My Second HookTheory Rhythm (Beats)

After messing around with the timing of the “bands”, I decided to go for a heavier electronic rhythm. I think the halftime rhythm sounds good with the melody’s structure, and I added a little fill at the end to fit with the ending of the chord progression.

What I Learned & Problems I Solved

Honestly, I didn’t initially realize there were drums built into Hookpad. They were pretty fun to play around with, but I wish I had a bit more freedom to customize them without needing a MIDI setup.

Grammar and Spelling

Grammarly 🤨

Resources

• Watch Mr. Le Duc’s Tutorial for Exporting and Importing MIDI Files with Funklet, HookLab, and Soundtrap, if you get stuck with any of these steps.

Summary

In this project, we’re learning the basics of harmony and its composition, and then using HookTheory and our accumulated knowledge to compose a chord progression.

My First HookTheory Chord Progression  (Harmony)

With my first melody, I was initially having trouble getting the chords to line up with it properly. I was a bit disappointed to scrap it, but it was for the better–this sounds much, much cleaner. I messed around with the BPM to give it a jauntier feel, and I think it came out nicely.

Notes from Howard Goodall’s Harmony Video

• How Music Works with Howard Goodall – Harmony

Harmony Composition Terms and Definitions

• Harmony was not originally part of music until the middle ages and the renaissance
• Harmony sounds like it comes from some other plane of existence (to exaggerate a bit)
• Harmony in its simplest and oldest form in two notes playing at the same time
• A drone is a single note that you can sing any melody above. Bagpipes are an instrument that plays a drone.
• A drone is usually the tonic
• When people started to move the drone around, it was like the melody and the harmony were parallel lines. As the melody moved up, the drone moved up
• Triad – 3 notes that come together and create a chord
• Chord progressions are the backbone of western harmony
• People discovered the “hierarchy” of chords and created rules to go with these
• In one note, there are other hidden notes called harmonics
• Humans can only really pick out three or four harmonics
• Using the harmonics humans were able to make chords by finding the notes hidden in the harmonics
• In minor chords, the middle note is a half-step lower than in a major chord
• Polyphony is when you have a bunch of chords under the melody
• Polyphony – many “voices”
• Progression – a certain series of chords or notes that “work together” and sound good
• Tonic – the first note of a scale “home”
• Dominant – the fifth note of a scale that raises tension
• Passimezzo Antico – A chord progression that’s a variation of a double tonic. It was popular during the Italian Renaissance
• Passimezzo Moderno – “Modern half step” A chord progression that’s a variation of Passimezzo Antico. It divides the section in two and often uses a contrasting progression or section known as ripresi
• Dischord – a deliberate collision of notes that are meant not to sound “pretty”
• Dissonance – lack of harmony between notes “a clash”
• Passing Notes – notes that don’t sound “pretty” but are used a small number of times like they are just “passing through”
• Suspended Notes – dissonant notes being held for as long as possible and then finally moving at the last second
• 7th Chords – A regular triad chord plus the note seven steps above the first note
• Diminished Chords – A regular triad chord with the bottom note being moved up a step
• Augmented Chords – A regular triad chord with the last note being moved up a step
• Tonic (1 and 8 chords)
  • Root note creates a feeling of resolution and stability
• Supertonic, Mediant, Submediant (2, 3, 6 chords)
  • Moderate tension, useful for transitions
• Dominant, Subdominant, Leading Tone (4, 5, 7 chords)
  • Create lots of tension to get to the tonic

Mr. Le Duc’s Key of C Major Notes and Chords Chart (PDF)

One of My Favorite (Chord Progressions) Harmonies

This is from the outro of one of my favorite Rush songs, Subdivisions.

I like the general repetition it has, while still expanding via different chords to keep things interesting. Since it’s the outro, I think tonic chords (in B minor) are used in every measure to create that feeling of tension releasing.

My Second HookTheory Chord Progression (Harmonies)

This one was definitely more “experimentation for the sake of experimentation”, which I hope isn’t too obvious just from listening. I went for a slower, more sober vibe, with chords doing much of the work here. I like using sharp/flat keys in my melodies quite a bit, but it can be tricky to make it work with specific chords.

What I Learned & Problems I Solved

I… had to do a bit of rewatching that Howard Goodall video throughout this project, in order for some of the specific terms and vocabulary to click. I had some trouble with composition at first, as mentioned earlier, but I eventually got some tunes that I’m pleased with.

Grammar and Spelling

Grammarly 💪

Resources

• • Assessment a Feedback
    • General Music Composition Rubric (Google Doc)
  • Hook Theory Tools and Tutorials
    • hooktheory.com/theorytab/index (Analyzing Songs)
    • hookpad.hooktheory.com (Creating Songs)
    • Hookpad Beginner Tutorial – Part 1: User Interface (YouTube)
    • Hookpad Beginner Tutorial – Part 2: Melodies (YouTube)
    • All HookTheory video tutorials
  • Music Theory
    • Mr. Le Duc’s Key of C Major Notes and Chords Chart (PDF)
    • Music Works with Howard Goodall – Harmony
  • Free MIDI files midiworld.com/files/
    • MIDI file of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy from his 9th symphony
    • Coldplay Talk sample midi file
      • The musical notation interactive sheet music for Talk by Coldplay
  • MIDI and Music Notation Editors
    • onlinesequencer.net – online
    • flat.io – online
    • noteflight.com – online
    • MuseScore downloadable program
  • GarageBand
    • How to View and Print Sheet Music: Garageband X Tutorial
    • GarageBand Basics Screencast Video Tutorial