By
Antony Plain
Submitted On February 16, 2016
A good song will always build to a climax, a moment when the
music and lyrics combine to reach that emotional intensity which a
listener will naturally identify. Even nursery rhymes tend to have a
focus point in the bridge,chorus or in the last line of the verse. The
number one musical device to create this climax is normally the
dominated or the V the chord built on the 5th degree of scale of the
key.
The safety of the tonic which is represented by the I is the musical home, the peaceful, stable home. The V-I movement is one of the most natural movements in music the descent of a perfect 5th. All chord progressions by the very name progress to a destination. Most songs, not all but most, will resolve to the I or tonic. The V-I is the strongest of all root movements in fact there is a musical phenomenon know as the circle of fifths which I will write in a future blog, where the chords move in 5ths around the circle.
In fact the V-I change is intrinsic to every piece of what would be deemed as 'good music' You can extend the musical tension if you hang on the V as a lot Beatles songs did, twist and shout comes to mind, made even more delicious with the vocals spelling out the V chord! (In this case the chord is a V7)
Who needs three chords
The combination of the tonic and dominant gives you all you need to write a great song with tension and release.
Often the melody within this movement will follow a 3-2-1 melodic descent, think Three blind mice.
The V can even be used for advanced purposes like key switching within a song or if you wish to tie different songs together in a Melody.
In the simple sounding song 'Everyday' Buddy Holly uses the power of the V three times as he moves round the circle of fifths in the middle 8.
Of course the Dominant can be augmented by the note extensions, 7th 9th,Sharp 9ths all the way to augmented dominants. So if your song is missing that tension and release factor, it may well be that you are missing the power of the V!
In closing, the power of the V is a very valuable tool in a songwriters arsenal a winning formula that's naturally ingrained in our ears.
The safety of the tonic which is represented by the I is the musical home, the peaceful, stable home. The V-I movement is one of the most natural movements in music the descent of a perfect 5th. All chord progressions by the very name progress to a destination. Most songs, not all but most, will resolve to the I or tonic. The V-I is the strongest of all root movements in fact there is a musical phenomenon know as the circle of fifths which I will write in a future blog, where the chords move in 5ths around the circle.
In fact the V-I change is intrinsic to every piece of what would be deemed as 'good music' You can extend the musical tension if you hang on the V as a lot Beatles songs did, twist and shout comes to mind, made even more delicious with the vocals spelling out the V chord! (In this case the chord is a V7)
Who needs three chords
The combination of the tonic and dominant gives you all you need to write a great song with tension and release.
Often the melody within this movement will follow a 3-2-1 melodic descent, think Three blind mice.
The V can even be used for advanced purposes like key switching within a song or if you wish to tie different songs together in a Melody.
In the simple sounding song 'Everyday' Buddy Holly uses the power of the V three times as he moves round the circle of fifths in the middle 8.
Of course the Dominant can be augmented by the note extensions, 7th 9th,Sharp 9ths all the way to augmented dominants. So if your song is missing that tension and release factor, it may well be that you are missing the power of the V!
In closing, the power of the V is a very valuable tool in a songwriters arsenal a winning formula that's naturally ingrained in our ears.
Songwriting Blog https://antonyplainmusic.wordpress.com/
Authors Free Song http://clika.pe/l/11318/38137/
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Antony_Plain/2250377
Authors Free Song http://clika.pe/l/11318/38137/
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