Hey everyone, this is Pedro and today I'll share how I use the
self-imposed limitation, or a creative prompt if you will, to
help me make decisions while navigating through different
keys, choosing chords all based on modal brightness
relationships. Hopefully this doesn't sound
complicated, first because it isn't, and 2nd, I'm sure you'll
be able to implement these ideas in your music, so let's dive in.
Throughout the next examples, I use the reference speech B to
filter my tonal or modal colour choices.
But this is not so much about using B as the root or model
centre per SE, but rather using it as a guide to limit and
inspire which keys or modes I. Choose all while.
Exploring the relationship that can be established between modes
in a hierarchy of darkest to brightest, like in this image.
Of course there is space for subjectivity here, but this is
the relationship I followed and this will become clearer as we
go through the next examples. This whole section is actually
model, as it's based on AB aeolian melody doubled on the
bass while the piano is doing bisa 7 arpeggio throughout, only
to use a couple of chords near the end of this phrase just for
the sake of variety. If you want to know more about
modes and modal harmony, check out the links in the description
taking you to the Beyond Music Theory blog.
You'll have access to a lot of resources and ideas that you can
try out in your music. This next section is where I got
a bit more creative with the limitation.
In order to create the harmony, I selected keys where B exists.
And with that said, the focus wasn't on B as a tonic, but its
presence within the modal color palette of each key.
With that in mind, I organized my harmonic journey of this
section in a way that would take me from darker to brighter
sounding modes of B. The way I started to define the
chord progression was by first creating target chords that I
labeled in red and these were chosen purely on color or vive.
They are all major in this case. This helped me to focus more on
the journey of how I would arrive at those target chords,
either by creating a leading melody on the bass or by using
quartal chords moved in a major third sequence.
As you can see in Gray on the chord track, I approach it more
as transitions using mostly materials.
From the other keys where. B lives.
You could try this yourself. Try choosing a reference pitch
and then use the relationships I described.
Or even do something different like navigating through keys
where that pitch is a major, minor, diminished, or augmented
chord. Play with that.
For this last section I used an ostinato pattern based on a sys
47 arpeggio that was also moved around or transposed so I could
explore different modal colors. Again, modal colors from where B
modal center was a possibility. What I did was to experiment
with and decide chords that could work on top of that
ostinato again, chords from. Keys where?
B as a modal center lives. Try experimenting with a
repeating phrase such as this and try using different chords
on top of it while moving it around.
See how this approach may push you into unexpected colors?
There would be more to unpack, but that's the gist of how I
approach the creation of these examples.
All while using a pitch as a base for making decisions
regarding navigating through different keys and even creating
chord progressions. Using constraints or limitations
such as these can unlock new connections and drive creative
decisions. So a big part of creating music
in this manner is based on your ability to plan out how you want
your composition to evolve, choosing and organizing your
materials, etcetera. If you struggle with this kind
of thing, I have an online course that could help you with
just that. The link is in the description
as always, so check it out. And if you wish to go further,
check out my other online courses on creating chord
progressions or harmonizing melodies or even the Beyond
Music Theory book. And since you have reached this
far, here is the full example put together.
Thanks for watching and until next time, None.