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Hi, I'm Pedro and for this video
I would like you to imagine that

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you want to create a piece of 
music using the chromatic scale.

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As you know, the western tuning 
system is comprised of these 12 

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notes, the chromatic scale. 
So it kind of means that you 

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could go off in any direction 
and do whatever, but this can be

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a bit off putting as there are 
too many approach possibilities 

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and too many choices is not 
always a good thing, right? 

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So I would like to present to 
you one way to harness the power

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of the chromatic scale by using 
a polytonal approach and use 

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this concept as your guide to 
create chromatic harmony and 

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melodies with a twisted, quirky 
vibe. 

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Let's tackle the melody first. 
A nice way to introduce 

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chromaticism is by mashing up 
two or intersecting 2 or more 

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scales. 
But let me show you how this 

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works. 
So E minor scale contains the 

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notes EF sharp, GABC&D, while E 
major the notes are EF sharp, 

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G#, ABC sharp and D sharp. 
By intersecting these two nodes,

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we get the nodes E F# GG sharp, 
ABCC sharp, D&D sharp. 

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As you can see in here, you 
almost get the full chromatic 

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scale, only missing the F and 
the A sharp. 

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In the following example, I 
chose the pitch E as a reference

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to pick modes or key areas like 
EF region E Dorian, E 

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diminished, or a Lydian which is
from the E major key. 

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I color-coded the pitches so 
it's easier for you to see what 

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I was thinking in terms of where
I got the melodic fragments 

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from. 
So the way I created these 

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melodies was by thinking of 
getting in and out of the 

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context of these modes, or just 
using the chromatic bits as a 

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result of the modes being mashed
up. 

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And this is what I used to 
produce the upper register 

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melodic materials. 
Overall, I think that this is a 

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good approach to avoid the 
haphazard choice of notes when 

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you wish to create this type of 
effect in your melodies. 

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As for what I did to create the 
polytonal effect in the A 

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section, I used an ostinato in 
the bass that is based on the E 

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minor 7th chord from E free Gen.
and with some occasional flirts 

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with the chromatic scale 
alongside with everything I just

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mentioned for the UER register 
melody. 

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Here's how it sounds. 
It is worth saying that my main 

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concern was with register 
separation and assuring that 

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each instrument occupies its 
space or area without getting in

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the way of other instruments. 
Also, I was thinking more in 

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terms of melody rather than 
harmony. 

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Regarding the B section, I 
wanted to create a contrast with

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less movement and to relieve 
tension. 

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For the most part, the melody 
you hear uses speeches from the 

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E major key starts with the C# 
minor 7th chord, but then I 

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surprise you with a D major 7th 
chord, which I'm borrowing from 

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A major A nearby key. 
So no worries about flashing 

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with the melody at that point. 
Then I returned to C# minor 7, 

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but instead of repeating the 
same half step up chord movement

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to AD major, I borrowed AD sharp
dominant chord, a whole step up 

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from C# minor. 
The choice of it being major and

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dominant is due to what I was 
hearing in my head in terms of 

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what the bass and melody should 
be doing at that moment. 

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That's the spot where I had to 
change a couple of melody 

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pitches to accommodate the new 
chord. 

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I wanted it to sound pretty. 
When using this polytonal way of

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thinking and organizing your 
materials, the chord options can

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also increase substantially. 
I usually think of the available

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chords originated from one key 
center or the other, the ones 

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I'm working with, and then I can
choose to alter certain chord 

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tones using pitches from the 
other key. 

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For instance, I have AC sharp 
minor from East major key which 

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can be turned into AC augmented 
if I just introduce the C 

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natural from if region. 
This is pretty much what 

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happened near the end of the B 
section, but with another chord 

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thrown in the mix. 
That D sharp dominant chord you 

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heard before? 
And since we are working with 

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two key areas, you can also 
create Poly chord structures 

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using chords from one key on the
bottom and another from the 

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other key on the top, such as in
this example, announcing the 

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return to the A section with a 
bang. 

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That's AB major over C major 
polycordial structure. 

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I also was able to return to the
A section in a more seamless way

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because I managed to reintroduce
some elements of what was to 

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come next, like a musical 
foreshadowing. 

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I talked about this in this 
video that will be shown here 

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about how to connect different 
sections in your arrangements. 

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The link to it is also in the 
description along with other 

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reference links to help you with
anything you might need to 

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follow this video. 
Another example of foreshadowing

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was what I did in the intro 
section to kind of prepare what 

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was going to happen on the A 
section. 

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All right, and now it's time to 
hear the full example. 

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Let's hear it and how it all 
sounds put together. 

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And that was it. 
I hope that you enjoyed this 

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type of approach and if you'd 
like to embrace experimentation 

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and apply this to your music, 
just follow the steps or 

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guidelines that I just showed 
you. 

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If you want to suggest our 
ideas, please share your 

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thoughts in the comments 
section. 

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And if you haven't subscribed, 
please do so. 

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As always, check the links in 
the description and also the 

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Beyond Music Theory blog where 
you'll find lots of other useful

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information as well as courses, 
online coaching and the Beyond 

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Music Theory ebook. 
Thanks for watching and until 

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next time.