{"id":1306,"date":"2013-06-22T11:22:59","date_gmt":"2013-06-22T18:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.garygarrett.me\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2017-08-25T07:38:23","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T14:38:23","slug":"leading-the-ear-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.garygarrett.me\/?p=1306","title":{"rendered":"To the Far Northwest"},"content":{"rendered":"

The chorus of Be Love<\/a> is solidly in major\u00a0territory. The chords are I, V, IV, the classic backbone chords of the major scale<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The verse, however, is going to be back in the Northwest<\/a> — I, bVII-, IV. I have to get back over there somehow, and I want to lead the ear strongly so that the move feels right.<\/p>\n

Once again I’ll use a dominant seventh<\/a> type chord. Here’s the shape again:<\/p>\n

\"P1080225\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The ear expects a I chord to come after this. Perhaps it’s one of those “nature abhors a vacuum” things. All the notes have tonal gravity<\/a> that is pointing at the center, yet there’s nothing there. It’s as though the planets<\/a> are orbiting the sun, and the sun is missing<\/a>. The ear wants to put it there.<\/p>\n

This “dominant seventh<\/a>” shape is named after the dominant<\/a> chord, the V7, where it shows up so often. It can be used elsewhere, and is the main tool<\/a> used in classical music to change keys<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When I started to work this out, I already had a climax in mind for the chorus. In the last line, I wanted to leap all the way to the far Northwest, the ii- chord (lower case roman numerals mean it’s a minor chord), and have the melody sit still while the chords revolve around it. Here’s the ii-:<\/p>\n

\"P1080430\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s a long leap, but I can make it with one transition chord, the I7.<\/p>\n

\"P1080421\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Adding a seventh to the I chord sends a strong signal to the ear: “We’re going west!” Normally the next chord would be a IV.<\/p>\n

This move is used all the time in music. It’s common for the bridge<\/a> of a song to start on a IV chord — it’s a shift on the lattice that makes the bridge sound different from the rest of the music, much like my shift to major for the chorus of Be Love. Putting a I7 right before the bridge tells the ear to expect this shift.<\/p>\n

I do something a little different, though. There is also a huge vacuum where the ii- ought to be — look how the two chord shapes fit into each other. Sure enough, going to the ii- after the I7 is satisfying and dramatic. Here’s how the sequence looks and sounds.<\/p>\n