Arranging Pop Songs

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Arranging Pop Songs

• Jyun-Ming Chen

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Motivations

• How do I create a melody?
• How do I harmonize the melody?
• What rhythms are available?
• Can I arrange a song from ???

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Scale Tones
???????????????
?C????
Tonic(I)
Leading note (VII)
Dominant (V)
Subdominant (IV)
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Consonant Interval
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Scale Tone ??
??? (C??)
???? (C??)
????? (e??)
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Melody Contour

• Contour - this is the shape of the line. Usually,
  there is only one highest or lowest note, called
  the peak.
• Arch contour
• Inverted arch contour
• Ascending ramp contour
• Descending ramp contour
• A Smooth Connected Line - Our ear more easily
  hears a series of notes as belonging together
  when they proceed smoothly and without leaps of
  larger intervals.
• use about 80 step wise motion (i.e. only the
  interval of a second) and 20 intervals large
  than a second.

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Arch
Inverted arch
Ascending ramp
Descending ramp
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Interval Review
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Degree ?C????
Degree ??????
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Triad Chords (????)
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Scale and Chords

• ????,??????,???7?????
• ?C????

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??????
????
Harmonic extension
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Chords variation in playing

• Inversion
• Slash chord
• open position/close position
• repeating/missing notes

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Harmonizing a Melody

• Try to determine what the harmonic pulse is.
• For each beat of the harmonic pulse, list all
  possible chords that could contain most if not
  all of the notes within that beat.
• When completed, begin at the end, try to compose
  a harmonic cadence that fits the melody. Complete
  the last two or three beats.

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??
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Three-Chord Song (Wikipedia)

• A three-chord song is a song whose music is built
  around three chords that are played in a certain
  sequence.
• Typically, the three chords used are the chords
  on the tonic, subdominant, and dominant (noted as
  I, IV and V) in the key of C, these would be the
  C, F and G chords. Sometimes the V7 chord is used
  instead of V, for greater tension.
• There are literally tens of thousands of songs
  written with I, IV and V chords country, blues,
  rock and roll, pop songs

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Chord Progressions

• Create a harmonic backing for melody
• Infinite possibilities. Rely on your ears to
  decide which chords are good for the melody, and
  in what order
• General principle of harmonic movement
• build up tension, resolve at the end
• many popular chord progression that does this
  V7-I (a popular cadence)
• Triads are sufficient use 7-chord 9-chord to
  enrich the harmony

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Progressionator
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Chord Progression

• A chord progression map suggested by this
  reference

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Chord Progression Game (ref)
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??(Wikipedia)

• ??(Numbered musical notation)??????,????????,?????
  ???????????????????18?????,???????,????????1904???
  ??,??????
• ????????????????
• ???????????????????????????????,?????????????????
  ????,??????,??????????,?????????90100??????????
  ???????????

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Points in Reading Guitar Sheet
Strumming pattern
e??(????G??)
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??????
???????? e??(G??)?,123 ????? GAB ??????????????
?
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?????????????? ?????????
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Topics

• BB appreciate what computer has done for you
  (pattern, solo, )
• Goldwave digital audio primer
• CoolEdit multitrack
• Vocaloid virtual singer
• Final work video spot (flash powerpoint)

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Homework

• Verify chord progression by marking melody notes
  in chords
• Write chords (in NWC)
• Seek chord center (modulation) example