Hey guys! From the last 2 videos, we went over notes,
intervals, rhythm, scales, and the most basic aspects of music.
This segment will be on chords. Now, even though electronic music doesn't require quite
as much knowledge with the definitions of music theory (from what I've seen), I have
to cover a few misconceptions here. A chord is three or more associated pitches, commonly
played at the same time. A "two note chord" doesn't exist in theory. This is actually
defined as a collection of two notes known as a dyad.
Now, another misconception. Not all three note chords are triads. A general term for
a three note chord is a trichord. A triad is more unique than a trichord. Two of the
three possible intervals will be thirds in triads when written in root position, which
has this structure, and it sounds like this. The thirds are right here, and here. The reason
why I mentioned three possible intervals is because chords with identical notes on different
octaves can have different note placement. So, looking at the structure, the triads don't
always have to follow this setup, with thirds between each of the three notes. For example,
if we move the bottom note up one octave, this is a first inversion triad. If we take
it further and move the low note to the top again, we now have a second inversion triad.
The inversion is based on the placement of the lowest note (the bass note), so the third
intervals still exist when put back into root position. The bass on the root note (right
here) is considered root position, the bass on the third note is considered first inversion,
and the bass on the fifth note is considered second inversion.
Here are the types of triads: major, minor, diminished, and augmented. The major triad,
like the major scale, has a happy quality to it. The minor triad has a sad quality to
it. Now, more on those two other qualities: diminished
and augmented. I'll start with the triads. From my perspective, the diminished triad
has a sense of worry. From my perspective, the augmented triad has a sense of wonder
or mystery. Now would be a good time to go over the intervals not covered in the first
video. This one is a diminished 5th, part of the diminished triad. This one is an augmented
5th, part of the augmented triad. I know the augmented 5th is the same interval as the
minor 6th, but it depends on the context. For example, in this chord, the interval is
a minor 6th because of the context of the root position chord, which is right here.
Now there are two other intervals: the minor 7th... and the major 7th... but we'll go over
the use for these near the end of the video. Here's a little note about learning the triads
and the emotional responses generated from them. These emotional qualities may be different
from person to person, and in my opinion, the best way to learn the behavior of these
triads (and perhaps music in general) is to associate the emotional response to these
triads with the way they are structured, like the way I associate "mystery" with the augmented
chord and "worry" with the diminished chord. To expand on note placement, the spacing of
the notes can also be changed. This is still a root position chord, and this is still a
first inversion chord, because of where the bass is placed.
Now, since I'm not going over the notations on a musical staff as much, I won't go over
the standards of "figured bass." However, I highly advise you to look it up on Google.
If I have to cover it to go over future material, I will as the situation arises.
So... one or two more things. I'm gonna show the minor and major 7th intervals right here.
That's the minor and this is the major. These are the basis for seventh chords, which are
four note chords defined by this seventh interval. One way to think of it can be a basic triad
with a seventh added on top. Like triads, they have inversions and different types,
but those will be dealt with much later. Alright! So the next part will deal with the
relation of these triads to the scales, and then I'll probably go over more about the
relation of the bass to these chords, with perhaps a bit of review, considering the segment
after the next one will (finally) deal with writing your own composition.
Check out the other music theory videos, my songs and my tumblr, and I'll catch you guys
later!