Okay so I'm working with a chord progression that goes B minor - G Major - F Major. The way this progression is played it resolves to B minor - this is definitely "home". I'm trying to identify what key this is in. The F major is what's throwing me off since you'd expect F# Major if it was in the key of B minor.
Then I started reading more about modes (something I haven't fully got to grips with to be honest) and started thinking it could be a vii-iii-ii progression in C major giving it a B Locrian feel. But if this was the case shouldn't the opening B chord be B diminished rather than B minor? Could it still just be B minor but with an F major substituted in? Appreciate any info!
Comments
Where you might have a D, F and G major, except the relative minor Bm is substituted for the D.
Probably best analysed as B minor being a substitution for B diminished (1-m3-b5); then it sits quite well as G mixolydian mode (no sharps or flats in the key signature); or B locrian, since B is the tonal centre. D dorian is a reasonable suggestion too (as above).
Sometimes chord progressions do not have a well-defined tonal centre.
Well it could be but that's really the wrong-way-round of thinking about it. The chords that you are playing are the thing that the theory has to describe; the theory doesn't somehow tell you you're playing the chords wrongly.
So you're in Bm; that's the i chord - it's your home chord and has a proper 5th; then you have the VI chord; then you go to this odd augmented 4th chord or bV chord, which is not diatonic to Bm (so nothing to do with modes per se), but is just a chromatic chord, probably intended to slide up to the V chord (the F# as you say).
It's reminiscent of a German or Italian 6th, but isn't quite. Performs the same function though.
It's nice. Sounds menacing.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
I understand why B Locrian works, since the progression resolves back to B. However what makes G mixolydian a good option here? I know there's obviously a G major chord in the progression, but from a theory perspective, how/why would G mixolydian work over the B minor and F Major chords?
Likewise with D dorian - why would this work? Is it because D is the minor third in B minor and the fifth in G Major? If so where where does that leave you over the F major?
Lastly (this goes to anyone who wants to chime in), if you were to improvise or come up with some melody lines over this what approach would you take? I know there's no one set way of doing this but just trying to get an idea of how other musicians do it. Would you go for something like B Locrian over all three chords? I assume you would need to change the emphasis to the root of the chord your playing over. But would that mean B locrian over B minor, G mixolydian over G major, and F lydian over F Major?
Thanks in advance!
So you could try melodies that really bring out the nuance of that chord, for example, start based around the first 3 degrees of Bm (B, C#, D), which works for the 2nd chord as well; then when it goes to the 3rd chord, you could play Bb, C, D. In other words the 2 lower notes switch down a semitone. Very juicy. You'd be playing the 4th, 5th and 6th notes of that F chord. If you played the B and C# together and let them ring out over the first chord change, then slid down a fret on both strings for the 3rd chord it would sound cool.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
When I say D Dorian, that's just how I choose to think about it. It's the same notes as G Mixolydian etc as stated earlier.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Stick the notes of G and Bm together and you get a G Major 7th Arp - those chords are related. Either as I and iii in G or IV and vi in D.
Any major chord not in the key often gets treated with a Lydian sound. What works for me is...
Bm - B Aeolian - B C# D E F# G A
G - G Lydian - G A B C# D E F#
F - F Lydian - F G A B C D E
These scales negate the problematic perfect 4th over the major chords. B Aeolian and G Lydian share the same parent scale (D Ionian), but try and think individually so you hear the character of each mode over each chord.
For a darker sound you could try,
B Phyrgian
G Ionian
F Lydian
But be careful of that C natural. It will be qualified by the F chord in the end, but it will sound a little uncomfortable if not harnessed correctly.
It's a nice chord progression :-)
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.