Chords and Harmony

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Chords and Harmony

Postby Hugh-AR » 02 May 2020 20:10

How a song sounds depends very much on the chords that are being played for it. Listen to the chords I have played for Blue Moon. At the start, I have used some 'conventional chords to play this tune. Then when I play the tune again after the chorus, I have played what you might call some 'uplifting' chords. This changes the character of the piece completely.

Click the LINK below to listen. then click the 'back arrow' to get back to this page.
Blue Moon (MP3)

Now listen to what a friend of mine. Clive Bishop (sadly no longer with us) has done with this song. He was a 'Jazz' player so has used chords to suit his style of playing.

Click the LINK below to listen. then click the 'back arrow' to get back to this page.
Clive Bishop playing Blue Moon
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Re: Chords and Harmony

Postby Hugh-AR » 03 May 2020 04:53

More on chords and how they determine the character of a piece. This has cropped up after one of our Challenges, which for March 2020 was for us all to play the same piece of music .. Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

First listen to what I have played (with the chords from the music .. for a change!). Listen carefully to the chords I am playing for the verse.

Click the below to listen, then afterwards click the back-arrow at the top to get back to this page.
Hugh-AR playing Over The Rainbow

And now listen to Brian007 playing this piece. Listen carefully to the chords he has played for the verse.

Click the below to listen, then afterwards click the back-arrow at the top to get back to this page.
Brian007 playing Over The Rainbow

If you haven't spotted the difference, read on. Or even if you have, still read on!

The one thing I find really interesting about this piece is the harmony (chords) Brian and I have used to play it. One of my favourite comments is:
It's all in the chords .. or is it?

When I played this piece I used the sheet music in the key of G, which is below Note the chords written over the top.

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1. Looking at the above, I did like the G7 played just for one beat at the end of the second bar as that was 'leading into C', so G7 is the right chord to do that.

2. Then for the last two beats of the third bar I played Gdim (G diminished). What a great chord that is! The original music had said C#dim. But Gdim is the same harmony .. and I found that easier to play (with the G as the bottom note). ie. played the C as G-C-E; Gdim as G-A#-C#-E; and G as G-B-D .. so had my bottom finger on G all the time.

3. Then in the fourth bar I played a G .. with a little run-down from G to F# to F (making a G7) and then to E with the C chord. A nice little run down of notes giving a 'standard' harmony again of G7 moving into C. Then it's Cm.

4. When Brian played it, when he came to that fourth bar he played Bm (for two beats), then E7 (for two beats) .. no 'run down of notes' possible with this harmony .. then C .. and then the Cm etc.

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This is what I love about music. The harmonies. And this is the sort of thing I pick up as I listen to music. I'm not saying that either one is 'right' .. it's just that they are two different arrangements of the harmony.

So that you can hear what I am on about, listen to the below, which I first play the way I did it (with the run down of notes), and then with the Bm and E7. And then I play both for a second time (in case you have missed what I am on about first time round!).

Click the below to listen, then click the back arrow afterwards to get back to this page.
Demo of two different chord structures for Over The Rainbow

Below is an extract from Brian's piece highlighting the Bm and E7 harmony he has played. Again, I have repeated what he has played in case you don't pick it up first time round.

Click the below to listen, then click the back arrow afterwards to get back to this page.
Brian007's Over The Rainbow with the Bm and E7 harmony

Music is like painting. There is no 'right' or 'wrong'. The different harmonies create different 'moods' for the music.
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Re: Chords and Harmony

Postby Brian007 » 03 May 2020 07:58

Hi Hugh,

Some very interesting examples in your posts, Chords and Chord progressions have always fascinated me , the way that a chord can totally change the feel and sound of the music is amazing and considering it is really supposed to be in the background as opposed to the melody line which is supposed to be out in front.

One of the most fascinating example of a chord progression for me is in the song " Hotel California " by the Eagles and one more is " Help" by the Beatles both of which a been massive hits for the songwriters.

All the best and Stay Safe, Brian007

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Re: Chords and Harmony

Postby Hugh-AR » 03 May 2020 12:56

Thanks for your comments Brian. I reckon you and I have the same ideas about music.
These are the two songs Brian is on about, in Chord Progressions:

Click this LINK to open it up in a New Tab
http://www.tierce-de-picardie.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=402&t=6526&p=51946#p51946
It's all about the music ♫ ♪ ♫ Organ: Yamaha AR80 & Keyboard: Tyros 4
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