Bride of LimpyLoo's Tip Du Jour

[LimpyLoo]

I'm really bad a music in general. Apparently I stick to melodic and harmonic minor keys and occasional other stuff.

 

I don't think I've ever tried making a 'by the numbers' music theory track. Make me a chord combo to futz with limperz. 'Make me better

Just to clarify: imo the goal isn't to learn how to do this or that specific thing...the goal is to become conscious of these details when you're making a tune.

 

For instance, let's say you're writing a 3-voice synth part outlining the harmony of your choon. Well, simply *knowing* that you can treat these 3 voices as independent melodies (while still outlining the harmony) is like 99% of the battle.

 

That's the biggest reason to study theory IMO.

 

Maslow's (IIRC) stages of competence:

-unconscious incompetence

-conscious incompetence

-conscious competence

-unconscious competence

[LimpyLoo]

Well, I plonked my hand down randomly on the keyboard with my eyes closed and removed obvious duplicates, but I didn't mean to tie you down to any particular voicings! If they're not working out, I took the same roots and threw dice for the chord type: Fmaj7 D Bm G6 G#min7 Am B F#6. Whichever you prefer!

Here's a start...

 

E >D > D >D

C >C# > B >B

A > A >G# >G

F > F# >F# >E

 

 

You might try adding (individual) melodic movement in between the chords, almost like a choral piece

[LimpyLoo]

I never know what to spit

So instead I'll field requests if anyone has anything that's been puzzling them

 

Also, here are the composers/improvisers I've been studying the last year

Lemme know if y'all wanna know anything about them:

 

Coltrane

Bartok

Messiaen

Rautavaara

Grisey, Murail, Xenakis

Ligeti

Steve Coleman (possibly biggest musical genius alive)

Brad Mehldau

Herbie, McCoy

Charlie Parker

[LimpyLoo]

Rautavaara, Symmetrical Motion, Octave-Dependant Scales

 

Let's talk about Rautavaara and his evil-as-fuck "Étude #1":

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=FFPjFjUonX8

 

 

I first heard that choon the day after Rautavaara died. I had never in my life heard someone able to manipulate harmony in such a bizarre and transcendent way. Nor to summon such pathos out of harmony like a snake-charmer.

 

Enter Messiaen and Bartok:

-Messiaen was obsessed with symmetrical scales and harmony

-Bartok was obsessed with symmetrical movement around a 'tonal axis' (imagine Narcissus looking at his reflection in the pond: the 'tonal axis' is the pond, and so 'as above, so below')

 

Well, "Étude #1" uses both.

 

Here's how those evil arpeggios are constructed:

 

Let's say our 'tonal axis' (aka "Narcissus' pond") is the note 'G'

Those 20th century composers loved interval-sets

"Étude #1" is based on the interval-set (3,4,1)

(Remembering that 3 intervals produce a 4-note set

And that the intervals refer to semi-tones/half-steps

Although for you Spectralism/non-12tet deviants, this shit is just waiting to harvested, and the elegance of the math will survive any pitch-to-frequency or linear-to-logarithmic refraction)

 

So let's generate those intervals--both up and down--from the 'tonal axis' ('G')

 

Down = (G) E, C, B

Up = (G) Bb, D, Eb

 

Now, if we assemble them into 3rds, we get:

(Low to high) C, E, G, B, Eb, G, Bb, D

 

That's a Cmajor7 with an Ebmaj7 dropped on top

And it happens to appear in Messiaen Mode #3

(C, D, Eb, --- E, F#, G, --- Ab, Bb, B)

Which (as the dashes indicate) is just the repeating interval-set (2,1)

Generated (up or down) in major-thirds, at C E and Ab

 

So Rautavaara does just that with these arpeggios

Up and down a major-third

So you get some evil, spacetime-bending arpeggios:

(Pardon the sloppiness lol)

https://vimeo.com/199841199

 

 

p.s. And of course the chordal parts of "Étude #1" use the same logic

The LH-triad and RH-triad move symmetrically around a tonal axis

And the result is Messiaen Mode #3

[LimpyLoo]

Edit: sorry wrong YT link...(fucking YouTube auto-next)

This is "Etudes":

https://youtube.com/watch?v=nvZ1dzZry1w

[LimpyLoo]

(If any mod ever feels like rectifying my 'wrong link' mistake, my orderliness-obsession would be eternally grateful!)