A key for our purpose is a bunch of related chords that sound good together. If you already play guitar you may have noticed that a song that starts with a C chords is very likely to have F & G chords with it and maybe an Am chord also. This tells us that the song is in the key of C, not so much because the song starts on C but because if the relationship of the chords, if the song started on the F chord it is still in the Key of C. another example would be a song with G C D and maybe Em, this song would be in the key of G because of the relationship of the chords.

Let’s use the C Major scale as it suits the purpose best.

C Major Scale: C D E F G A B C

Scale Degrees: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Roman Numerals: I II III IV V VI VII VIII

All major chords are made up of the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of a scale. This would give us in the Key of C: C E G This is known as a tonic triad. The C is the root note of the scale and chord. It is also the tonic note. C E G is a C major tonic triad. ‘Tonic’ since it has the C as the first note and ‘triad’ since it has three (tri) notes in it.

When we talk of chords built on the different degrees of a scale we use Roman numerals.

The most important and best sounding chords that blend in with the C Major scale are chords that are built on the IV & V degrees of that scale. This gives us chords built on F(IV) and G(V).

A chord/tonic triad built on the IV i.e. F would be F A C (F A C being the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of an F scale) the chord/tonic triad would be an F Major chord.A chord/tonic triad built on the V i.e. G would be G B D (G B D being the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of the G scale) the chord/tonic triad would be a G Major chord.

The reason these two chords are so suited to C is that they both have notes in common with the C Major chord. F(IV) has the note C in common and G(V) has the G note in common. These common notes make the changes between the chords easy on the ear. Both the IV and V are major chords.

The next most likely chord to be used is one that is built on the VI degree i.e. A and the 1st 3rd 5th of the A scale is A C# E, well we shouldn’t have a C# in a in it as there is not a C# in the C scale. The C# must become a C and would then be A C E and this is an A minor chord. So in any key, a chord built on the VI of the scale needs to be a minor chord. This follows with all chords built on the notes of a scale, they must conform to the C scale.

All chords we wish to play in a key should be built on the notes of that scale. This applies to any key we play in i.e. in the key of A we use only the notes of the A scale. In the key of G only the notes of the G scale.

Below is a chart with the C major scale and the different chords that can be built on each degree of the scale, the note found in each chord, and the type of chord.

All other Keys have the same association of chords i.e. the II, III & VI should always be a minors. The VII will always be a minor b5.

It isn’t essential that this method be used and many songs have been written using whatever chords the writer likes.

It does however give us the theory behind compatible chords that can be used as additional or passing chords within a song.

Chords built on the scale degrees

Scale Degree Tonic Triad Chord Type

C I C E G C (Major)

D II D F A Dm (Minor)

E III E G B Em (Minor)

F IV F A C F (Major)

G V G B D G (Major)

A VI A C E Am (Minor)

B VII B D F Bmb5 (Minor b5)

C VIII C E G C (Major)
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1986 Diploma in Music – Classical Guitar Major. I have been performing professionally for 34 years either as solo instrumentalist, in duos, trios and in rock bands playing guitar or bass guitar. 10 years ago I started teaching guitar, bass and music theory which led me to independently writing, producing and publishing The Guitar Instruction, Musicianship & Reference Manual with DVD on Left & Right Hand Techniques.
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Beat maker software has been one of the many successes in the modern technology. Why? Because it has answered the call of many music lovers who wants to create their own music on a computer. Before, it was really hard to produce your own music. You can’t even do it yourself without proper training. And these machines are huge with complicated controls. So when the software was created, everyone was full of joy. To make your own hit hop beats is very easy. It only involves 5 steps to complete a high quality music. Here are the steps to guide you: 1. First thing you should do is to select a reliable hip hop beat maker software. To determine which among the many brands is the best, check on reviews and forums People participating in these sites will tell you their real experience with the software they’ve purchased. And when we talk about reliable software, the best example is Sonic Producer. This software has gained good feedback from many users as they have proven its quality when it comes to music production. Read more: How To Make Your Own Hip Hop Beats In 5 Simple Steps | Free Niche Business Articles For Internet Marketing

2. Decide what beats to make with a hip hop beat maker software. Listening to raps and hip hop songs from your favorite rap stars would help. Download one example into the hip hop beat maker library and start to make your own beats applying different blends of your choice. Then you can work your way from there.

3. Do some experiments. From the selection of beats you’ve chosen from previous step, you can then be creative in experimenting to make your own beats fast following a pattern. Start with basic beat structure, then add some high hat and other elements.

4. You can apply other elements like horn and vocal samples in the beat, then follow it with some layering to beef up the sound. This would depend though on the type of hip hop beat maker that you have if features are available to accomplish the steps.

5. The last part is the most exciting part and that’s recording your created hip hop music. Depending on your software, you can convert it into MP3 format. Sonic Producer can do this for you.

Experience for yourself how Sonic Producer help you produce music in a flash by going to Sonic Producer Beat Making and enjoy its many features.

Many people would rightly claim that the excellent advantage associated with sequenced, electronic drums is which they don’t pressure you to utilize ‘realistic’ drum patterns or sounds. Much dance music, for instance, is built around incredibly quick, precise patterns and sounds which bear only the loosest connection to anything you can actually create by striking a stretched skin with a wooden stick. The ability to create rhythms through programming, layer by layer and step by step, certainly offers great scope for the imagination and flexibility from the technical and sonic restrictions imposed by having to play and record actual drumming.

Nevertheless, it’s typically the case that the sound and feel of a real drum part is required, and circumstances – time, space, lack of facilities or lack of a drummer – force people who don’t play the drums themselves to knock

something up on a sequencer. And though a sequenced part will never be a perfect imitation, there are a range of things you can do to make it sound more genuine.

1. Bear in mind the physical limitations to which real drummers are subject. Obviously, individual drummers have only two arms and two legs, and are therefore only ‘four-note polyphonic’ in synth-speak – but there are additionally other restrictions on what is physically possible. Many common rock and pop rhythms combine a steady eight- or 16-to-the-bar hi-hat or cymbal rhythm. Above a particular tempo, this will always involve using both hands, commonly playing alternate notes, so it’s essential to think about which hand is doing what; you can’t hit the hi-hat at the same time as the snare or crash cymbal, for instance, if you’re using both hands to keep up a steady rhythm on the hi-hat.

2. For the similar reason, there are particular sounds which can’t be combined realistically inside the same pattern. You can not switch instantaneously between brushes and sticks, for instance, or between using a normal hi-hat and one together with a tambourine clipped to the top. Sticks can be employed to produce rimshots, but brushes and beaters can’t, so it would certainly be unusual to mix rimshots and brushed snare. Nor is it popular to combine hi-hat and ride cymbal in the same pattern – they’re usually set up on opposite sides of a drum kit. You would not usually do loud crashes on the similar cymbal in quick succession, either; if you need successive crashes, use two different cymbal sounds.

3. Keep in mind that the force with which drums are struck may not be constant. To a certain degree, there will be random variance in the velocity of each and every hit, but there will also be more expected variations. In pop and rock drumming, for instance, the first beat of the bar is often emphasized, whilst reggae rhythms are characterized by a heavier third beat. There are also physical limitations on how hard you can hit a drum: beats played in quick succession will have a tendency to be quiet, because you can’t raise the sticks as high, or get so much travel with the bass drum pedal, between hits.

4. Furthermore, don’t overlook dynamics within the song. In dance music, the percussion are usually compressed to the level where they are totally even in volume during, and any dynamic modifications are effected by basically dropping out elements of the rhythm. Real drummers, however, make use of crescendos and other dynamic effects to include feel to a track;often, for instance, they will build up the volume heading into a refrain.

5. Utilize sounds which are suitable to the dynamic level of a particular drum sequence. Some percussion instruments, like crash cymbals, are nearly impossible to play quietly, while others, like rimshots, bongos and handclaps, are unavoidably relatively quiet. A sequenced full-on drum assault will therefore sound a little fake if it is centered around huge,reverberating rimshots or triangles.

For more audio tutorials visit Composer Focus and join our composer forums.

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