Project 6: Chords

In this assignment we will write a loop using a modal chord progression. Most of your writing is made up of riff based compositions. Meaning, there is a melodic section (or riff) that is accompanied by a groove.

Your assignment is to write a loop that uses a single bass note (C), and chords over the top of the bass note. Check out these examples and descriptions of how they were done:

www.modaljams.blogspot.com

The easiest way to go (if chords are new to you) is to write a I IV V (one, four, five) progression in the key of C. The C major scale goes like this- C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C. If you play it, you'll notice it's all of the white keys on the piano. To make the I (one) chord in C, we need to play C,E and G or, the 1,3 and 5 from the scale at the same time.

What's with the roman numerals?
Notice I use roman numerals when I refer to chords and regular numbers when I refer to scale degrees? All musicians do that. Welcome to the music part of music technology class.

Make A Chord Progression
So now we have your I chord. Let's make it go somewhere. Pick either the IV chord or the V chord. The IV chord is F,A and C because the 4th note of the C scale is F and if we choose every other note starting on F, we get F,A, and C. From there, maybe you'll want to go back to your C chord, or maybe you'll want to go to the V chord (G,B,D). The choice is yours.

Inversions
If you write C,E, and G such that C is the bass note, E is in the middle and G is the highest note in the chord you have what's called a root position chord. If you moved the C bass note to the top of the stack (leaving E as the lowest note) you have created a C chord in 1st inversion. Move that E to the top so that G is in the bass and you have 2nd inversion. You can arrange the elements of the chord in any way you want. It's still a C chord.

Voice Leading
Why are these inversions useful? Because they allow for smoother voice leading or transition from chord to chord. Try this- enter in a C chord in root position, then enter in an F chord in root position. Notice the C note way up high in the F chord that's so far away from the G in the C chord? Try moving the C from the F chord down an octave. It should be right next to the C bass note in the C chord that you wrote. This is called a common tone. Common tones like to be next to each other. They make for smooth voice leading. Check out how your chord change sounds now.

Bass
For this project, I would like you to use a single bass note. You can create whatever rhythm you want and you can put filters and automation all over it too. The reason I only want one bass note is so that you can hear the chords change relative to the bass note. There will be plenty of time to vary them both later in the semester but for now, let's keep things simple. One note in the bass.