Single Tonality Chord Songwriting
Boon, H. 2024. Single Tonality Chord Songwriting. Innovation in Music Conference 2024. Kristiania University College, Oslo 21 - 23 Jun 2024
Boon, H. 2024. Single Tonality Chord Songwriting. Innovation in Music Conference 2024. Kristiania University College, Oslo 21 - 23 Jun 2024
| Title | Single Tonality Chord Songwriting |
|---|---|
| Authors | Boon, H. |
| Abstract | This presentation identifies a gap in songwriting research. Whilst the use of chords of the same tonality for classic songs of I, IV and V in the major and their minor equivalent of i, iv, v, are well documented, the use of a single triad or extended chord, usually minor, as the basis from which to derive a song is under-explored. I refer to this approach as single-tonality chord songwriting. Single-tonality chord songs are important because they intersect song genres where the approach can be used for a section or the entirety of the song. Examples include jazz classics such as Miles Davis’ So What and Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage to foundational liquid drum and bass songs like Goldie’s Inner City Life, House songs such as Inner City’s Big Fun and hip-hop songs like Kendrick Lamar’s Alright. My contribution locates this single tonality songwriting practice as a means to produce sonically distinct outputs different from those produced by more conventional songwriting practices of Tin Pan Alley or of the singer-songwriter. This research foregrounds less well-discussed songs and practitioners – especially those who use sampling and electronics as their songwriting method –as part of an over-arching, inclusive approach to songwriting. It is style non-specific and is a concept that works technologically and organically. Yet perhaps due to being viewed as a sampling-based approach, its application to songwriting is often ignored or diminished. The applications of this research extend song studies into practice and educational settings where songwriting and sampling tend to be separated in the curriculum. The approach can be played on guitar, piano, Garageband smart chords, Ableton PUSH or pad-based drum controller. Chord sounds can be derived from resonators and vocoders. Single tonality chords can be sequenced in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), live coded, played on a mobile device or generated using a modular synthesiser. The single tonality approach is timeless and expressive, capable of rich diversity and sonic innovation without necessarily sounding conventional or subject to claims of popular music’s limited tonal possibilities. This presentation places this single-tonality chord songwriting practice in close proximity to songwriting literature and pedagogy, thereby expanding its utility for songwriters and producers as an under-explored and yet potentially rich area of practice. |
| Keywords | digital audio workstation |
| music production | |
| songwriting | |
| creativity | |
| teaching | |
| sampling | |
| composition | |
| Year | 23 Jun 2024 |
| Conference | Innovation in Music Conference 2024 |
| Web address (URL) | https://www.inmusicconference.com/ |