Wednesday, August 31, 2011
When I was a kid, I’d listen to music and wonder, why is this chord progression so much more satisfying than that one? Now I know the answer: secondary dominants, chords that temporarily change the key in a logical-sounding way. If you want to take your songwriting in a more sophisticated direction, you definitely want [...]
Filed in Composition, Music, Music Teaching, Music Theory
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Also tagged bob dylan, cadences, chords, circle of fifths, Composition, country, elizabeth cotten, harmony, i got rhythm, jay-z, jazz, Music Theory, neil young, ragtime, secondary dominants, tritones
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Hip-hop isn’t usually big on chord progressions, but “Empire State Of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys has an awesome set of changes. Because Alicia Keys was involved, I thought she might have written the chord progression. But no, it’s built from samples of the intro to “Love On A Two-Way Street” by The Moments.
Filed in Composition, Music, Sampling
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Also tagged chords, digging the crates, hip-hop, jay-z, lego, looping, Music Theory, nyc, Sampling, songwriting, the moments
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Thursday, February 11, 2010
When I was younger I was obsessed with authenticity in music. I wouldn’t even play electric guitar because it felt too easy, like cheating somehow. I expended a lot of energy and attention trying to figure out what is and isn’t authentic. Now, at the age of 34, I’ve officially given up. I doubt there’s [...]
Filed in Autobio, Music, Race and Identity
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Also tagged acoustic, authenticity, autotune, bebop, big chill, bill monroe, bluegrass, blues, electronica, Emotion, harmonica, herbie hancock, howlin wolf, jay-z, jazz, john coltrane, judaica, klezmer, led zeppelin, lipsynching, michael jackson, motown, nyc, purists, rnb, Sampling, soul, synths, thelonious monk
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