posted 05-24-2004 09:42 AM               

My first pass at working this out had me certain that the song was in A Aeolian (the natural minor scale), which uses b3, b6, and b7 (instead of their normal notes in those positions), making a set of chords that is consistent with those used in the song.

Then I was reading something that said if the primary chord (besides the root) in a song is the bVII, then you are in the Mixolydian mode (which uses a b7 instead of a 7) and went on to say that the bVII chord is _the_ Mixolydian chord. The main chords in the song are A5, D5, G5 (I, IV, bVII). There is a riff played by the second guitar that uses F# and G which would be consistent with A Mixolydian (and not A Aeolian).

In analyzing a song, what cues do you use to decide what the "right" answer is? Seems to me like the song is in A Aeolian and that there is a short A Mixolydian riff in it. But I'm just guessing.

posted 05-24-2004 11:29 AM               

In pop and rock music, those bVII and bVI chords are very common (like the kinks' "Lola", etc), so I would probably just say it's in the key of A, but think Mixolydian if I was playing a solo. [Then again, you didn't say this was pop/rock, did you!]

I really don't think there's one 'correct' answer to situations like this, because you can look at it a few different ways. If you're thinking modally, you could play the mixo. for that main progression, then alter the scale any time the progression changes and includes the C and F natural--going with a minor Aeolian or Phrygian, or even Dorian if the C is played but the F# is still there).

And the minor pentatonic scale would probably work fine over the whole thing.

So, is there some information in my post or is that just a ramble?

posted 05-24-2004 01:09 PM               

I'm taking a class where we have to present a brief discussion of a song to the class. The song in question is pop/rock (how insightful of you): Jet's "Cold Hard Bitch" (with apologies do anyone the language offends).

I did my original "analysis" based on just the chord structure (key of A signature but no chord is sharp and C, F, and G chords are all used at some point -- and would all be sharp in major/ionian mode). Only Aeolian (or Phrygian, as you point out) would give me a bIII, bVI, and bVII. B is the one chord/note that doesn't show up anywhere, so we don't have a deciding data point.

Then I noticed that the little blues-based shuffle that is played by the second guitar during the intro/outro is A with E, F#, and G. That would be Mixolydian or Dorian (to account for the "normal" VI and the bVII).

I realize that there aren't any hard and fast rules -- it's what sounds good. But I also want to give an accurate -- or as near accurate as possible -- description of the song. At a minimum, I don't want to mislead or misinform.

posted 05-24-2004 04:04 PM               

The way this relates to other kinds of chord/scale relationships is just the general logic that the notes of a scale will fit a chord if they are 1) basic chord tones 2) can be heard as chord extensions (7ths, 9ths, etc.), 3) are used as passing tones or 4) have such a strong melodic logic that you can force them against a chord where you might not otherwise think they would work.

For instance, Andrew suggested A minor pentatonic. This will work against an A major chord, for example, owing to precisely this kind of melodic logic - giving you a bluesy sound, contrasting the scale's C natural with the chord's C sharp, among other things. At the same time, it will work against a C major chord because it consists of the root, second/ninth, third, fifth and sixth in relation to the C root, and against an F major chord because it contains that chord's second/ninth, third, fifth, sixth, and major seventh - all common and usable chord tones. In this way, pentatonic scales often give you "automatic" chord extensions, and different ones on each chord, when you're using one scale to cover several chords. In other words, you can get some pretty nice sounds sometimes with a minimum of effort.

posted 05-25-2004 05:36 AM            

The Mixolydian is a fair choice given this F-G-A thing, but that progression is short and passing and doesn't necessarily have to be centered around. The song bluesy, so a straight A minor pentatonic is maybe a better choice.

posted 06-01-2004 12:20 PM               

G
E
C

Move the bottom note up an octave, and you get:

C
G
E

The chord is now turned upside down ("inverted"), sort of, at least in the sense that what used to be the bottom note is now the top note. That's why it's called an inversion. The result of moving the C on top is that the E, or third of the chord, is now in the bass. This is known as a first inversion chord - and therefore, chords with the third in the bass are often called first inversion chords (often no matter what notes are actually on top).

Now, repeat the process, and move the E up an octave:

E
C
G

Now the fifth is in the bass. This is a second inversion chord. If you're dealing with a seventh chord, such as C7, it is also possible to have third inversion chords. Here's C7 in root position:

Bb
G
E
C

First inversion (third in the bass):

C
Bb
G
E

Second inversion:

E
C
Bb
G

Third inversion:

G
E
C
Bb

Even larger chords, such as 9th chords (which have five different notes) theoretically can produce fourth inversions and so on. In practice, though, it is uncommon to have intervals such as 9ths, 11ths and 13ths in the bass.

To write this using chord symbols: If a chord is supposed to have a bass note other than its root, write the usual chord symbol first, then a slash and then the name of the new bass note: C/E This also works when the bass note is not a normal chord note: C/F. C/E is an inversion (because the note E is part of a C major chord), whereas C/F is just a chord over a bass note foreign to the chord.

Inversions are used to vary the bass line. Very often, they are used to produce stepwise bass lines (moving in half- or whole steps). For example, the chords C G Am can be played C G/B Am (the G chord is in first inversion in this case).