Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [chromatic]

Relating to notes not belonging to the diatonic scale of the key in which the passage is written.

A chromatic scale is one which has twelve pitches, ascending or descending by semitones. A chromatic instrument is one which can play all of the tones of the chromatic scale.

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Why is B♯ higher than C♭ in 31-ET?

I was looking into microtonal series, and started reading a bit on the 31-ET series, and came across something that doesn't quite make sense to me. I noticed this chart on the wiki page for 31-ET that listed all of the notes in the chromatic…
Siyual
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Why is ra lower than re while la is higher than le?

According to Wikipedia and this answer, the solfège syllables for 2 and ♭2 are re and ra, respectively, while the solfège syllables for 6 and ♭6 are la and le, respectively. Is there a reason for this apparent inconsistency?
Sam Estep
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Roman numeral slash notation meaning and function? (V/iii)

When trying to find the function of the B major chord in C major I found that it was listed as a "V/iii" chord in this online calculator. I have never seen this before and don't know what this means and what it suggests about the function. To be…
LeaG
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What do we call a chord progression that consists of descending by one semitone? Is there any notation for jazz grid?

I was wondering if there was either a name or a notation for a chord progression that consists of the same chord played one semitone lower each time. Here are some examples to clarify my question: Domi & JD Beck - PiLOT at 0:13 Joao Gilberto -…
thibaultm
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How to choose chords for chromatic melody?

I've been listening to a lot of impressionistic and avant-garde jazz music lately. When choosing chords in a tonal, diatonic concept, the formula is somewhat clear to me. If it's a note in the scale, choose I, IV or V if in doubt. If it's a…
Ravelian nostalgia
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Is Chromatic a Synonym for Non-Diatonic in all cases?

Diatonic means notes from a scale/key. Usually the well-used major. Does that mean any other notes not included are all chromatic? Would using notes from a parallel key change the definition? Definitions seem to have changed over time. And why can't…
Tim
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What's the relationship between the chords Cmaj Dmaj Emaj?

If I play the chords: C major, D major, then E major. I'm wondering what their relationship is called. It almost sounds like chromatic mediants but I can't call it that since it doesn't move by a third, they move by a major second. So we just call…
user34288
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What are the uses of chromaticism?

I very much feel safe and pleasant in the world of tonality but I would like to learn more about chromatic playing. I do admire a blue note here and there, and I do admire very limited chromatic playing (where tones outside the base scale are played…
bonehead
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How do you compose using the chromatic scale?

Writting a piece of music using the chromatic scale would be interesting, but I can't think of a way to start it? What kind of structure would a piece have? Is it all subjective and up to the composer or are there similarities between them? Also,…
Dasaru
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How to compose better chromatic harmony

I've been composing for a couple of years and I have a pretty good understanding of how to choose chords for melody in a diatonic context. However, when I try to introduce some quirky elements to my own music, it always seems to fail a bit. Attached…
Ravelian nostalgia
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Can accidentals be seen as a temporary change in scale?

Just wondering if accidentals in music can be seen as a temporary change in scale. There's alot of scales that are just one note difference so they sound good when they're interchanged temporarily. For example, phrygian to natural minor is just a…
user34288
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never ending omnibus progression

When I studied music theory in college (years ago), I remember my theory instructor demonstrating a use of the omnibus progression where it would go on forever, sounding continuous to the untrained ear (which made the whole class start laughing…
James M. Lay
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How would this chord from "I'll See You In My Dreams" best be analyzed?

In the song "I'll See You In My Dreams", there is a chord progression that I really love. I'm wondering if there is a "best" way to analyze one of the chords. The song is in the key of F Major, and the chorus has a chord progression that goes: D7 …
Lennon_Ashton
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Chromatic Functional Harmony (Musical Theory of Everything)

When I started studying music theory, I was fascinated by functional harmony. I loved learning why certain chords naturally tend to lead toward certain other chords and why so many chord progressions follow the same patterns. In my early days of…
WillRoss1
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Can chords found in parallel modes of the relative minor of a key (or relative major when in a minor key) be considered borrowed chords?

In the key of C major, take the following progression: C----Em----A----G7----C I------iii------VI----V7-----I In this progression, can the VI chord be analyzed as a borrowed chord from the major mode (parallel major) of the relative minor? I arrived…
Dale Newton
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