How to make better compositions
I was wondering if someone could please give me advice on how to make better compositions (original works and maybe arrangements), as I've studied this before but have, unfortunately, forgotten most of what I've learned. So, any advice would be nice, such as chord progression. While we're at it, can someone please tell me the saddest chord progression they know? Please use easy to understand music lingo, as I am still kind of recovering lost memories.
Comments
There's a Finnish folk song, "Vem kan segla" (lyrics are in Swedish), the most beautiful of our folk songs. It's in a minor key. The text is kind of sad, "I can sail without a wind, I can row without oars, but I can't depart from a friend without tears". And the most beautiful recording of this song (an instrumental version) is made by Toots Thielemans and Svend Asmussen back in the late 60's. It's in Spotify. Listen to it. For me, it's the most perfect studio product of any time, any genre, anything.
Listen to the last repeat how the chords go. I can give a full chord analysis of it, if you want, but you have to listen to it. No one has ever caught the sadness in the song as these two masters of jazz melody have. Sure it's much about improvised melody, but as it is in jazz music, the improvised melody relies heavily on the harmony.
The name of the record is "Toots & Svend".
In reply to Saddest chord progression by jotti
It IS a nice song. Thanks to everyone!
I think sadness is partly dependent upon setting and partly on your own opinion.
The Adagio in G minor (Giazzotto/Albinoni) as used in the movie Gallipoli, for instance, is very sad. It was more poignant in the TV series Butterflies but not nearly so sad as in Gallpoli.
The scene in the opera Dialogues des Carmélites (Poulenc) where the nuns are martyred one by one by guillotine is generally regarded as sad.
The Adagietto from Symphony no. 5 (Mahler) is very sad but could also be uplifting if you were, say, watching a nice sunset with someone.
Por Una Cabeza (Carlos Gardel) sounds sad in Scent of a Woman but it's more comical in True Lies.
All of the above have good chord progressions.
In reply to Sad chords by underquark
Mozart's piano concerto in A major, KV 488, 2nd movement. Never seen a movie or anything with it. I know it only from records, and I have played it myself (never with an orchestra, though). You could compare it very well with Giazotto/Albinoni. It has a very Italian melody, or Sicilian. And it's sad. Again, I could probably dig up theoretical stuff about chord progressions in it, but a very simple thing is how it starts in F# minor and succeeds to lighten up by modulating to A major, only to fall back to F# minor again. And the Neapolitan chord plays an important role.
In reply to Sad chords by underquark
Thank you! Those poor nuns though...