Scales are for fish and reptiles...
 

Something about this question tickled me - possibly because the question seems both practical and absurd - so I thought I'd make a similar post.

1. What's your favourite key? Do you prefer major, or minor, or those funny dorian modes or something else entirely?

2. What's your favourite tempo?

3. What's your favourite time-signature? Compound or simple (that means swing or straight)

4. Which of these terms:
a) Plagal cadence
b) Neapolitan sixths
c) Transposition

Do you understand musically?

Ok, you certainly don't have to answer 4, even if you know the answer. I'll give my input a bit later on, got to run at the moment...

c major is my fav!!!! easiest key to play on
my fav tempo is 120
favourite time is 4/4 with lots of tripolets andd i dont understand Neapolitan sixths plaese explain

A neapolitan sixth is a major chord whose root note is one semitone above the root note of the tonic chord.

In simpler terms, if you're playing in E major, the neapolitan sixth is the F major chord. If you're playing in E minor the neapolitan sixth is also the F major chord. If you're in B major, the NS is C major. In B minor its C major and so on.

Its called a 'sixth' because the neapolitan chord (the F major chord is the first example) is played in its first inversion. That means that instead of the bass note being an F, you use A as the bass note... the 6th semitone in the chord.

Overall, its meant to give a 'spooky/ghostly' feel to the piece, this is what is was mostly used for in classical music. Its used regularly in jazz, funk and latin music though, so the only consistent effect it really has is to make the music sound like it 'drifted' upwards and then will sound like it has been 'lowered' back down when it returns to the tonic (which it usually does).

heh, i gave up on theory, learnt enough to get by and show off to people who haven't a clue, and that's all i'll ever need. :)

Compound time doesn't necessarily mean it's swing.

And I dunno about my favourite key and tempo, it changes every day :P. I guess I love minor chords, but susses get me hard. And I wouldn't mind a little augmented action as well. 5/8 played after/before 4/4 is probably my fav time sig change.

The best example of a neapolitan chord is in Beethoven's "Fur Elise."

Yeah, true, I was trying to keep it simple for the people who don't know what compound time means. For people reading who don't know so much about music theory, compound time is an n/8 time signature, which signifies that the beats are divided into quavers (which usually are in subgroups in threes), whereas simple time is an n/4 (or n/2, but that's less common) time signature, which signifies the beats are divided into crotchets.

What is it with minor chords? The guitarist in my band is obsessed with them, to the point where he almost refuses to play a major chord at the beginning of a chord sequence. 5/8 is a good one, and is underused in most simpler music styles. It doesn't have that unnatural feel that some signatures like 7/8 and 11/8 have, where they come across as forced.

Where? I really didn't notice that before... wasn't really looking, admittedly. Wait, its the main theme, isn't it... trying to play the piece back in my head now...

I like the sound of this. Its disco time!

Uhuh, I just like showing my intellect, I knew you had some sorta reason. Btw, I think if n = 2 or 4, that's actually not compound time.


Of course guitarists love minor chords, it's all they know the noobs lol. Yeah that's exactly why I like 5/8 more :P

It sure is.

oh yeah well im so profound when it comes to the learning of guitar wankage then i have to practically lube up the strings with my own manly essence before i play my dream theater solos, so im not so fast that it rips the skin from my hands.:banghead:

DT > You. See how witty and clever I am? Try to learn something.

who was that directed towards? :S

I couldn't resist the urge and just HAD to look it up. Compound time (to quote Wikipedia, which gave the fullest definition... once again) "gets its name by combining two or more simple meter measures to form a compound measure"... and that "Today when we refer to compound meters, we refer only to the 'compounding' of two (or more) simple triple measures." So its only 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 and other multiples of 3/8 which fit the description now.

So yes, you're completely right about n = 2 or 4, and would have been right with a load of other numbers too... 5/8 isn't a compound time now either.

I was always told compound meant quaver-beat based. Its a sad day when you realise that your music teachers were lying the whole time.

I'm such a geek sometimes, but I think you beat me in that category. There's nothing sexier than music geeks.

Damn right. Music geeks are sexy and we are also downright sneaky. When we write songs in my band the bassist sometimes says something along the lines of "I like the way that you hit a higher note and then move down a bit. It grabs my attention and makes the tune really catchy...". Little does he know that I'm beginning the melody on the 4th, to create a tension which is then resolved when I move to the 3rd, mwahahaha! The fool!

How true.

Rofl, even drummers are probably becoming more knowledgeable in music theory than bassists nowadays.

And to cheeseman: your wit never ceases to amaze me.

I'm sure it would take very little to amaze you.

Don, you make an on topic comment, then make a remark that's designed to provoke...pack it in.

Sorry, I didn't help with that, but I've tried being nice to the guy, but his sheer arrogance clouds his thoughts all to often.....So the gloves are off.

Don quit trying to take the piss. You spoil your own posts.

Don haters, you can always ignore his remarks and stay on topic.

Put the gloves back on cheeseman...that's my job. ;)
If any of you have a problem with another member PM a mod.

I merely retaliated to his post, did you not read it and see that he immaturely changed my quote? Cheeseman has been non-stop insulting me, if you're annoyed by me please ban the instigator.

I'm aware of the situation.
It's all unnecessary, I'm trying to be fair and even handed.
Move on.

I like to play in a major key, but base my patterns around the six (Ex. 6 4 5) and play a solo out of the Aeolian mode, or Minor scale.

As for tempo, usually around 150.

Also, about being a theory geek; Me and my guitar teacher think the following terms are hilarious: Pseudo-tuned, Hypotenuse Scale, Optimal Tuning Conditions, Communist scale. Hypotenuse scale especially. You have no idea.

What on earth is the hypotenuse scale. I googled it and all you get are maths and computing related hits... Its not a scale with three notes, where the frequency of one note equals the root of the the sum of both of the squares of the the frequencies of the other two notes. Is it?

And the communist scale? Are you sure he isn't just making these up?

They're not real. We're just such geeks about it that it's just hilarious to us. Especially the hypotenuse scale. I'm talking 5 minutes of laughter. Also, they're kind of inside jokes.

That's rich, who jumped in pretending to be the grammar police, calling me a moron because I ommitted a poxy f*ucking question mark!

I think the best thing you could do Don (in these circumstances) would be retire from this forum or any other for that matter, walk outside and throw yourself under the next fully laden truck. You'll be making the world a far, far better place for it.

The "grammar police" thing was a tiny little joke that anyone who was secure with themselves even the slightest would have been able to take.

Just like I can take your immature insult which you just added. You can sure dish it out my poor boy...

Ok, lets just agree to disagree. I'm prepared to bury the hatchet if you are. It's getting a little old now.

Plus I found myself in agreeance with your Muse reply....Hell you never know, you might even find out I'm a nice guy.

And with my Religion opinions too it would seem...

If you could take jokes better, who knows, we might even have been best of friends! rofl.

What religious opinions would they be?