Hi! I tried to find out the saxophone solo by ear in this song: All I could find out was the first two note (B natural). Now I have the sheet music. It doesn't sounds the same when I play it on my keyboard. What is the saxophone player doing? somekind of bending the notes? I know too litle about this particular instrument. The song is in the key of G. Thus the solo is played by using only nby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Thanks! In Hoochie coochoe man I hear it like this: the 16 bar blues form begins with bar 4. The intro is basically just 3 bars. Is this also how you hear it? I did look up some cool turnarounds. Most of them seem to be very much based on playing something cromatic. Either going up or down cromatically on the instrument. Is this the basis of turnarounds? Is my understanding correct?by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Hi! Recently I have started playing a blues song together with other people. We chose Hoochie coochie man. The thing is that we are not used to playing together and we are not blues experts. How do you figure out the turnaround that you're supposed to play? How would a blues expert go about doing this? If I'm correct we listened to the Muddy Waters version. It's in 12/8. Would it be good toby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Thanks guys! Where do I find the materials I need in order to play the blues? Where to start searching?by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Howdy! So I found two cool blues songs I wanted to learn: Dust my broom and Everyday I have the blues. This seem a bit different from learning eg. Bach's musette. When learning Bach you bassicaly have sheet music and teacher. Then you know what to do. Learning blues songs seems a bit different. First of all you don't really have sheet music. You may have the chords and the recording. Somehow youby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
blues is non-theory? I have listen to blues but I still don't get it. Why wouldn't it be good to apply theory to blues? Are you saying it's only Jazz and Classical music that requieres some music theory (if you want to improvise with those genres I mean)? I have always thought of blues as a music for improvisation. To me it's like a language. If you learn a language you learn grammar. Music hasby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Hi! 1. Let's say you play the 12 bar blues on your keyboard. There are at least two options: playing AAB or fills. First 4 measures will be the I chord which means that you have a lot of chord tones being played in the melody. The next 4 measures will be the IV and I chords which means that less chord tones will be playede in the melody. You know what I mean. But on the other hand if you plaby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Is this just me or...is it easier to get a blues sound than a country sound on piano? What do you think? And from what I understand both country and blues can use a shuffle pattern with a shuffle beat. How come we then can hear if it's country or blues (even if we're just hearing a backing track)?by iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
"The intro is C7 to F, 2 bars each, and the sax line is harmonised in 3rds from the F major scale. (I do know the notes if you want them.)" But I did actually only show you the live version (so how can there be two saxophones?)? And what thirds are you talking about? C7 to F? In blues that would be I7-V but in other genres it could be V7-I (using secondary dominant). I'm a bitby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers
Howdy! I found this song and wanted to figure out what the saxophone is doing in the intro. Since I do nor have absolute pitch there is ni way for me to just hear what notes the saxophonist is playing by just hearing the notes. JonR:"The whole idea is to develop your relative pitch, being able to identify elements of the music in comparison to a known reference." and how do I aby iamanders - Music Theory Questions and Answers