Darkman Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I'd like to compose some dramatic type theme music. I've composed most other styles, but this one has eluded me. Listen to linked youtube theme. This is the type of thing I want to recreate. It's using some kind of pedal tone. The chords and bass seem to change, but the string element is playing the same motif over and over? I've tried the same thing but the repeating motif doesn't fit over all the chords. It just sounds wrong. Fitting a single note lead line over the top would be straight-forward to keep in key. But this theme sounds like the strings are playing a chord pattern over the backing chords?? How do you play a repeating chord pattern going over other changing chords? i.e. the strings over the keys. Yes I know it's all a bit vague, but any informed opinion is welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 My 2p The opening notes are a piano playing a single high note and the lower note might be a diad. The 'Chords' are the natural harmonics of the piano strongly amplified. The whole piece is in Bmajor with the dominant being F#7th and E major the sub dominant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERWICK Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 My 2p The opening notes are a piano playing a single high note and the lower note might be a diad. The 'Chords' are the natural harmonics of the piano strongly amplified. The whole piece is in Bmajor with the dominant being F7th and E major the sub dominant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Maybe Mt Byron has a keyboard and a music book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkman Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 My 2p The opening notes are a piano playing a single high note and the lower note might be a diad. The 'Chords' are the natural harmonics of the piano strongly amplified. The whole piece is in Bmajor with the dominant being F#7th and E major the sub dominant. Hmmm... that's quite helpful, because if the piano is not playing chords but just a "lead melody" then obviously that allows for many other chords and notes to be played along with it. Listening now I think it's the same note an octave down (most of the time anyway). Me thinking they were chords just once again proves my limited musical listening ability He knows what he's talking about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cica Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Fairly simple. The string motif just repeats. Use Am say. Play octaves on those dramatic strings. Throw in an F which is the augmented 5th to make it really dramatic. Play piano bass notes descending A G F E like the Andalucian cadence over it. You'd get a similar effect. Do you know about scales and building a harmonised scale? Then just go copy all the chord change tricks in all the songs. I'll throw something together tomorrow to show you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkman Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Fairly simple. The string motif just repeats. Use Am say. Play octaves on those dramatic strings. Throw in an F which is the augmented 5th to make it really dramatic. Play piano bass notes descending A G F E like the Andalucian cadence over it. You'd get a similar effect. Do you know about scales and building a harmonised scale? Then just go copy all the chord change tricks in all the songs. I'll throw something together tomorrow to show you want. Yes I tend to stick to Am with keyboard based music, because I'm a guitar player and as we all know sticking to the white keys is easier I know a few scales but that's where it ends. I never learnt how to harmonise. This is my sketch so far - (wait ten seconds for Megaupload I'm afraid) Dramatic-Theme It's a little more electronic based (not intentional).I have already gone for the AGFE descending bass line, again for simplicity. My piano does play chords though. At about 1.19 the strings start and repeat. They seem ok. I don't detect any serious clashes. If you put something together I'd like to hear it sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Yes I tend to stick to Am with keyboard based music, because I'm a guitar player and as we all know sticking to the white keys is easier I know a few scales but that's where it ends. I never learnt how to harmonise. This is my sketch so far - (wait ten seconds for Megaupload I'm afraid) Dramatic-Theme It's a little more electronic based (not intentional).I have already gone for the AGFE descending bass line, again for simplicity. My piano does play chords though. At about 1.19 the strings start and repeat. They seem ok. I don't detect any serious clashes. If you put something together I'd like to hear it sure! 1) those black keys are for Jazz 2) Mine does too but I have to use 3 fingers I'm a guitar player too. I went to the shop for some guitar strings and came out with an electronic keyboard! Best couple of hundred quid I had spent in a long time. Took me two weeks to get anything resembling a "tune" out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erat_forte Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 1) those black keys are for Jazz 2) Mine does too but I have to use 3 fingers I'm a guitar player too. I went to the shop for some guitar strings and came out with an electronic keyboard! Best couple of hundred quid I had spent in a long time. Took me two weeks to get anything resembling a "tune" out of it. So you got the posh model without the "demo" mode then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 So you got the posh model without the "demo" mode then! I did eventually get a posh one, with a full set of 88 keys! The smaller one is good for what it does, about 10 good sounds, and 230 silly ones full of dog barks, duck quacks, and the one finger chord option. Oh yes there is a built in tune, as well. I'll bet Mr Darkman doesn't buy a one stringed guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dances with sheeple Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Yes I tend to stick to Am with keyboard based music, because I'm a guitar player and as we all know sticking to the white keys is easier I know a few scales but that's where it ends. I never learnt how to harmonise. This is my sketch so far - (wait ten seconds for Megaupload I'm afraid) Dramatic-Theme It's a little more electronic based (not intentional).I have already gone for the AGFE descending bass line, again for simplicity. My piano does play chords though. At about 1.19 the strings start and repeat. They seem ok. I don't detect any serious clashes. If you put something together I'd like to hear it sure! Harmonise a C major scale by taking each tone in turn (c d e f g a b ) and treating each note as the root note, count up to the third note and then the fith note (staying within the scale of course) to get the various chords. In C you would get C Major, D minor, E minor, F Major, G Major, A minor, B diminished, C Major. Sounds quite nice. You could also take say a C major scale (or any mode/scale/series of notes) and build chords on each note by adding any of the 12 notes as it pleased you to do so, might sound a bit weird though, but that is how we get beyond the basic familiar pop sounds, and create the more exotic sounding chords? A good thing to do on the guitar is just choose a note to start on, play a scale/mode that you know (or make up a step pattern that sounds right to you) up to the same note an octave higher, and using only those notes (how ever many you put in the scale) make up chords without thinking about naming them as anything, play around until you have a few chord shapes that sound good then record them and solo over the top using the same scale. That forces your hands to play differently to the standard Barre shapes and open chords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkman Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Harmonise a C major scale by taking each tone in turn (c d e f g a b ) and treating each note as the root note, count up to the third note and then the fith note (staying within the scale of course) to get the various chords. In C you would get C Major, D minor, E minor, F Major, G Major, A minor, B diminished, C Major. Sounds quite nice. You could also take say a C major scale (or any mode/scale/series of notes) and build chords on each note by adding any of the 12 notes as it pleased you to do so, might sound a bit weird though, but that is how we get beyond the basic familiar pop sounds, and create the more exotic sounding chords? A good thing to do on the guitar is just choose a note to start on, play a scale/mode that you know (or make up a step pattern that sounds right to you) up to the same note an octave higher, and using only those notes (how ever many you put in the scale) make up chords without thinking about naming them as anything, play around until you have a few chord shapes that sound good then record them and solo over the top using the same scale. That forces your hands to play differently to the standard Barre shapes and open chords. Good post. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinker Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 All this stuff is over my head but the benchmark in Epic Music is Two Steps From Hell: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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