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My current guitar instructor graduated from a major music college. He had a LOT of music theory and composition within his studies.
Instructors are like bartenders, find the one with the skills to teach you what your goals are and you communicate well with.
...Deb
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My current guitar instructor graduated from a major music college. He had a LOT of music theory and composition within his studies.
Instructors are like bartenders, find the one with the skills to teach you what your goals are and you communicate well with.
...Deb We can only make suggestions and offer good, worthwhile advice. Something about 'leading a horse to water'.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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My current guitar instructor graduated from a major music college. He had a LOT of music theory and composition within his studies.
Instructors are like bartenders, find the one with the skills to teach you what your goals are and you communicate well with.
...Deb Actually I think the best teacher is the internet In addition, BIAB and SCALER are both good tools. Our environment is different from yours. Strictly speaking, I don't have a good teacher here, people who just want to make money, nothing more. This is determined by the social environment. Housing prices are too high, prices are too high, and medical treatments are too expensive. I can only choose the Internet. 
WIN10 20H2, AMD R4800H ,16G , 2T ,FOCUSRITE 2i4 MKII，Studio One,FL STUDIO
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Perhaps a couple of good entry level books on music theory would make life easier for you.
A music theory book and BiaB could be a good combination for self-learning.
Then, if you take to the entry level books, there are more advanced books to explore.
Books are like teachers, find one that explains in the way that you understand.
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
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swingbabymix, Here is a song I wrote a few years ago. The link will take you to a video of BIAB playing its chordsheet. You'll be able to see some slash chords in action. After listening to it tonight, I can here that I need to revisit the production in the near future. Hopefully, though, it's good enough at present to give you some idea of how I use slash chords. https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/143978481Explaining what I've done... As mentioned, I approach using slash chords from a 4-part classical harmony perspective. The song is written in the key of G major. This means my chords are... I = G, ii = Am, iii = Bm, IV = C, V = D7, vi = Em From classical harmony, a substitute for Chord IV is Chord ii in first inversion. In the key of G, this is Am/C. The first instance of this chord appears in bar 3. To get to Am/C in bar 3, I've used a first inversion G (namely, G/B). Bars 12, 13 and 14 keep the bass the same while the chord changes above it. This is called pedal point and it's a nice way to create some tension to add musical interest. In bar 21, 22, 23 the chord progression changes from G to Em. Using G/F# means that I can step my bass down the G major scale an go from G to E... that is, G F# E in the bass. In bar 20 there is a chord progression that goes G D7 G and it finishes a section. This is a I V7 I progression and is called a perfect cadence. In classical harmony, the first I chord is nearly always played in second inversion because it adds tension that ultimately helps create a satisfying feeling of completion. In the key of G major, second inversion of chord I is G/D. This is why the chord progression is G/D D7 G. Bar 69 is Chord IV in second inversion. By using this chord on a G bass, it means that bars 68, 69, 70 use pedal point again to help finalise the feeling of ending the song. I hope this helps offer a little bit of insight. All the best with your journey! Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Apprentice
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Apprentice
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Well, I had a lot of books regarding music theory. I did not really understand any. That changed when I started playing the piano. Suddenly I could hear "Ah, this is that" or "oh, this is how that works". Now, still more beginner than intermediate, I think I would be able to use my DAW or Band in a Box to create little pieces of music on my own. Far from masterpieces, but still ...
As far as teachers go (piano teachers), not all are good, not all are bad. Among the good ones, one needs to find the one that fits best for the individual targets. I found a bad one next door and a very good one on the internet.
Band in a Box UltraPak 2026, Fender Studio Pro, Fender Notion, NI Komplete Audio 6, Nektar Panorama P6, KAWAI VPC1, Presonus Atom, Win 10 64 Pro
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As mentioned, I approach using slash chords from a 4-part classical harmony perspective. Thank you for doing this. I find your explanations challenging to follow and well worth it. I can’t hear the bass line on my iPad but I’ll listen on a better sound system later. =8^)
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Our environment is different from yours. This statement from our friend needs to be fully appreciated. I am in the US. That reveals a lot about my background and perspective. I don't know where SBM is located. But this statement gives a pretty good hint to places around the world where the "...environment is different". And I don't mean you guys down-under or across the pond. Or in Michigan. The resources, liberties and opportunities we take for granted are not available everywhere. So if this little forum can shead some light into darker places it should give us all a good feeling at this time of year. Makes me want to take the time and go back and clarify SBM's misconceptions with Ionian versus Aeolian modes from a prior posting. I can only choose the Internet. And even the internet can be and is censored.
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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swingbabymix's admission he doesn't play an instrument explains a lot - that's why i asked. seems like he's trying to learn BIAB and music basics at the same time. how is he trying to make music? entering chords off sheet music? or composing original stuff? that's difficult if you don't know the basics of scales and chords. 'Ionian versus Aeolian modes from a prior posting' as musicstudent quotes must be like trying to write a novel with a word processor and a dictionary in another language. all i can say is that as guitarist i find i learned a lot more theory (scales, key signatures and changes and related chords) than some keyboard players who could read the dots. obviously as they got more advanced our knowledge coincided and they started flying away. so as a grounding i'd suggest guitar - basic three chords and the related minors take you quite a long way. but not learning an instrument because the local 'teachers 'can't make music' is bizarre. what are they making?
Last edited by Bob Calver; 12/27/21 04:55 AM.
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Our environment is different from yours. This statement from our friend needs to be fully appreciated. I am in the US. As am I, and Mr. Mix's complaints about "society" could be coming from anyone here. "People only want to make money, housing prices are too high, medical treatments are too expensive"? Imagine that, how could anyone learn music in such a place? On the other hand, lots of people, from all cultures and walks of life, also think you can learn anything by surfing the Internet. Some of them wind up joining the Flat Earth Society and burning down 5G towers. I remember Jenny McCarthy getting a big round of applause when she told Oprah she got her medical expertise about vaccines and autism from the "University of Google".
Last edited by Mark Hayes; 12/27/21 06:52 AM.
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...got her medical expertise about vaccines and autism from the "University of Google". That gave me a big laugh.
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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For example...
|I |IV |
= |C |F |
I rearrange this to become....
|C C/E |F |
Alternatively, as a piano player, I'm quite likely to go directly from C in root position to F as a chord inversion, particularly if I have a bass player handling the bass line, so: C-E-G moves to C-F-A, rather than the F-A-C one would expect for root position.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Do we know if the OP has ever created a complete song? The posts seem much more like someone playing with the software. Maybe if we knew what he was trying to create we could help more. In one post he mentioned some songs but I'm still none the wiser as to what sort of music he's trying to make.
If its pop or country I wonder where he came across the concept of modes as opposed to simple majors and minors.
BIAB is for making music and by simply answering technical questions I'm not sure we're helping much.
Can you let us know what kind of music you want to make swingbabymix?
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