Extremely limited introduction to music theory

Even though some demoscene musicians do great music with trackers, there is something that differs them from commercial tunes. In most cases it's not the lo-fi samples or unprofessional software, but knowledge in music theory. Usually lack of it. I'm not saying here, that I know how music is made, nor do I claim to do it better than anyone, actually I kinda suck in making modules, but since most people don't even know the theory basics, I think this article isn't a complete waste of time.

One of the first things you should know, is that every song is written in a key, which is a compilation of notes and chords. For example, the most used key in western music, is probably the key of C-major, which contains no sharps or flats, ie. the notes in that key are C,D,E,F,G,A and B (H in most European countries, but since trackers use B I'll use it too). Chords in C-major scale are C,Dm,Em,F,G,Am,Bdim. When you make music and stick to your key, you can't go wrong (at least not too much). To write music in different keys, you can transpose it after having first written it in a key of C, which is a breeze at least in Fast Tracker where transposing can be done automatically. When you write the C-major scale on a tracker and transpose it to G, you get (surprisingly) the scale of G-major. It contains the notes G,A,H,C,D,E, and F#, so there is one sharp now, but the intervals (distances between tones) are still the same. As you transpose the C-major scale, you'll notice how the notes change, allowing you to get any major-scale. If you wish to write in a minor-key, instead of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 (in C-major, C,D,E,F,G,A,B) you play 1,2,3b,4,5,6b,7b, so in the scale of C-minor there are C,D,Eb,F,G,Ab,Bb. Transpose that and you'll get minor-scales in different keys, just like you did with major-scales.

To change from one key to another you use modulation, which in pop-music is most often done by moving via a "common chord", ie. a chord which both keys include. Moving from a minor key to a major can be really effective, or modulating a half step higher from original key can really increase the mood of a tune. An example of this is the annoying "Titanic"-theme by Celine Dion, which transposes itself from a key of C#m to Dm (this is if I remember it right, at least it transposes to somewhere :-)) For example if you wish to move from the key of C-major to A-minor you can use for example the chord of G-major and it should sound quite natural.

The thing most modules lack is rightly built chords. Many use some huge orchestra-samples but make them all play the same note (I have seen a module where there were 6 or so channels playing C with different samples trying it to make it sound big but failing miserably). Way to construct a basic major/minor chord is easy. To make a major-chord you take the intervals 1,3 and 5, so C-major chord contains the first, third and fifth note from the C-major scale, ie. C,E, and G. In C-minor chord it's the same, but notes are of course taken from a C-minor scale, so Cm chord includes notes C, Eb and G. In many punk and alike songs chords consist only from fifths, where there is no third interval, ie C5 has notes C and G. Fifth chords aren't therefore major or minor, they're just fifths :). The fifth chord, (in the legendary C-major scale, it's G-major chord), are used to release (not sure if this is the correct english term but…) the musical tension, and to be more effective you can make it a septim (this most likely isn't an english-word) ie. you add the 7^th note to it, so the Gmajor chord, which is G,B, and D will result into G7 which is G,B,D and the seventh note F. But what has happened ? How come there is F, not F# even we are playing a chord of G and in scale of G-major there is F# ? The G7 is actually G7minor but it's not written like that. Instead the major7th is being told separately (Gmaj7), which has notes of G,B,D and F#. Chord-progressions to use can be easily rip..krhmdds.. learned from real pop-tunes. If you for example look the way The Beatles did it, you can't really go wrong. In rock, the most common progression must be the I,IV,V-progression. Ie. in key of C-major you play C,F and G chords. Yes, you can use G7 to add it some definiton, this (even how simple it is) is quite a bitch to learn by accident or by ear, it's lot easier to read some books. Even though it's best to check the way real dudes construct their songs chord-wise. I'll list here some useful chords in different keys (ripped from a guitar-mag, but this is really common knowledge, and you shouldn't feel like stealing even if you use these directly, EVERYBODY does it, so why shouldn't you). First chord is also the key which to use the chords in.

When you make your tune you can make it more exotic by using different kind of modes. When the basic major-scale includes the intervals 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 producing the normal do,re,mi,fa,so,la,si,do thingy, you can alter it for example to a lydian scale which has raised fourth, ie. 1,2,3,4#,5,6,7. In C-major scale that would be C,D,E,F#,G,A, and B. As a hint, don't change the mode you started, otherwise it sounds like you're going out of key or something, and that isn't (probably) what you want. Here's a list of some modes as a list of intervals.

There are a shitload of others and nothing stops you from constructing your own, you can really make a musical trip to other countries by making your music sound like Egyptian, Asian, Russian, what ever…

Well, this is about it. When you make music, remember to check that your samples are all in tune. Some samples are transposed to play something completely different that you'd like them to, especially if they're ripped from several modules. If samples aren't in tune, you can count on it that the result sounds shit, no matter how you do it.

Here is one interesting link.