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Topic: Chord sequences (Read 3402 times) previous topic - next topic

Chord sequences

Hi all,

This is a general music question as I know there are some seriously talented people on these forums!

I am in the process of writing a string quartet. It's been a long time since I tried anything like this and my knowledge of music theory...well, it sucks.

I am writing this off a set of self-written notes and have reached the words "grief-stricken". However, even sitting and listening to what that produces in my head doesn't really help - I think I may need some theoretical help on what chords and chord shifts might represent 'grief'.

That's an odd one, but if anyone has any ideas...

Thanks,

FN.

Re: Chord sequences

Reply #1 –
Try minor and diminished chords.
Listen to this example Gm>Gdim in root position - is that the sound you seek?

Barry Graham
Melbourne, Australia

Re: Chord sequences

Reply #2 –
G'day FN,
typically, minor chords are used in western music to denote sadness and grief.

Very briefly, chords ii, iii and vi are minors (flat 3rd) while chord vii is diminished (flat 3rd and 5th)  If using 7th chords then the 7ths are flattened too (dominant 7ths).  In the case of the vii chord the 7th may be flat (half diminished 7th) or double flat (diminished 7th).

In the key of C they would be Dm, Em, Am and Bdim or B half diminished also known as Bm7b5.

Easy to construct.  If the key signature is correct then you only need to stack 3rds on the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th notes in the scale.  If the key is C, then the 2nd is D and the 7th chord would be DFAC, the 3rd is E and the 7th chord would be EGBD etc.  If the key is F then the 2nd is G (GBDF), the 3rd is A (ACEG) etc.  If the key is B then the 2nd is C# (C#EG#B), the 3rd is D# (D#F#A#C#) etc.  You don't need to worry about the sharps and flats as they will be automatically taken care of by the key signature.

The exception to this is the full diminished 7th where you'd need to explicitly make sure the 7th is double flat.  The half diminished 7th would be OK.  Of course, this presumes you are maintaining a single key - if you are allowing key changes without specifically noting them with new signatures (as is usually done) then you would need to manage the chord construction more carefully.

I notice Barry has replied while I've been typing...  It's good to see he's on the same track - Barry knows his stuff.

As an example Barry suggested Gm (GBbD) to Gdim (GBbDb) - as 7ths they would be Gm7 (GBbDF), Gdim7 (GBbDbFb) or maybe Gm7b5 (half dim) (GBbDbF)

Hope this helps.
I plays 'Bones, crumpets, coronets, floosgals, youfonymums 'n tubies.

Re: Chord sequences

Reply #3 –
Just to give a little illustration of what everyone else is talking about, here are the triads (without sevenths) with chord symbols in relation to C major:
Code: [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.0,Single)
|Clef|Type:Treble
|Key|Signature:C
|Text|Text:"Gm v"|Font:StaffLyric|Pos:-10
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-2,b0,2
|Text|Text:"G° v°"|Font:StaffLyric|Pos:-10
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-2,0,b2
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:Half
|Bar
|Text|Text:"Dm ii"|Font:StaffLyric|Pos:-10
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-5,-3,-1
|Text|Text:"Em iii"|Font:StaffLyric|Pos:-10
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-4,-2,0
|Text|Text:"Am vii"|Font:StaffLyric|Pos:-10
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-1,1,3
|Text|Text:"B° vii°"|Font:StaffLyric|Pos:-10
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:0,2,4
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End

And about diminished chords such as B-D-F: they contain a diminished fifth (B-F), which causes a lot of tension.  In tonal harmony, the tritone must be resolved (the diminished fifth should resolve inward to a third, we're not concerned about augmented 4ths right now), such as:
Code: [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.0,Single)
|Clef|Type:Treble
|Key|Signature:C
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:0,4
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:1,3
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End
or
Code: [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.0,Single)
|Clef|Type:Treble
|Key|Signature:C
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:0,4
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:1,b3
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End

And to add to what others have said, nobody has addressed the possibility of shifting into the relative or parallel minor.  If you decide to do this somehow, in a minor key, i and iv are minor chords, ii, is diminished, and VI is major.  3, 5, and 7 depend on the type of minor mode you are using.  If you are using natural minor, III is major, v is minor, and VII is major.  If you are using harmonic minor (raised 7th), then III is augmented, V is major, and VII is diminished.  You would probably want to stay with i, iv, and ii.
 

Re: Chord sequences

Reply #4 –
Thank you all very much indeed.

It's just starting to take shape - I think I've managed 'sadness' but 'grief' may need a little more work! It's a heck of a challenge but pretty enoyable :)