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MIRA-CLE OMNIBOOK * Donovick 1 A MIRA Theory of Music by Jeff Donovick (Contemporary Music Theory, Contemporary Keyboards, Electronic Music II: Synthesis and Sampling; MIRA Laptop and Electronic Arts Ensemble) Imagine yourself writing a piece of music with the desire to create something strange, new and beautiful. Unless the Muses are smiling on you and the ideas uninhibited flow, some effort is required to achieve your sound. True experimentation and improvisation with bizarre pitch combinations, spacy synth patches, gritty samples, intense amp settings, experimental drum tunings, various miking techniques, odd instrumentation, funky grooves may reveal the new sound you crave. Alternately, you may turn inward to the infinite resources of the imagination to envisage your standout track. Conjure the sound you seek, and determine the best gear/rig/instruments to reach that goal: software synths, live band, acoustic instruments, vocals! The composer/songwriter/arranger/producer/musician clearly has some decisions to make; some creatives do this naturally just hear it while others work and chisel away until the sound is right. (If we could map the statistics of all musicians throughout time, I suspect over 50% fall into the work at it category!). So this is your gig: what is your theory of music? Ive heard conclusions ranging from: if it sounds good it is good to music theory will ruin my natural inspiration. What is your theory of music? Which came first: the music or the theory of music? If you are like most musicians, this is interesting, but not important. It is time to make music! Contemporary music theory [which differs from traditional music theory in many ways], when applied creatively, becomes one more tool contributing towards the desired sound of that crucial track. Some examples can illustrate this speculation. Consider a famous rock chord progression (probably derived from Gospel music): (Insert graphic with audio) / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / C E7 | F G | C E7 | F G | C E7 | F G | C E7 | F G || to verse

THE MIRA-CLE OMNIBOOK * Donovick 2 A MIRA Theory of Music This sounds good, perhaps a bit predictable. C, F and G frequently blend in many combinations throughout contemporary music always affected by arrangement and groove still, very common. The E7 introduces an interesting sound, since the G# is outside of the prevailing scale/path (C D E F G A B), but this color chord has been used for hundreds of years, as E7 is indeed the V7 of Am, the relative minor for C major (even though it does not resolve to Am hey. . . what would that sound like? [Another good theory of music: the hey what would that sound like theory]). So, what can we do to mess up this simple chord progression? (Hey, what would that sound like?). First, pinpoint a couple of the original components: we want to create a variation not a brand new chord progression for now. Lets take: (1) the C and F chords (2) the interesting G# pitch (3) the predictable 8 bar form. Now get creative. (1) flip the C and F chords: instead of C on m. 1 and F on m. 2, put F on m. 1 and C on m. 2. (Insert image) / / / / / / / / F -- |C -- (etc) (2) grab the G#, and throw it in the F chord: F G# - C. (Triads ought to be spelled with alternating letter names, so let us call it F Ab C. Voila! Fm!) (Insert image) / / / / / / / / Fm -- |C -- (etc) (3) replace the E7 chord with an Ab major chord. (We can do this because it sounds good, and there is also the interesting fact that E7 has a G# -- the enharmonic equivalent to Ab so we are retaining something of the original progression.) a. keep the 8 bar form as the tie-in, so lets have a look at our morphed variation:

THE MIRA-CLE OMNIBOOK * Donovick 3 A MIRA Theory of Music (Insert graphic with audio) / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Fm Ab | C | Fm Ab | C | Fm Ab | C | Fm Ab | C || to verse
[Side note: play this backwards and you have Wrm by Yes, except we are up a perfect fifth (and the F would be major). The root movement by third is a quintessential modern sound!]

Notice the Ab major chord introduces a new blue note: Eb (graphic and audio of C blues scale) You can see that fluent analysis of the original, basic progression (and a little bit of mojo) enables the creative composer/songwriter/arranger/producer/musician to re-tool the existing elements of music into something strange and beautiful, without abandoning the original idea! Conclusion The well-rounded professional composer/songwriter/arranger/producer/musician must have a theory of music! Ye who enter here need not abandon all hope! What is your theory of music? Related MIRA Courses
MUT 2341 MUT 2341L MUT 2342 MUT 2342L MVK 1215 MVK 2125 MVK 2225 MUM 1624 COMMERCIAL MUSIC THEORY AND ARRANGING I COMMERCIAL EAR TRAINING I COMMERCIAL MUSIC THEORY AND ARRANGING II COMMERCIAL EAR TRAINING II KEYBOARD FOR ROCK, JAZZ, BLUES AND FUNK I POPULAR PIANO TECHNIQUES II KEYBOARD FOR ROCK, JAZZ, BLUES AND FUNK II ELECTRONIC MUSIC: SYNTHESIS AND SAMPLING II 3 1 3 1 2 1-2 2 3

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