A new rule (#9) has been added here at r/musictheory

vii°⁷ — I just sounds so much more juicy imo

I can think of lots of melodies in a minor key that are made 'happy' by their tempo and rhythm [e.g. "What Shall We Do With the Drunker Sailor?"]

But I genuinely can't think of any melody in a minor key that is 'happy' despite being slow and in a minor key.

Can anyone give me an example?

[NB - instrumental melodies only. There are slow, minor songs that might have uplifting lyrics which make them 'happy' overall, but I'm thinking of melody only]. Also, I realise that some minor melodies are so beautiful that they make us happy just to hear them [e.g. a slow Chopin nocturne, or whatever] but I'm not counting them either]

So i mostly do covers on spotify,

im pretty new, got 100 to no views, want some tips to improve my music and how can i grow it!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7z2T29jKxf44R1WsfOqRjw

So what im doing now is just cover songs, of games and animes, and even movies, but i DONT know how to get populair, its hard... ive asked (forced) some friends of mine to listen to it, but idkk....

I appriciate everyone taking a listen to it, or even follow!

UPCOMING: Interstellar
Planned date: October 27, 2026 2:00 CEST

like i'll hear a c major chord and instantly think a minor without anyone even playing it. is this just me being weird or is there actually some theory reason our ears do this? trying to figure out if i'm just overthinking it or if there's something about how those keys relate that makes this happen.

I encountered this chord (an octave lower) and it sounds beautiful in its context (the "Sonne" piano ending of "Deutschland" by Rammstein). Basically it's a power chord three tritones above another power chord, in this case F#5 over C5. I don't think I ever saw it before but I was wondering if there are other people familiar with it and how other people would call it. I failed to come up with a reasonably practical name so far. Which doesn't bother me too much per se by the way, I'm more intrigued by this harmonic structure and other people's perceptions on it and associations with it.

For some context, I'm talking about the last chord of the (Bm, Em9, D, ???) phrase in the second image. This phrase repeats again, the only difference being in the final (red vs blue highlighted) chord. In this context I'd call the first chord a "C add b9" I guess? Or maybe "C sus b2" (if that's a "thing")? Following that logic, we could call the second chord "C sus #4 (or 11?) add b9" perhaps? But honestly that gets a bit messy already if you'd ask me..

Furthermore, I can imagine the C could add a bit of a Phrygian / "extra minor" / haunting feel, given the B minor key of the piece.

Hello, I’ve started figuring out this melody on the piano. Are there really no complex 5- or 6-note chords here—just things like *sus* or *m7*? To my ears, it sounds like there are some fairly sophisticated, jazz-style chords. What would you suggest? For instance, at 0:09, I hear something like a Bbsus4add7 or a Bb9sus4. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tDkjr_cYO6M

I'm currently composing Jazz arrangements of polish Christmas carols. I'd like to start one of them with a very characteristic piano "downstairs chords", but I don't have enough music theory nor practice to figure out the actual chords. This is very characteristic melody, but I can't name any piece that I know, which contains it (otherwise I'd reverse-engineer it :))

The intro have the following properties:

• 3/4
• Uptempo
• Four chords, descending
• Piano plays V, III, I -> next chord -> V, III, I -> next chord etc. (or maybe VII, V, III -> VII, V, III?)
• The chords are most likely 7th chords
• Left hand plays the chords, right hand just the notes above

I'd be grateful for an advice on what the chords may be or how to play them. I've tried 7th chords, minor 3rds down, but it sounded realy crappy.

An example of my arrangement (this one is based on Andrzej Jagodziński Trio's "Christmas Carrols", but I have two more written from scratch, but WIP):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yh2n2LOGGA

Generator says this is E7sus4, which I understand but was curious: does the name change if there is no B? Like would a pro mention the lack of a B note? Since E7sus4 (I think) could have the B.

Alguém conhece algum livro ou artigo confiável que trate da origem, história e evolução de termos da teoria musical? Nos materiais didáticos eu sempre encontro uma explicação sobre o que é alguma coisa, mas eu queria saber de onde deriva tal termo e como ele evoluiu até chegar na sua concepção moderna.

Eu sempre busco a etmologia de vários termos da teoria musical, o que amplia bastante a compreensão do significado e prática, mas me falta saber de fato a história e como eles se tornaram o que são hoje.

Pretty new to music theory and I'm enjoying the sound of this progression and wondering why the F being major works? From what I can tell it sounds like the Bbm is the i which would make the F the V and Gb would the a vi, but it's a major chord being used for the V.

Just curious if there is some common knowledge theory stuff as to when/why you can switch a chord from major to minor besides just messing around with it until it sounds good.

Thanks!

As the title states. I'm also not educated on music theory. From a quick search it seems to be the emphasis on percussion for beats.

I was playing off Moonlight Sonata first movement and also saw how different movements change the bpm.

I think this is a dumb 'no shit' question but I figured I'd ask...

I am a beginner Bassist who mostly likes jamming. I am learning a few common chord progressions to have in my back pocket during jams and practice.

I am confused on one thing - if I search online, I can find like... I-IV-V, ii-V-vi-IV, etc etc etc, and I can find things like AAAAED or 12 bar blues.

Generally speaking, if I'm following a given chord progression, I am not literally play 1-4-5-1-4-5-1-4-5 etc etc' right? It might be 1-4-1-1-4-4-1-1-5-4-1-5 or whatever, right? I.e. I can play those intervals in generally whatever order sounds right/good? It's just the set of intervals that makes up the progression? Or are there more rules to it? I.e. 12 bar blues is that set progression for a real reason, etc?

Ty!

It can be in Blues, Classical, whichever genre. I’m talking Secondary Dominants or specific voicings

like i swear i can throw literally any chords together and my ear just goes "yeah this is going to vi" even when it's not. is this a me problem or does anyone else find minor keys way more satisfying to land on than major? wondering if i'm just conditioned by sad indie music or if there's actual theory behind why it feels so right

Look for something like a pdf with a substantial number of cantus firmi in various keys to practice species counterpoint with. Looking mostly for major and minor, not so much modal melodies. Everything I've found has a pretty limited number of examples, or spread out through a whole book. Would be nice to have a plentiful resource I can pull from.

What things should I consider before doing this? What more should I add in violin solo? What about the chords in violin solo that i originally wrote for piano?

Found a notation that I don't know what it means. Everything is in a normal font, so this isn't a strange writing of something. Any thoughts? (If it wasn't obvious, its the cross-like thing)

https://youtu.be/GhQ9BDxAczk

https://youtu.be/hV1pPgpcAVw (part starting in 0:30)

Those two tracks sound very close to my untrained ears. I wonder if those are just a combination of similarly sounding instruments and common music tropes, or if there's something worse at play.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Why do perfect fifths sound so stable and solid? They're everywhere in rock and metal as power chords but they have this almost ancient quality to them too. It feels like the fundamental building block of harmony. Is it just how our ears are wired or is there something deeper going on musically? I'd love to hear some thoughts on why they just *work* so well.

Hello everyone.

Could you let me know if I’ve correctly identified the chords and bass line by ear for Elton John’s "I’m Still Standing"? I’ve recently started working hard on figuring out songs entirely by ear. I did this on the piano, and the whole process took me a little over three hours—is that a long time? I started by determining the key of the song, then worked out the chords, followed by the bass line, and finally added the seventh chords and other extended notes. Please note that I’m referring to the original version of the song; different versions often use different chord progressions. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu6hMKPqdTw&pp=0gcJCbgCo7VqN5tD

Key Bb

0:00

Bb|Eb|F|Bb|

Eb|F|Gm7|Eb|Fsus4

0:35

Bb|Eb|F|Bb|

Cm|Eb →F|Gm|Eb|F7sus4→Eb|Bb

0:59

Key Bbm

Bbm|Fm/Ab|Ebm|Ebm7/Gb→Ab|

Bbm|Fm/Ab|Ebm|Fsus4

1:35

(Bbm|Ebm|Fsus|Gb-Ab ) repeat x2

1:46

Key Bb

Bb|Eb|F|Bb

Eb|F→Gm|Eb|F7sus4

2:00

Key Bbm

Bbm|Fm/Ab|Ebm|Ebm7/Gb→Ab|

Bbm|Fm/Ab|Ebm|Fsus4|

2:22

Bbm|Ebm7|Fsus4|]

Bbm|Ebm7-Ebm|Fsus4|

Bbm|Ebm7|Fsus4|]

Bbm|Ebm7-Ebm|Fsus4|

I pretty much know how to create tension and release but i dont know how to use it properly, like how do you know where you need to add a little tension where a lot of tension or where to immediately release it, i know it kinda depends on context and intention but i mean it in more general way, like to make it sound more organised and put together

i'll be playing a progression that sounds kinda flat, then transpose it up a step or two and suddenly it hits different. is this just placebo or is there actual theory behind why certain keys feel more "right" for certain things? genuinely curious if it's psychological or if my ears are picking up on something real.