Sudden Music Theory

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     In this entry it will be revealed that I'm not just writing a short story but am in fact writing about random things I find interesting in addition to a short story. This blog post is about basic music theory! In this post I will be discussing basic practical methods of writing melodies in as compact a form as I can muster.

     The first thing you need in order to write a song is a progression. A progression is a unique combination of chords that will give your melody a specific sound. In any given genre of music there is a limited number of chord progressions, however each progression can be performed in many different keys so you don't need to worry about copying someones work unless you use the same progression and key and even then you can vary the order enough to make it sound a lot different.

     To find different chord progressions simply Google, "chord progressions." Once you have found a chord progression you would like to use you may then choose what key to put the progression in. Every note has a different flavor, for example A sounds melancholic and C sounds happy. When you make the chord major, it tends to sound happier and minor tends to sound more sad. Once you're happy with you're progression and key you have yourself a melody. Most songs are not just in one key nor do they always keep the same progressions.

     When changing keys it is important to know what keys are palatable with each other. Below is a diagram known as the circle of fifths, if you have never seen this before it is pretty mind boggling but once you understand how to read it, it's pretty simple. This circle is a lot like the color wheel but for sounds, on the inside of the circle are the minor chords and the major chords are situated on the outside. This circle tells us what chords are compatible with each other, if our song is written in A minor and we want to know what chords sound good with it we match it to its major counterpart which is C major. The minor chords directly on either side of A minor can also be used to bring some variety.

     This may seem very complex at first and it can get even more complex if you go further into music theory. Complexity is half the fun of music, although it seems very mathematical you can get creative and try different things. These are the basics and you can do some interesting things with them so go ahead and get to writing if you want or just bask in the knowledge, and above all have fun.
                                                                                                Sincerely, Staples