Being Creative With Pentatonic Scales - podcast episode cover

Being Creative With Pentatonic Scales

May 27, 20206 minSeason 1Ep. 2
--:--
--:--
Download Metacast podcast app
Listen to this episode in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episode description

In this episode you will listen to you how I used mostly pentatonic materials to compose a track and I'll take you through the thought process of extracting the information I needed for chords and melodies. During the episode I talk about some concepts that if you are not familiar with them you can read all about by following the links:


- Pentatonic Scales

- Scales Harmonization

- Diatonic Modes

- Suspended Chords

- Chords in Fourths and Fifths

- Polychords


Find me on: 🔥 ⁠⁠Beyond Music Theory Blog⁠⁠ 🎵 ⁠⁠Online Lessons⁠⁠ 🎵 ⁠⁠Online Music Courses⁠⁠ 📚 ⁠⁠Beyond Music Theory eBook

Transcript

Hello and welcome. In this episode, you will listen to how I use. Mostly pentatonic materials to compose a track. And before I forget, make sure to check out the description of the episode where you will find supporting links for what? I'll be discussing here. This will direct you to the beyond music theory blog where you can read all about it. So the choices regarding the used material, Will always depend on where the music takes me, which, in the end has to sound good and fulfilling.

If it sounds good to you, then it's good. There are no rules to this. So here's how I gather the pentatonic materials. I started out with a melodic fragment from a minor pentatonic and this is from where many of the music materials came from the supporting core structure is derived from the notes in the actual melodic, fragments meaning, that I took the notes in this Mint and rearrange them harmonically. Here's how it sounds in context.

After that, I harmonize the a minor pentatonic scale but because you can make, whatever, pentatonic scale you want, I chose other ones for contrast and harmonize them as well. This pentatonic scales are all centered in a but they are based on mode subsets like a aeolian. A locrian and a ledian flat 7.

So, all the harmonic material or chord progressions that you can hear in the final music is derived from these scales and after some feeling around, I used these cores to harmonize a guitar field that was made from that initial melodic fragment that is now transposed in descending. Fifths. It is executed by the electric guitar about that the different speed.

Many of the course, derives, from the scales are monetization, are suspended chords, which can be seen as inversions of chords built in fourths or fifths. Taking that in consideration. I decided to use those intervals and build a melodic succession of fourths and fifths starting from see when the pitches are put in order, you get the d flat major scale after stacking fourths. And the major if stacking fifths.

And now the melody based on fourths and fifths that I put together and how it turned out in the song. And for a variety sake, I decided to have some poly chord structures originated, from d flat and D, major to create some extra tension later on if needed. And now, we are back to the melodic.

Fragment as said, when you group The Melody pitches, you will get the Jesus to court with the notes G. A and D. What I did next was to harmonize each individual, melodic pitch, using chords in fourths, and then use the contrasting Harmony from the ELA Korean pentatonic subsets. And here is the guitar solo. I ended up recording over this chord progression idea.

There is a lot more material that could be squeezed out of this, but it would be unrealistic to think that we would use everything in a single track. Anyway, I hope that this inspires and excites you to revisit your pentatonic, materials, and come up with different approaches to your music. I will now leave you with the full track. Thank you for listening and I'll see you on the next episode. Happy composing.

Transcript source: Provided by creator in RSS feed: download file
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android