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NC in the US of America

*I hope that title makes sense.

So, often I hear songs in the chiptune world in which the melodies stick to the proper scale, mode, tonic, all the way through. People seem to like it, with exceptions that are considered "boring".

Then I hear music that seems to have notes going all over the place, disregarding scale or tonal center, seeming to randomly switch modes and tonalities with no warning. People also like THIS, also with exceptions. I'm not talking about purely atonal music, but music that is very loose in the path it takes in returning to the tonic, and not in a "jazzy" way, either.

So... how do you "break the tonal center" and get away with it? And what do you call it? Eh... I'll just say "atonal" anyway.

One thing I've noticed about the songs that I like that incorporate this device is that the atonality is almost a parody in nature. It's like the composer knew where the note was "supposed" to go, but threw it off somewhere else just because. It almost follows that Avril Lavigne chord progression, and the artist, who is aware of that fact and deliberately wrote it that way, is laughing his head off at your confusion.

And with other songs, it will go off just for a note or two, then come right back to the center and pretend nothing ever happened, very much aware that something did indeed happen..

What are your thoughts?

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shanghai

i like this too. its very familiar in all of the dudes on Inpuj. Ilkae,proswell etc........me i cant read sheet music but i have been playing piano for about ten years........myself is just trial and error, i have a vague understanding of the progression i should follow, but i often strive to make it dissonant and slightly off like you are saying. its simialr in bands i like, like sigur ros, they do that alot.......i think its just practice, exploration and being a badass haha

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Brunswick, GA USA

You can get that level of harmony skill with experimentation and practice or you can take two years' of classes on it. The information on how it is or was done is out there if you want to know.

Some starting suggestions are to play with so-called pivot chords, borrow from relative minor, explore the circle of fifths, make "truck driver great shift" key changes, make key changes that match a common chord progression.... Take the ones you understood and try to make examples yourself, see what they sound like, guess where you heard those sounds before...

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When people insert these "startling" key changes, it is often during a calm of the storm, or at a climax. In my track "Mourning Glory" I step down from E minor/E phrygian to D minor simply by throwing a fat D in the bass while having my chords up top from the E part of the song. It creates some dissonance, but it works fine. 8 bars before there was a lot of melodic activity, but when the bass comes in there is no melodic motion. I chose calm before the storm for that transition, by changing keys before introducing new notes and ideas to the song. You don't have to be so gradual however.

One last thing - LSDJ can create a ton of different sounds, and always remain uniquely Gameboy. Use this to your advantage when changing genres or styles. Key changes stick out a bit more due to having 3 tonal channels, but it is definitely possible with musical buildup or release.

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Rochester, NY

dat truck driver key change... ew

What you're talking about, OP, is actually a pretty common way to make a song more memorable without having the listener consciously understand why (if they don't hear the dissonance).  It's a pretty baller musical technique, one that we can't use correctly yet lol

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Gosford, Australia

minor shift on the subdominant chord yeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw

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NC in the US of America
ChipsChallengeBand wrote:

dat truck driver key change... ew

What you're talking about, OP, is actually a pretty common way to make a song more memorable without having the listener consciously understand why (if they don't hear the dissonance).  It's a pretty baller musical technique, one that we can't use correctly yet lol

Yeah. It is very common, but generally not too common for it to be taken to the extremes, well, depending on who you ask, I guess.

I didn't realize it was such a covert thing, though.

I think there's a certain level of honesty and the ability to communicate a feeling effectively involved, too.

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Brunswick, GA USA

If OP understands harmonic theory words, please name a song and maybe we can help analyze.

Very true about emotional output; using theory as formula is easy to detect, isn't it?

Last edited by chunter (Aug 6, 2012 1:03 pm)

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AANABAY01

you should study all my tunes yikes)

i noticed recently that everyone forgot how much better i was than all the new dudes

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Indiana

I'd just suggest listening to and studying Stravinsky's works.

Last edited by boomglitch (Aug 6, 2012 1:12 pm)

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NC in the US of America

I just realized, "breaking" is kind of any inappropriate word to use, because really, all of this stuff is covered under modes and the various scales. I guess it just sounds odd to my ear. The more I read you guys' posts, the more I realize I don't know, haha.

I'd say Nuclace's "Gooney Tunes" is a light example of what I'm talking about. One that persists throughout.

Edith: And, yeah, Stravinsky. The Stravinsky examples seems like it's leaning more towards real atonality, but my ear is not at the level where I can analyze this.

Edit edit: since you were so kind as to volunteer: http://chipmusic.org/zan-zan-zawa-butt/ … ping-hippy

I think an analysis of this would be very educatiional

Last edited by SketchMan3 (Aug 6, 2012 1:34 pm)

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Gosford, Australia

listen to/study kwwrr, especially the album "Big Times" (although it's all consistently dissonant & yet really thoughtfully written and sensible)

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Chicago IL, USA

I have no idea what half the things you guys are saying  mean. I suck.

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SadPanda wrote:

I have no idea what half the things you guys are saying  mean. I suck.

I know what you mean, suddenly my strategy of closing my eyes pressing all the keys on the keyboard at the same time doesn't sound so sophisticated yikes

All these new phrases and concepts will make for an interesting evenings googling though, thanks for that posters !

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Chicago IL, USA

My 2 rules are:

1. If it sounds right, it is.
2. If it sounds a little off, close enough.

Edit: Bonus Rule: If it sounds good, better add some glitches.

Last edited by SadPanda (Aug 6, 2012 2:45 pm)

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uhajdafdfdfa

are you asking for rules about breaking the rules?