I need a course in music theory as it relates to pop music

Cafe Society
1

I played in the orchestra in high school and took several music theory courses in college, so I’m not looking for a basic course in music theory - please no “This is teh treble clef!!!1” or Music Theory for imbeciles-style book recs. However, I am pretty rusty on everything but the basics since I’ve done nothing but play in rock bands and so on for the last seven or eight years.

I need a recommendation for an article, website, or book about basic pop music theory - that is, the music theory of popular music - pop, rock, etc., as opposed to Beethoven or classical minuets.

I want to refresh my understanding of basic things like chord progressions - why I-IV-V is so common in popular music and sounds so good to our ears, what the “12 bar” in 12 bar blues is and how the common blues scale relates to it and functions in a progression of “blues chords” (what are those, again - ninths?), why that C-Am-F-G progression always sounds good and those chords always fit together (are they in the same root key? something about the circle of fifths? Beats me!), and so on.

In other words, I need a refresher course on practical music theory as it relates to **contemporary ** music rather than in-depth discussions of counterpoint as heard in Beethoven, fugues and leitmotifs in classical pieces, what the hell a minuet is, and so on.

Books, articles, websites, newsletters are welcome - just show me the goods!

2

Maybe it’s not exactly what you are looking for, but Alan W. Pollack’s Notes On… Series is a fascinating analysis of Beatles songs.

3

I can give you a few answers straight off, and they’re ones which are as much connected to traditional music theory as to pop music:

I-IV-V-I is an example of a standard chord sequence which has been around in classical traditions for centuries. It’s neat, concise, doesn’t leap around too much, and has a closed ending (V-I providing a cadence). From each chord to the next, individual notes can either stay the same, or move a short step or jump to the next one, which makes it sound like a progression rather than a sequence of individual chords.

Why certain sequences became prevalent is hard to answer. Part of the situation is pure luck, and some of it is to do with inherent characteristics. However, if somebody tells you that particular chords just ‘sound natural’, and tells you it’s all down to the physics of sound, distrust them :wink:
C-Am-F-G(-C) is similar to the previous sequence - it’s I-VI-IV-V-I. So we’ve got the finality of returning to the home chord via a perfect cadence, for starters. The movement through VI to VI means even fewer jumps between chords: to change from C to Am, only one note needs to change (G to A), and similarly from Am to F (E to F). This sequence also allows a bass line to have both a strong role, and also a smooth outline, descending through C-A-F, back up to G for the V-I ending. You can add passing notes, makind a descent through a five note scale from C to F before the cadence.

Tell me if any of this is the kind of thing that’s useful, or is still too abstract/theoretical/whatever (it’s hard to explain things without a piano handy to show what they sound like!)

4

“The movement through VI to IV…”

5

Gorillaman, your post was perfect - exactly what I’m looking for - I just want MORE, preferably with examples like how such and such shows up in Del Shannon’s Runaway, making it one of the best pop songs ever written, and so on.

I guess I just want to get back into theory and refresh myself, but I don’t want to do so via stodgy classical-minded books with their minuet examples and focus on things like counterpoint.

6

I can recommend a book that was about playing rock piano, which provided examples of the typical elements of various styles that influenced modern rock. Those were presented in chronological order. It won’t fill all your needs, but may help you somewhat in understanding. I believe it is URL=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0825622077&itm=1]this book, Teach yourself rock piano, although my version has a different cover (and is older than 1997).

7

I should add that the book described these styles by showing

  • standard chord progressions, in particular the very influential blues progression,
  • the prevalence in modern rock music of ‘heavier’ chords (with 7, 9, and diminished elements).
  • the presence of certain ‘variations’ or ‘decorative elements’ in the chord play, which differ according to style (jazzy, bluesy, etc.).
  • the different manners in which the chords are played (arpeggio, or ‘full’ chords in the lower register).
    It didn’t cover the full spectrum, instead concentrating on rock and its influences, but still was a nice intro for me.

Basically it appears rock music is very heavily chord based, more so than classical music. The chord progression is laid out, and the musicians improvise on top of it, playing out the chords with variations. The way in which these elements are chosen and combined is in large part determining for the style of the song.

What’s lacking in the above description is things like instrumentation, more specific rhythmic choices (like reggae).

8

What you want is a Jazz theory book. Certainly the one I learned from covered what you asked for in the OP. One example, it taught me why and how you’d use diminished and augmented chords which I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a proper theory book. I gave it away years ago and I can’t find an online reference to it but go for a generalized Jazz book. There’s bound to be a some tutorials and stuff online let’s have a look. . .

Modes

Cycle of Fifths

Dominant Seventh

Any use?

9

Just the minorest of nitpicks, but minor chords are generally shown in lowercase in Roman numeral notation. So it would be:

I-vi-IV-V-I

Perhaps the most prevalent chord progression through pop history would be:

I-vi-ii-V-I

“Runaway” is a typical decending minor rootnote progression (other songs that do this include “25 or 6 to 4” [albeit with an extra chord], “The Cat Came Back,” “Happy Together,” “Hit the Road Jack,” “Good Vibrations,” etc. It is also commonly referred to as the Flamenco chord progression, because of its ubiquity in that music.

What “Runaway” does in the bridge that is somewhat interesting is switch tonality from minor to major. A major becomes the tonal center, along with the chords typically associated with that key: F#m, D, and finally E7 to resolve back to the verse’s Am.

As for why certain progressions work, nobody can really tell you. Theory is a description of music, not a how-to guide. Music theory analyzes the past and tells you the rules for that particular genre. For a linguistic analogy, it’s like a descriptive grammar.

For your purposes, though, a primer on jazz theory should suffice.

10

The “12 bar” simply means the progression is 12 bars long. As opposed to 8-bar blues. 12-bar is the traditional form. Here’s the basic progression:

I-(IV)-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-VI-I-I

All chords are dominant 7ths (which distinguishes it from a lot of other music, as the I chord is rarely a dominant seventh chord outside the blues.)

The blues scale is the collection of notes typically associated with blues music. It is the root, the minor third, the fourth, the augmented fourth/flatted fifth, the fifth and the dominant seventh. In the key of C, these would be:

C, E-flat, F, F#/G-flat, G, B-flat

Unlike in other forms of jazz, the scale used does not change over the chord in any given progression. You stick with the blues scale for the key your song is in. For example, the C blues scale is used over the C7, the F7, or the G7 in a traditional blues tune. Obviously, different notes are given different prominance depending on where you at harmonically.

Now, that’s all basic rules of thumb. The major third often finds its way into blues songs, too, especially on piano. The real blues notes aren’t quite the minor third or major third–somewhere in between. Bending notes on guitar is of significant importance to getting that feel–it also allows you to hit those funny in-between notes.

I don’t know of any chords specifically known as “blues chords.” I would simply call them 7ths.

I’m not sure what you mean by “same root key.” Yes, they are all in the key of C. Generally, chord progressions relate to a particular tonal center. They may shift centers or tonalities (as discussed with “Runaway”), but the progressions within all relate to one another.

Like I said, a jazz primer will do you fine. But I learned most of my theory during piano lessons and most of what I learned there – in the context of traditional theory – was applicable to pop music theory.

11

Want to chat sometime? Can we do that here or would it be easier through Facebook Messenger or Google Hangouts? I am a music teacher and would love to help and/or point you in the right direction.

12

Um, this is a 15 year old thread and the OP has been banned for one reason or another. I don’t think you’ll get a response.

13

… But the rest of us would love to hear what you have to say!
The more I learn about theory, and how it’s used in contemporary music, the more I enjoy listening to it. Wasn’t much of a Sting fan until I learned he used those “mode” things: æolian, dorian and… myxolodian(?).

I think I’ve grasped basic theory: keys, time signatures, chords and progressions. And it makes music so much fun (like tapping your foot to Solisbury Hill: “Hey, there are SEVEN beats to each measure!”; or asking yourself "Did Sir Paul just modulate up a whole step to a new key?).

But those “mode” things are a new frontier for me.

Here’s the video that started me on all that:

And one just on modes:

That’s Rick Beato, the guy who apparently analyzes and explains every note of every song… his “What makes THIS song great?” series is wonderful. He loves rock music, and how it’s constructed.