AboutChuck Expertise I am a professional musician, I can play by ear, I arrange music write music, teach music in the public school system, and teach privately. My father was a school music teacher, and I have written three volumes for teaching beginning string players, taking them from scratch to high school level. I have performed in a local production of Music Man (musical) with celebrities John Davidson/Susan Watson and have my masters degree in education. I retired from the classroom in 2004 with 38 yrs. experience-now still substituting for music- and writing arr. for my cello trio(with two audio cd's and one dvd of a performance)http://cellosound.blogspot.com
I have directed church choirs and am principal cellist in our local community orchestra. I really love to arrange music for the groups I perform in and sing and have music in my life every day. A day without music, is a mistake, like having a day without sunshine.
Experience Employment history: I have been employed by our local school district since 1967 as a music teacher from grades 1-12 Organizations: I play cello principal chair in the local community orchestra, and sing in a chorus,and perfom in a barbershop quartet
Education: My early life in high school and college was summer workshops in choral conducting with founder of Westminster Choir College (N.J.) Dr. John F.Williamson (in Who`s Who in Music) and summer workshops with Robert Shaw in San Diego Grad. of Sacramento STate Univ.and masters from Univ. of La VErne, ca
Awards: awarded the Bank of America award in my high school senior year for music
Question Hello,
I'm having a small problem. I am trying to write a song and I am going from minor to major. But I don't know how to go back to the original key. The keys I am working with are Dm and E major. Please let me know that can work and how can I make it seamless, and not take to long to accomplish.
Thank you very much for your time.
Philip
Answer Philip:
This is an interesting question, sounds like SOMEONE gave you a puzzle
to solve, rather than a problem you encountered in your own composition.
Usually people who write songs, dont paint themselves in their own musical
corner. The ''a'' in a d minor chord and key, is the only note of the three
(d, f, a) that appear in the KEY of E but not in the 'chord of E' so usually
songs have minor keys, that are RELATED TO THE MAJOR KEY, so that in the
Key of E the ''relative minor '' is c# '' MINOR- so that the key signiture
of each key bears most of the same notes, and it is also possible to Use
the FOURTH STEP (a ) AS A MAJOR/ OR MINOR key temporarily in the key of E
major. With a stretch of musical acceptance you can use the 5th AS AN alternate
major/minor key to go to , and there are lots of other secondary options in
picking minor keys to be in that are easy to accept with the major key of E.
So im not sure if you are ''stuck'' with the dm, (only ) option, by
design, or if you chose to be in this non-related key to the E MAJOR key,
but if you have a ''choice'' i'd suggest you find ANOTHER KEY TO HAVE YOUR
MINOR PART IN, unless you have a musical sequence and chord progression that
gets you there and back again, that fits your musical composition. People
dont write sings that just put in a Key change for the sake of getting back
to their original key. Organists in church need this skill when they transition
from one song (in a key) to another song (in another key) just so they can
have music playing while the service is going on. Composers dont typically
have that concern, or deal with that kind of transition. The only thing I
can imagine is that you have a 'test' or ''challenge'' that you are being
asked to solve that says, get me from dm to EM the quickest way possible.
so to solve that problem? you go to Am (which is in the key of Dm as
a minor 5th degree chord, and then assusme (at that point) you are in the
key of EM AND SO PLAY an F# MINOR CHORD(ii of E) and play B7 (V of E) and then
an E M chord, and you have arrived.
If this is a personal composition, I would ask you to find out how you
got from the original key of E to Dm in the first place, since they are
not related chords of the keys, and find out how to take that minor key of Dm
and transcribe it all to a minor key that is easier to get to and back from,
that also fits in the key mode of the major key. (if this is not a personal
composition, then use my solution, and submit it to the professor, as an easy
fix to a ''musical test problem'' .
OK?
chuck (interesting question) good luck either way, ok?
:-)
