Classical Music Forum banner

Chord conventions in classical and popular music

2K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  GuyBarry 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi - I'm a songwriter with some classical training. I don't write in a classical idiom - I mainly write comedy songs and I'm just starting to branch into jazz and swing. Nevertheless I find that my knowledge of classical theory is invaluable in helping me to work out harmonies and other aspects of the music.

I've just come from a forum for (mainly commercial) songwriters, with some very talented people on it, and I was shocked by the level of ignorance of basic music theory. One person appeared not to know that C and B sharp were the same note. Many of them didn't seem to know how to determine what key a piece was in. They could understand the chord sequence but couldn't tell you that it was in G major or E minor or whatever.

One difference I've noticed between classical and popular music conventions is that in classical music chord symbols are notated relative to the key (I, V, ii and so on), whereas in popular music it's the actual letter-names that are used (G, Dm, C6 and so on). I'm wondering if in some way that affects people's perception of the music. I always perceive music relative to the keynote, even when I don't know what that keynote is. To me "C-Am-F-G" and "G-Em-C-D" are just two ways of writing the same thing, in different musical "dialects". To a jazz or pop musician they might be perceived as completely different.

Any thoughts about this?
 
See less See more
#2 · (Edited)
One difference I've noticed between classical and popular music conventions is that in classical music chord symbols are notated relative to the key (I, V, ii and so on), whereas in popular music it's the actual letter-names that are used (G, Dm, C6 and so on). I'm wondering if in some way that affects people's perception of the music. I always perceive music relative to the keynote, even when I don't know what that keynote is. To me "C-Am-F-G" and "G-Em-C-D" are just two ways of writing the same thing, in different musical "dialects". To a jazz or pop musician they might be perceived as completely different.

Any thoughts about this?
Using numbers is more efficient. If you want to drop a key, you don't have to rewrite all the charts. Nashville studio musicians use numbers instead of chords; somehow this staple of first-year music theory got to be called the Nashville Number System.

As far as a new key's sound, some people think different keys sound dramatically different. Personally, I don't think the average listener notices if a song has been transposed down one step because a singer is having a bad day.

However, especially in a jazz setting, changing keys would put a player into a different set of preplanned licks, so it keeps their playing fresh. In my own experience as an amateur jazz player, I play differently in F than in A because some licks are easier to play on my horn in F than A.
 
#4 ·
As far as a new key's sound, some people think different keys sound dramatically different. Personally, I don't think the average listener notices if a song has been transposed down one step because a singer is having a bad day.
Or simply because the singer has a different range. I sing with a community choir and we try out songs in various keys until we find one that fits the range of the singers on the various parts. The voice is of course the best transposing instrument of the lot; you don't need to know what key you're in, you just need the starting-note(s) and off you go.

I've never thought that keys sounded dramatically different from each other. On an equally-tempered instrument like a piano, I don't see how they can sound different. Similarly on instruments with strict fingerings like guitars or woodwind. I suppose on brass, or non-fretted stringed instruments, you can get slight differences in key-colour as the intervals change subtly between keys. But really I think you could play Beethoven's 5th in D minor and hardly anyone would notice the difference.
 
#3 ·
Coming from a folk background, key can be irrelevant either because the tune is modal or is duotonic (mainly Scottish) so names are better than numbers. But if the music is diatonic then numbers help because you can change key easily. If you go back to Baroque (or earlier) you can also have figured bass or simply a bass ground to work from. So you can have three different styles depending on the muic you're playing.
 
#5 ·
no, that wont affect the perception of the music
literally the only difference between different key is the instrumental timbre

anyway, differentiating major or minor key is not that important for modern music
as relative major & minor are now pretty much mixed together
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top