I felt a pause in my progression on using the minor pentatonic scale for improv and going over backing tracks so i started to look for other scales to learn to try something new and then found out about scales. At first i didn’t have a clue what they were i thought it was another language but after watching a video you tube going through what they are and how to practice then and why.
I have made some good improvements to my guitar playing, i started learning major modes and minor scales. I found a video on you tube video from brandon de`on on the major modes.
https://totalguitarist.com/lessons/theory/scales/modes
This is a good website to learn almost every thing to know about the seven major modes
i will upload photos of research from my phone when i have internet.
The modes are names of greek tribes.
A massive inspiration for this project and the songs I am writing is Paul Weller and the jam. Paul Weller includes a lot of nice acoustic songs and strong electric songs with powerful messages behind them to do with politics or life lessons or problems with the world.
I have always been inspired by The Jam, The Style Council and Paul Weller as a single artist too. The reason is the bands songs have meanings and passion behind the singing and the lyrics are normally strong and it home. Paul Weller was really good at showing emotion and aggression in his music with the help of his band The Jam. He then left The Jam in 1982 to later be the vocalist in The Style Council which has a different style of music but he was still able to produce meaning and emotion from his songs. After The Style Council, Paul Weller decided to go forward as a solo artist in 1992.
https://www.facebook.com/share/18dVA1QG8k That is the link the Paul Wellers facebook account.
For my song Since Summers Coming I was inspired by the way the song What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club was able to create a fun energetic summer feeling song and I was curious what actually makes a song give off that kind of feeling. So I was messing around with some paul weller chords as usual and was using A Major Seventh on the twelfth fret and just rolled with it and used a quick strumming pattern like What You Know and a chorus, reverb effect on the amp to try and give it a summer feeling and I just experimenting until I thaught it worked.
https://www.instagram.com/twodoorcinemaclub/?hl=en
This is the link to Two doors Instagram. Check em out
I needed know more about song writing and lyrics specifically and i found this website that had alot of what i thought was good information and help on the subject it was saying that the number one tip to writing lyrics is to write them. And write often. Sit down. stand up. Use a pad and paper. Use a computer. Play a guitar. Play a piano. Just do the thing: write You have to put pen to paper if you’re going to learn how to write lyrics.Start with a riff, a cool lyric phrase, a drum loop, or a hook. Personally, I like to write from a hook. I haven’t always done it that way. But ever since I started writing from a hook my songs have been more focused.The website gives numbered tips on how to improve and get confident with it 1. Just start writing Your truth, your story, your life experiences are a well to draw upon. And collectively they are 100% unique to you. Write what you know. You can never go wrong with the truth. When you can write your truth you will do a much better job of writing someone else’s. And when you can write your truth and make it feel like someone else’s truth…well, that’s worth paying money for.2. Be yourself 3. Know your goal format If you want to hear your songs on country radio, listen to country radio. If you want to write for tv and film watch shows and movies. I don’t mean exclusively. But even if you just check in from time to time you’ll keep your finger on the pulse of what is succeeding in your target market.It’s like basketball players watching game tape. You don’t have to copy everything everyone else is doing. But know your competition. Figure out what is working in the top tier of songs so that, if you’re inspired to, you can adjust your writing accordingly. If nothing else, it will keep your eyes on the prize.
https://blog.native-instruments.com/song-lyrics
“Songwriting is an intricate art form that marries melody with meaningful words. At its core, lyrics are the soul of a song, painting vivid imagery, evoking deep emotions, and connecting listeners to universal experiences. From timeless ballads to contemporary hits, the words behind the music have a profound impact on its appeal. In this article, we explore how lyrics shape the creative process of songwriting and influence the listener’s perception, with a nod to digital platforms that are making it easier to engage with music like never before.” I am looking around researching different influences of lyrics in songs i am on a website called vocal media reading and researching The creative Influence of lyrics Lyrics are also a reflection of cultural and global influences. Songwriters often draw inspiration from different regions and traditions, blending linguistic and thematic elements to create something unique. For example, world music brings diverse languages, dialects, and cultural motifs into songwriting, offering listeners a glimpse into the traditions and lifestyles of distant lands. This fusion expands the scope of creativity and challenges songwriters to experiment with unconventional structures and themes.
Recording techniques
I searched up on google known recording techniques and it said this. We have four main types of sound recording that have revolutionised the way we experience sound analog, digital tape and hard disk. Analog recordings are made using magnetic recordings onto a physical material such as vinyl records or cassette tapes.
Analog Recording
So wikipedia says that analog recording is what people use to record store and look back on their music.
“Analog recording is a category of techniques used for the recording of analog signals. This enables later playback of the recorded analog audio.”
“Analog audio recording began with mechanical systems such as the phonautogragh and phonograph. Later, electronic techniques such as wire and tape recording were developed.”
“Analog recording methods store analog signals directly in or on the media. The signal may be stored as a physical texture on a phonograph record, or a fluctuation in the field strength of a magnetic recording. Analog transmission methods use analog signals to distribute audio content. These are in contrast to digital audio where an analog signal is sampled and quantised to produce a digital signal which is represented, stored and transmitted as discrete numbers”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_recording
Digital Tape Recording
Digital audio tapes (DAT or R-DAT) is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a compact cassette, using 3.81 mm / 0.15″ (commonly referred to as 4 mm) magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. The recording is digital rather than analog. DAT can record at sampling rates equal to, as well as higher and lower than a CD (44.1, 48, or 32 kHz sampling rate respectively) at 16 bits quantization. If a comparable digital source is copied without returning to the analogue domain, then the DAT will produce an exact clone, unlike other digital media such as digital compact cassette or non-Hi-Midi MiniDisc, both of which use a lossy data-reduction system.
Like most formats of video cassettes, a DAT cassette may only be recorded and played in one direction, unlike an analog compact audio cassette, although many DAT recorders had the capability to record program numbers and IDs, which can be used to select an individual track like on a CD player.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Tape
Hard Disk Recording
A hard disk recorder (HDR) is a system that uses a high-capacity hard disk to record digital audio or digital video. Hard disk recording systems represent an alternative to reel to reel audio tape recording and video tape recording, and provide non – linear editing capabilities unavailable using tape recorders. Audio HDR systems, which can be standalone or computer-based, are typically combined with provisions for digital mixing and processing of the audio signal to produce a digital audio workstation(DAW).
Direct-to-disk recording (DDR) refers to methods which may also use optical disk recording technologies such as DVD, and compact disk.
Microphones
A microphone, colloquially called a mic (mark), or mike, is a transducer that converts sound into an. electrical signals Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public events, motion picture production, live and recorded audio engineering, sound recording, two way radios, megaphones, and radio and television broadcasting. They are also used in computers and other electronic devices, such as mobile phones, for recording sounds, speech recognition, VoIP( voice over internet protocol is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol) (IP), and other purposes, such as ultra sonic sensors or knock sensors.
Several types of microphone are used today, which employ different methods to convert the air pressure variations of a sound wave to an electrical signal. The most common are the dynamic microphone, which uses a coil of wire suspended in a magnetic field; the condenser microphones, which uses the vibrating diaphragm as a capacitor plate; and the contact microphone, which uses a crystal of piezoelectric ( which is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials—such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA, and various proteins—in response to applied mechanical stress)material. Microphones typically need to be connected to a pre amplifier before the signal can be recorded or reproduced.
At Gears4Music they believe the top 10 best microphone brands are: 1 Shure 2 Sennheiser 3 Audio Technica 4 Rode 5 Neumann 6 AKG 7 Aston microphones 8 Universal audio 9 Subzero 10 Lewitt.
https://www.gear4music.com/blog/best-microphone-brands
DAWs
A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software program on a laptop, to an integrated stand-alone unit, all the way to a highly complex configuration of numerous components controlled by a central computer. Regardless of configuration, modern DAWs have a central interface that allows the user to alter and mix multiple recordings and tracks into a final produced piece.
DAWs are used for producing and recording music, songs, speech, radio, television, soundtracks, podcasts, sound effects and nearly every other kind of complex recorded audio.
Different Chord Genres
Chord types, or genres, in music are broadly categorized into triads and seventh chords, each with variations like major, minor, diminished, and augmented. These chords are built by stacking major and minor third intervals, creating a foundation for most of the chords encountered in Western music theory.
Chord Types:
- Triads:These are the most basic chord types, built by stacking three notes at major or minor third intervals.
- Major Chords: Characterized by a major third between the root and the third, often evoking a sense of happiness or triumph.
- Minor Chords: Have a minor third between the root and the third, creating a moodier or more melancholic sound.
- Diminished Chords: Contain a minor third and a diminished fifth, often used to create tension or unease in a progression.
- Augmented Chords: Feature a major third and an augmented fifth, adding a sense of strength or tension to a progression.
- Seventh Chords:These chords add a seventh interval to the basic triad, creating a more complex and richer harmonic sound.
- Major Seventh Chords: Include a major seventh interval.
- Minor Seventh Chords: Feature a minor seventh interval.
- Dominant Seventh Chords: Have a major third and a minor seventh, often used in jazz and blues.
- Diminished Seventh Chords: Combine a diminished third and a diminished fifth, with a minor seventh.
- Suspended Chords:These chords are built by suspending the third or fifth of a triad, creating a more unresolved sound.
- Suspended 2nd (sus2): Suspends the major second above the root.
- Suspended 4th (sus4): Suspends the perfect fourth above the root.
- Other Chord Types:
- Augmented Chords: Similar to major chords but with an augmented fifth.
- Dominant Ninth Chords: A dominant ninth chord is made up of a root (1st), major 3rd (+4 semitones), perfect 5th (+ 7 semitones), minor/flat 7th (+10 semitones), and major 9th (+14 semitones).
- Passing Chords: These chords are used to create a smooth transition between two main chords in a progression.
- 2-5-1: A common chord progression in gospel music.
- Minor Chromatic: Chords that use notes outside of the standard diatonic scale.
- Diminished Chromatic: Similar to minor chromatic chords but with a diminished fifth.
- Secondary Dominant: Chords that function as a dominant chord to a chord other than the tonic.
- First Inversion: A chord where the root note is not the lowest note.
- Tritone Substitution: Replacing the dominant seventh chord with a chord that is a tritone away.
- 6/4 Chords: A chord where the sixth and fourth notes of the scale are in the bass.
- Cadential 6/4: A 6/4 chord that leads to the tonic chord.
- Neighboring or Pedal 6/4: 6/4 chords that neighbor or pedal the root.
- Passing 6/4: 6/4 chords that pass between two other chords in a progression.
- Arpeggiated 6/4: 6/4 chords that are arpeggiated (played individually).
All information on Chord genres from a website I can no longer remember so its just the first website available to press after you search “chord genres”
Scales
In music, a scale is an ordered sequence of musical notes that are used as a basis for melodies and harmonies. They are structured sets of notes that follow specific patterns of intervals, giving each scale its unique sound and character.Common scales include major, minor, pentatonic, and chromatic scales.
Key Concepts:
- Sequence of Notes:A scale is an arrangement of notes in a specific order, typically ascending or descending, within a given range or octave.
- Intervals:The distance between notes in a scale is called an interval. Scales are defined by their unique patterns of intervals, such as whole steps and half steps.
- Foundation for Melody and Harmony:Scales provide the foundation for creating melodies and harmonies in music.
- Major and Minor Scales:The most widely used scales in Western music are the major and minor scales.
- Other Scales:Besides major and minor scales, there are many other scales, such as pentatonic, chromatic, whole tone, and blues scales.
- Modes:Scales can also be considered modes, which are variations of a scale with different starting notes and characteristic intervals.
Types of Scales:
- Major Scales:Characterized by the interval pattern W-W-H-W-W-W-H (whole steps and half steps), creating a bright, joyful sound.
- Minor Scales:There are different types of minor scales, including natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor. Each has its own distinct interval pattern, resulting in a less bright, more somber sound.
- Pentatonic Scales:These scales consist of five notes and are used in many musical styles worldwide.
- Chromatic Scales:These scales include all 12 notes of the chromatic scale, separated by half steps.
- Whole Tone Scales:These scales consist of six notes, each separated by a whole step.
- Blues Scales:These scales are derived from the pentatonic scale and are commonly used in blues, rock, and jazz music.
How Scales are Used:
- Building Melodies:Scales provide a framework for creating melodies by offering a structured set of notes to choose from.
- Building Chords:Scales are also used to build chords, which are combinations of notes played simultaneously.
- Defining Keys:Scales help define the key of a piece of music, which determines the overall tonal center and character.
- Improvisation:Musicians often use scales as a foundation for improvisation, adding notes and rhythms to create unique musical ideas.
All scale information is from the same website as the first