Songs in the key of…uhh…whatever…
It’s stuff like this Ask MetaFilter thread that makes me wish I’d paid more attention in college music theory class. My inner geek longs to be able to express the things I hear in terms like “imperfect cadence” and “submediant.”
My younger self always assumed this theory stuff was irrelevant since I have perfect pitch. I mean, who cares if you can call it an A-flat major augmented 7th chord, as long as you can hear it in your head and know what it sounds like and what notes go with it? If you know the names of the notes, that should be all you need, right? Ah, the foolishness of youth.
And, I know all about the kind of jarring Barry Manilow-esque key modulations referred to later on in the thread, but had never heard the term “Truck Driver’s Gear Change” before. That’s just plain brilliant!
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February 21st, 2005 at 5:01 pm
Please explain your “perfect pitch.” I met a guy with perfect pitch once. You could play an A-flat major augmented 7th (wouldn’t that just be a-flat augmented 7, or do you mean a-flat augmented major 7?), and he could tell you what chord it is just from the hearing. He could also sing you a G diminished triad, and be spot on, without need of a keyboard.
February 21st, 2005 at 5:31 pm
That’s basically it. The singing back part might be off by a few cents sometimes, mostly due to my own vocal limitations (and gaps in my knowledge) but as long as I know what notes are in the chord, I’m fine.
Thus proving my point about not paying attention in theory class.
February 22nd, 2005 at 8:18 am
Oh, ok, I think I got it. I can sit down at a piano, play a chord, and you (with back turned) would be able to tell me I just played a G, B-flat, D, and F notes, but you wouldn’t be able to tell me that was a G minor 7. Is that it? If so, you’re right!
With that kind of gift, I’d think you be a theory studyin’ hound dog, so you could be the hit of all the musician parties.
“Andrew, what’s that first chord in “Hard Day’s Night?”
“Andrew, what key is “Besame Mucho” in–the Nat King Cole version?”
“If I want to play a D minor 7, third inversion, what’s the third note sound like?”
You’b be this really cool freak!
February 22nd, 2005 at 10:29 am
Actually, key signatures I’m usually good at. Simpler chords like major, minor, 7ths (and some augmented stuff) I can usually hear and identify. It’s when you get beyond that into the funkier theory terms (subdominant and the like) that my musical language starts to fail me. I might know what a harmonically complex chord sounds like, but I have no idea how to describe it other than “The chord that sounds like this” or “The one with these notes…”
(And my high school band director used to do those same kind of “parlor tricks” with me - “That’s a Gmaj7, Mr. Swin!”)
April 5th, 2005 at 9:51 pm
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