[Son of Akira]

Originally Posted by Lug

Music without tension/resolution is called Modal music
and that's exactly the point of it : get lost in the atmosphere (colour) of the "mode" and just build melodically rather than harmonically


Coltrane changes are all about tension/resolution ! It's a bit of a mindfuck but it is tonal

Yeah, I was lumping in non-traditioinal resolution with non-resolutions

[Alarinth]

Originally Posted by Focalized

I'm thinking of a chord progression where the expected next chord is never really used. Don't how to explain this.

Really though some melodies over a two note bass line seem to do this. There's a circular feeling that can be applied to the phrase that feels just, good and new over the length of it all.

There can be multiple reasons for this, but try to picture this.

For every chord used, there is another one that theoretically could be used instead. If you're in C major, and are about to resolve to C through a normal I-IV-V-I resolution, you can instead go to Am by doing I-IV-V-VI. That'll still give you a very similar feel as to what the former would give you, and that's because the two are related.

Very simplified, you can say that every chord has it's "brother"-chord which is a minor third away. For F minor, that'd be Ab-Major, whereas for G major, that'd be E-minor.

There are also a lot of other chords which fit as well, but that'll be more complex resolutions and connections.

[Endo Andre]

thats the whole trick of repetition..if you get some good chords 4x4 people will have an earworm with that!

[steeboo]

It's about the context too... having the same chords, but with a different bassline behind it puts the melody in a different context and removes the repetitive feel.

[mossamp]

Boris Feedbacker....

Pure chest pounding doom. Into a purely meditation ambience....BORIS is the best band ever. Any genre that is electrified they killed it.

[twilitez]

Minor chords tend to last longer with me then any major ones. But maybe that says more about me then about the music. This may sound corny but i guess minor variations are more suited to expressing all emotions, instead of mostly happy ones.

[mossamp]

It is true. Minor chords to get out the aggression.

[unknown__artist]

Originally Posted by twilitez

This may sound corny but i guess minor variations are more suited to expressing all emotions, instead of mostly happy ones.

Though very common, minor chords/scales as the proper way to convey emotions is probably the biggest hoax in music. Seriously.

[AsylumSeaker]

Whatever happened to using both anyway?

[unknown__artist]

Originally Posted by AsylumSeaker

Whatever happened to using both anyway?

Indeed.

[thewelshmike]

I depends on what you do over the top. Don't get too hung up on making obsuce progressions. I'd go the other way, find the most simple, poppy chord progression and turn it into some thing new and amazing.

[mossamp]

It also depends on how high you are...

[Muse-ic]

The more I have got into electronic music and dissect compositions I have realized how many electronic songs do use pretty simple elements as one chord droning...It's complex to the ears because layer upon layer add richness and variability. It also seems to be constantly subtly changing...click, drone, layer, drum, note, melody at a time. More of a journey atmospheric feel to it.

Rock music tends to be set up in a chorus, verse type structure where the same notes are played again and repeated....also words and lyrics add to that formulaic feel.

Of course you can have a static feel to techno songs that repeat over and over so it's not always the case.

[paracetamol]

Originally Posted by Focalized

Amo Bishop Roden.

There is no other song in the world that evokes more feelings of sadness and hope at the same time in me than Amo Bishop Roden.



not really adding to the topic though.

[henryspencer]

Originally Posted by paracetamol

There is no other song in the world that evokes more feelings of sadness and hope at the same time in me than Amo Bishop Roden.



not really adding to the topic though.

It is though because its just the same progression over and over with that high synth on top yet it can go on and on and still stay interesting. True magic that!

[IamOthello]

Because it is most likely goal oriented harmony that has small departures away from the tonic before returning. This is also most likely supported by orchestration that provides a sense of building and interesting throughout the piece.

[James Dax]

Originally Posted by ghyt wembpang

because it doesn't stay exactly the same the whole way through. There is variation. Different instruments. Changes in tone. Changes in intensity.

this !

[bkwsk]

Dunno if somebody made it before, but in electronic music modulation and automation are absolutely key to keep things interesting throughout the track. Don't be afraid to use LFOs -with taste- and automate parameters on your synth/sampler like there's no tomorrow -also with taste-.

[Dugg Funnie]

A.) It's a fucking amazing sounding progression

B.) Gestalt psychology

[Djreject]

try listening to ravel bolero's you'll get the idea,

he repeats the same theme like 48 time and only changes the instruments...


The thing with rock bands is that yes they stick to common chord progression but they have a lot dynamic changes in their overall results, e.g a chorus is going to be an all out in your face layer of 12 different tone of guitars plus the drum that is going to be upbeat, while a verse is going to be more laid back to let the singer some space.

Electronic music is not so different, but enough to make it trickier, you don't produce electronic in a band (well some people do but it's out of the topic), so you'll end up having to manage the drum/bass/lead/pad/wtv else you want, by yourself.

This method implies a lot of work on details at every levels of composition, and this means you have to layers sounds on top of each others.

a good trick for that is to record a track and layer another track slightly different on top of it, and do it again...and again...until you feel satisfied or get tired.
afterward it is easier to gauge which sound you want up front since the only thing you have to do is to raise or lower a fader, which is very intuitive, and since every track is going to revolve around the same progression you wont 'break' the vibe or anything but induce small variations.

In the case of the Four Tet song, I can't really help because I personnaly don't think it's a good one. but in the case of the Afx twin song, what he does is small variation in the rythmn (which he's really good at), which helps getting a feeling of evolution.


Sorry for the long post, hope it helped.