regarding music theory

[oj oscillation]

hi, peepz !

because i know only a little about music theory, i have a question for you.

i`m making a cover of the paperboy main theme and recognized that the lead and bass playing their melodies in c minor, while the arps are playing in c major scale (c maj and f maj) most of the tune.

my question is: why does it fit harmonically ?

i mean, shouldn`t the arp/pad also play in c min.
btw. changing the arp to c min scale sounds absolutely terrible. it just dont fit the tune in any way.

regards

[poke16384]

Assuming that we're talking about subtune 2 of the paperboy.sid....

Whilst I haven't pulled this apart in SID2MIDI, (or similar), my initial feel on listening is that it's C7 & F7 not Cmin & Fmaj..

It's a very 'bluesy' lead-riff and with many blues structures, the bass follows the minor progression. I guess some of it goes
back to when blues music was an expression of 'trouble & strife' and minor keys work better with 'sadness' overall. That said,
I am being very broad & general here. I'm feeling 7ths & 9ths playing rather than strong minor notes..

I can only guess at why the structure of the music is what it is... but here's an educated stab... The opening subtune of the SID
is fast & furious and feels like Cmaj-Fmaj.. To me, it conveys the madness of what's about to come, in the game..
Once we drop into the game, it drops down a few gears, slows and becomes more laid-back. The bluesy feel of the music suits that quite well.

It's taken me over 40 years to realise this but: In the right set of musical circumstances, everything fits and works with everything! Discords are
such a powerful thing when they're used to convey particular feelings in music. I use them quite a lot when I create a journey from one chord
to another. If it's a run from C to F, you can run up thru Dm7 - C/E to F.. or go the other way, down ! On the way down, If your structures keeps
the bass-line exactly the same, (as a pedal-point), you hit some discords but they CAN work REALLY well !!

There's a song by Gerry Rafferty called 'Get it right next time'. In it, the bass guitar pretty much just thumps out a G note... (pedal-point)
The keyboard chords go Bb maj - A maj - F maj - G maj. It takes you to 'tension/dischord' and then finally 'resolve' and whilst it's not a 'blues' song
in the true sense, it has that feel to it because of the stuff that the chords are doing to your ears.

Musical theory will get you along the road to becoming a musician/writer but your ears & musical sensibilities are what will take you on from that.

You've already played with the Paperboy musical structure and discovered some things that, to your ears, just don't work.
That's where music theory stops and your musicianship takes over. Hope some of this helps!

[oj oscillation]

hi, poke !

yes, it`s subtune 2 and a really funky one.

thanks for your insight and pointing me into the direction of the c7, f7 chords. i should try to play those chords as a pad sound to hear how this fits and feels. instead of a simple c maj, f maj arpeggio.

given it a thought, i get the conclusion that the flattens 7th note in a scale is the key/connection between c maj and c min. at least in paperboys case.
that glues those two scales together or am i wrong ?
yeah, i have still a lot to learn and understand how music actually works.

thanks, mate.