AGDzine - choose your content

[Mysterious Stranger]

man, I just love this diatonic chord stuff. geoff should really have a sticky on the topic.
you know, like people can ask him questions about musci theory and stuff and he will give them way cool answers like this one. rock on, geoff!!!111!!

[Gregjazz]

...not that you'd ever need to know the diatonic chord scale for B sharp.

Does anybody have music theory questions? If so, I could set up the thread.

[remixor]

Dear Lord, that would be one awful looking key signature...  Fx, Cx, Gx, Dx, Ax, E#, B#

[Gregjazz]

Heheh, actually it isn't as bad looking as some of the descending melodic minor key signatures. They have many flats and sharps all in the same key signature.

This'll really fry your brain -- what's the key signature for B sharp melodic minor? Heheh...

[remixor]

Well, technically, there IS no such thing as a key signature for "melodic minor."  B sharp melodic minor is not a key, it's just one particular scale within B sharp minor.  B sharp natural minor, melodic minor, and harmonic minor all just use the B sharp minor key signature (which is Fx, Cx, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#) with accidentals when needed.   In the case of melodic, it would have Gx and Ax on the way up and G# and A# on the way down.

[Gregjazz]

Sorry about that. When we say "melodic minor", we usually mean descending melodic minor. Forgive my jazz terminology. That's the way we've always done it.

If you hear the song "Soul Eyes", by 'Trane, you'd recognise that the song is purely in melodic minor. Why? Because melodic minor is so much cooler. It has two dominant seven chords and two half-diminished seven chords. Dig it!

You might enjoy reading that jazz theory book by Mark Levine. It covers all those melodic minor key signatures. Pretty wacky stuff.

[remixor]

Ah ok, that makes sense.  I've only played jazz at the most basic level, so I wasn't familiar with that.  I'm classically-trained and my main love is rock.  But yeah, melodic minor is pretty sweet.  Definitely allows some cool stuff.  Gotta love those half-diminished seventh chords!

[Gregjazz]

In half-dimished sevens, you can use a melodic minor scale a minor third up. All related, eh? In dominant sevens, you use the melodic minor scale a half-step up.

[remixor]

I'm not sure what you're referring to there...

[Gregjazz]

Play a C7 chord on the piano with your left hand, and improvise over a C# melodic minor scale with your right hand.

That's a bit of jazz for ya.

[remixor]

Ah ok, I see what you're saying now

[Hinders]

some tutorials on how to make midi music.
And an interview with al lowe would be cool, it´s pretty easy to get in touch with him www.allowe.com.