Re: (RL) Minor Keys - wtf?

[KWood@lightbridge.com]

Thanks for the feedback!  It makes sense to maintain the integrity of V ->
I sort of theory and to let the specific chords change (cough) a-chordingly
underneath.  This feels like it may well lead to a better understanding of
what, exactly, a 'key' is, or perhaps to a sudden craving for alcoholic
beverages.  Up until now I have pictured keys and such as a very
cut-and-dry collection of musical 'facts', wheras it seems to be much more
a body of principles that can be applied to the 12-tone scale in any number
of ways.  I'll wager that major keys and minor keys are emphasized because
they have the most pleasing and familiar sounds, but that other keys are
(technically) just as valid.

Hoping to hear more...

thx,
-kent




Maurice Rickard <maurice@mauricerickard.com> on 07/16/2001 11:38:20 AM

Please respond to matters@richardlloyd.com

To:   matters@richardlloyd.com
cc:    (bcc: Kent Wood/Lightbridge)
Subject:  Re: (RL) Minor Keys - wtf?



At 9:45 AM -0400 7/16/01, KWood@lightbridge.com wrote:
>I've got a music theory question regarding minor keys.
<snip>
>Why not say the song is in the (relative) major key but uses the minor
>chords of that key?
<snip>
>If I have a song based around the 3rd (Phrygian) mode of the
>major scale, would I then want to treat that as the I chord and adjust the
>others accordingly?  I have a strong feeling the answer is 'no', but...

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the answer is
actually "yes," if only because when you're "in" a key, the musical
"movement" comes from the selection of chords or melody notes in
relation to the tonic (which is the same as the key you're in, your I
chord).  So if you have a tune based around the Phrygian mode, its
tonic is still that 3rd note of the relative major, and the I of your
tune is the major's iii, and your dominant -> tonic resolution would
be V -> I for the mode.  In your proposed system, the dominant ->
tonic resolution would have to be I -> iii, since you'd be basing
everything on the relative major.  (If I understand you correctly.)

Of course, I might be talking beyond my knowledge here, so anyone's
welcome to correct me.

--
Maurice Rickard
http://mauricerickard.com/
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