On the other hand, Sonata N.14 has no lyrics. Paul wrote this song to cheer up John's kid, after his parent's divorce. It gets really obvious when you listen to the lyrics. On the one hand, Hey Jude evokes optimism and hope. Both songs generate an instant connection with the listeners. Let's consider two well-known pieces of music: Hey Judeby The Beatles, and the Piano Sonata N.14 by Beethoven. Now that we have discussed modes, I would like to return to CHOOSING THE KEYĮven though we can emphasize an emotion with modes, each key has its personality. Try to apply the theory we have learned today to the other scales. But, with a little practice, you will be all set. What if you want to write a song in C major with an evil feeling on it? The suitable mode is Locrian and you might start the score with B or the chord B diminished. For this, you might start your composition with D (the root note of the mode) or the chord Dm (the root triad of the mode). You can do this starting the composition with the mode's root note or root triad.įor example, imagine that you want to compose a sad but hopeful song in C major. This way, you will be more accurate with the emotions you want to project. Composing using the ''forgotten'' modes, will stand out your music. The different modes: name, degree of the scale, notes (using C major as an example) and the related emotionsĪs I mentioned before, the Ionian and Aeolian are the most common modes. So, you can deduce that there are seven modes. What if you choose as the starting point one of the remaining notes of the scale (D/E/F/G or B)? Well, you will get five other modes with their respective emotional effect. Major and minor are the most common modes. The main thing to get here is that all modes are equal relatives, and we should treat them accordingly. This is caused simply by the starting note. When you play the white notes from A to A, you get a natural minor scale.Ĭ major and A minor as relatives scales as they are, they have the same notes. When you play all the white notes in a keyboard from C to C, you get a major scale. Practicing is the best way to process theory. I recommend to try this out in a keyboard or any instrument you have access to. I will explain this using C major as an example, but remember this works with any other scale. Modes give the emotional color to a particular scale by starting in different degrees of the major scale formula. To talk about keys and emotions is to talk about modes. What would I like to elicit in those who listen? What is the story I want to tell? If there is any. What is the emotion that is triggering my composition? Having clear intentions makes the decision process easier when composing. To begin with, I suggest taking a little time to understand what is the desired effect you want. In a piece of music, the key is the center of gravity to which the melody and harmony tend. Let me know if you would like a dedicated article regarding instrumentation. I am not going to delve into this for us to focus on projecting emotions. Therefore, the key needs to be in the right register. Each instrument has a particular sound and ''soul''. Many factors influence the decision about the key, for example, instrumentation. What I want is to encourage an awareness exercise that can enhance our capacity to communicate and connect through music. With these articles, I am not suggesting for us to rationalize the composition process or the emotions we want to project. Composing is not necessarily a rational act. Composers are a medium for music to come alive. Note: I think of music as a living organism. Today, we will talk about choosing the right key to project the emotions we want. Well, this is the first article of the series that I announced. Did you read it? I hope that you liked it. Last week I posted an article called: Music, a catalyst for emotions.
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