I've never felt the desire to get any sort of tool to help with chords, but one that can spit out genuinely interesting ideas you hadn't considered is cool, one that let's you see examples of how it's used in other music, even creating a visualization for the melody... That's pretty awesome.
When I first started I was practicing some theory but I didnt do any progressions, so I felt like I was improvising till I found something I liked. Probably didn't sound the best but I liked writing like that. Now I'm starting with the basics and this will help. I also picked up scaler 2. I first tried captain chords and although it seemed it did everything, it was too many extra steps to writing.
Dm, BbM, Gm to that final C Major can get some pretty cool darkness happening if you pull the E out of CM and invert it to a Bass note. Chord extensions and subtle inversions can take the mundanity away…😁
Experiment with things not normally used. I have been doing that for years. My upcoming release, "Fragile Warrior" will break so many rules, because I never paid any attention to them. All those chords you mentioned. Those are truly basic, but your mindset is ready to expand. Good for you :) When you start throwing in 13ths, half diminished, sus2's, and flat 5ths, you're going to blow some minds, even though many people won't have any idea what you're on about.
@@williamanderson2447 , true, yet those basic chords can be a bit like blank canvases for layering the suspended 2nds and 4ths, or other extensions through melodic invention and variation. I was referring to one particularly dramatic bass inversion, in this case pulling the E out and putting it under the C. I am okay with a lot of the “rules” of harmony actually, as they have served a lot of great music. Perhaps one doesn’t need to be a slave to them to incorporate them in a musical way.
@@williamanderson2447 lol, my own music has always been pretty weird, but I have always felt the need to try to make parts of it accessible. Right now, the real battle for me is more about overproduction. I am leaning towards stripping back all the layers to make something immediate and “live” again. The pandemic can have that effect when one is faced with having to “get rid of a few toys”🤣. I hate it, but like everyone else, I have to try to salvage something out of it. I hope your record is everything you want it to be…
This isn't related to the video but Cam I think you would find this plugin useful for sound design. Its Knocktonal by DJ Swivel. it is designed for drum tuning but I've found it really fun to make tonal sounds with it. It is an EQ that has 2 bands but you can add the overtones of whatever note/frequency you have the band on above that. If you narrow the Q and turn up the resonance it creates really stringed instrument type sounds.
Idk if other people dont have this or something, but I've always found that the "next cord" is pretty easy to get to because I can kind of just feel what its suppose to be. I think this tool will be of help at first to help expand my possibilities before fazing it out. I get the impression that this is a really good learning tool.
haha! Love the Spinal Tap and Wren & Stimpy references Cameron, as well as your ad lib humour! 😁 If you ever get tired of the music industry, your next calling just may be writing comedies or doing stand-up! 👍👍 Oh yes...this was a cool video too! This software seems to be something I could use to force myself to consider chord progressions that are not as common and/or could surprise the listener! 👍😎👍
A question: Is there a way to use Hooktheory to see multiple paths of progressions to get from the first chord (which has been predetermined) to the last chord (which has been predetermined)?
Great tips. I usually just see where my fingers want to go, but they frequently want to go somewhere they've been before, so this could add some spice. Also appreciate the fact that you go right to the keyboard with the new chords a get a track down. Do you save that? Toss it? Use it later for...something?
Glad it was useful! Definitely a good way to explore some new ideas by following 'the road less traveled' so to speak. I often find some interesting twists and turns that can help break those habits using this tool! Didn't end up keeping the session as it was more of a throwaway improv thing, but I might revisit the theme/idea in a future track as I did really like the vibe that was starting to happen!
@@VenusTheoryven though it is short, that music did tell a story.. just like a trailer! I didn’t think everyone ended up happy, and it was set somewhere cold like Newfoundland. It’s basically relationships and individuals falling apart. Someone dies for sure. Maybe before the film starts. Then it’s told in flashbacks, out of temporal sequence. Colour grading of the film is towards cold blue and it rains a lot.
Love your videos. I just got Hooktheory today. I also have your Noctua, did I spell that right?lol I have no idea how to use it with my DAW. MPC Beats Daw but I have several others.
Inspiration doesn't come from letting a piece of software do your thinking, or listening for you. It comes from a place most humans have no idea how to reach. If you're afraid to do the hard work, your final result is likely to be commonplace.
This a solid tool to have at the ready! With a voice like yours i'd be doing cinema trailers all day. To be honest. I already do.. It's how I speak to my cat :-)
Hey big fan. If you knew a little bit of theory and had a little bit of money and could pick only one of these which would you spend your money on. Captain plug-ins or Hook theory and Why Thanks for your consideration
Hooktheory is web-based so it works for everyone! You can check it out at hooktheory.com or use my affiliate link if you want to check out the full version with the books and added tools!
Try some of these. Gmaj7 > Gbdim (or Gbdim7) > Cmajsus4 > Cmaj Gmaj6 > D#maj6sus4 > Ddim > Cmaj A lot of these use a lot of inversions, but hopefully transferable to Ukulele.
Imagine a world where basic western music theory was just as common knowledge as Pythagorean theorem 😁 Ever kid learned the basics in grade 6, just like learning times tables 😘
Correct! Hooktheory is all online based - I've been begging them for a plugin, but given how it works and everything it would do I don't think it'd translate well to plugin format. Super cool tools though - there's a lot beyond what this video covers and most of it is free!
6:33 "For the sake of copyright I obviously can't play this" you can play a few seconds and not getting any copyright strikes, can't you? I see other music youtubers doing this all the time.
Frankly, from a non theory musician which has tried endlessly to learn basic theory, my brain does not grasp that concept and for me makes the creation process boring, should we be thinking so much when we're just expressing feelings, after all music is an extension of our feelings.
That same page has a button for “try for free” that opens it in the web browser. Some functions are locked but everything he used in the vid and a lot more are in the free version.
Seriously cool...! And for all you math geek / comp sci nerd / digital music producer wannabees... _this_, dear child, is a reincarnation of Markov chains. All the Good Things in Life come from maths. God bless Andrey Markov. Many thanks for another great video! Cheers, mate!
Maybe I’m still too new to see the real value here but I’m not sure how this is any different than just noodling around on the keyboard playing chords in whatever key you’re in. This actually seemed like maybe more work and less of an organic process. Could someone maybe set me straight?
Suppose the value being removing the guesswork to quicky gather ideas and then build on them. Especially useful for those who don't know how to find the chords in the key as well!
@@VenusTheory thanks for responding, but I’m just not seeing it. You can pull up a simple chart on a website for free that lists the seven three-finger chords in a given key. Just seems so much easier to just look at those and play them yourself and find your progression that way, not to mention it’s free. This just feels like a lot of extra tooling for a relatively simple job.
Haha must have missed the other comments - bit hard to keep up with them these days. Not sure of the brand offhand but I found them on Amazon - just some blue light blocking glasses that come in a two pack haha. I think it was something that started with a K - will have to look it up later if I get a minute and remember to do so!
More or less yes, but with a LOT more features. Hooktheory has a ton of stuff that you can check out like the key cheat sheets, the hookpad tool, and a whole mess of other things that make life easier.
I mean, yeah... but why not do the... fuck it. You could just punch away at shit until it sounds right. Worked for me and the amount of time I spent doing that probably worked out less than learning the scales.
However, you can sometimes hit a wall with that approach. Tools like this can be helpful for those cases or when you just have outright writers block, or especially when you're writing something on a deadline!
Everything shown in the video can be used for free! Most of Hooktheorys tools can be used for free and don't even require an account. The paid version is paid (obviously) and just unlocks some extra features and gives you access to the books as well if you do the full bundle
Jackbo Manhorse or Male Underwear Model-Step? 🤔
Check Out Hooktheory! 🎼 ► hooktheory.com/affiliate/209.html
Will do Mr Coffee :)
Hey Cameron, sorry to keep pestering you about this, but what are those blue-lined frames you wear?
what daw is he using ? it looks clean asf
@@Grayman_404 Reaper
@@gergoretvari6373 wtf since when does reaper look like that?
I've never felt the desire to get any sort of tool to help with chords, but one that can spit out genuinely interesting ideas you hadn't considered is cool, one that let's you see examples of how it's used in other music, even creating a visualization for the melody... That's pretty awesome.
That was an awesome video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge
When I first started I was practicing some theory but I didnt do any progressions, so I felt like I was improvising till I found something I liked. Probably didn't sound the best but I liked writing like that. Now I'm starting with the basics and this will help. I also picked up scaler 2. I first tried captain chords and although it seemed it did everything, it was too many extra steps to writing.
Thanks for this tip, will give it a try! God bless! 😊🙏🏻❤
Good stuff. Loved the style montage.
Thanks for the resource!
Another excellent tool that I’ve been using for a bit. Great demonstration, Cameron!
Glad you enjoyed the video! Hooktheory is a great tool to have in the toolbelt o' things.
How do you download it? Cant see download link?
Dm, BbM, Gm to that final C Major can get some pretty cool darkness happening if you pull the E out of CM and invert it to a Bass note. Chord extensions and subtle inversions can take the mundanity away…😁
Experiment with things not normally used. I have been doing that for years. My upcoming release, "Fragile Warrior" will break so many rules, because I never paid any attention to them. All those chords you mentioned. Those are truly basic, but your mindset is ready to expand. Good for you :)
When you start throwing in 13ths, half diminished, sus2's, and flat 5ths, you're going to blow some minds, even though many people won't have any idea what you're on about.
@@williamanderson2447 , true, yet those basic chords can be a bit like blank canvases for layering the suspended 2nds and 4ths, or other extensions through melodic invention and variation. I was referring to one particularly dramatic bass inversion, in this case pulling the E out and putting it under the C. I am okay with a lot of the “rules” of harmony actually, as they have served a lot of great music. Perhaps one doesn’t need to be a slave to them to incorporate them in a musical way.
@@christopherecatalano Right on, brother! You can easily take standard chords and make them special by thinking outside the box.
@@williamanderson2447 lol, my own music has always been pretty weird, but I have always felt the need to try to make parts of it accessible. Right now, the real battle for me is more about overproduction. I am leaning towards stripping back all the layers to make something immediate and “live” again. The pandemic can have that effect when one is faced with having to “get rid of a few toys”🤣. I hate it, but like everyone else, I have to try to salvage something out of it. I hope your record is everything you want it to be…
@@christopherecatalano You might be surprised how accessible my music is. You could easily find out: th-cam.com/video/3lDbR_HZkiI/w-d-xo.html
I bought a hardware synth at Christmas. I have struggled to get out of dmin. Just today I landed on gmn! Result😁
This isn't related to the video but Cam I think you would find this plugin useful for sound design. Its Knocktonal by DJ Swivel. it is designed for drum tuning but I've found it really fun to make tonal sounds with it. It is an EQ that has 2 bands but you can add the overtones of whatever note/frequency you have the band on above that. If you narrow the Q and turn up the resonance it creates really stringed instrument type sounds.
Idk if other people dont have this or something, but I've always found that the "next cord" is pretty easy to get to because I can kind of just feel what its suppose to be. I think this tool will be of help at first to help expand my possibilities before fazing it out. I get the impression that this is a really good learning tool.
Your coming soon to a theatre near you was ridiculously convincing. You should definitely explore that avenue further (if you haven't already).
haha! Love the Spinal Tap and Wren & Stimpy references Cameron, as well as your ad lib humour! 😁 If you ever get tired of the music industry, your next calling just may be writing comedies or doing stand-up! 👍👍 Oh yes...this was a cool video too! This software seems to be something I could use to force myself to consider chord progressions that are not as common and/or could surprise the listener! 👍😎👍
Thanks for the video. Sounds very West World and Yellowstone like. Keep safe and stay well.
08:58 "Whoopi Goldergs Big Night Out" 😆I'm f**ken Screaming
Neat, another cool free thing I found for the Reaper crowd is "chordgun" for those of us rawdogging midi without a modi controller 😅
Great video! Quite a contribution to the novice song writing community.
hahah is that intro rant related somehow to the famous unison midi pack? Well done!
A question: Is there a way to use Hooktheory to see multiple paths of progressions to get from the first chord (which has been predetermined) to the last chord (which has been predetermined)?
I'm always fumbling around for hours trying to find the right chords. But I like that.
Great tips. I usually just see where my fingers want to go, but they frequently want to go somewhere they've been before, so this could add some spice. Also appreciate the fact that you go right to the keyboard with the new chords a get a track down. Do you save that? Toss it? Use it later for...something?
Glad it was useful! Definitely a good way to explore some new ideas by following 'the road less traveled' so to speak. I often find some interesting twists and turns that can help break those habits using this tool!
Didn't end up keeping the session as it was more of a throwaway improv thing, but I might revisit the theme/idea in a future track as I did really like the vibe that was starting to happen!
@@VenusTheoryven though it is short, that music did tell a story.. just like a trailer! I didn’t think everyone ended up happy, and it was set somewhere cold like Newfoundland. It’s basically relationships and individuals falling apart. Someone dies for sure. Maybe before the film starts. Then it’s told in flashbacks, out of temporal sequence. Colour grading of the film is towards cold blue and it rains a lot.
Love your videos. I just got Hooktheory today. I also have your Noctua, did I spell that right?lol I have no idea how to use it with my DAW. MPC Beats Daw but I have several others.
Scaler is not free but it is the best I have found for coming up with chords and the new guitar voicing and suggestion modes are very inspirinig.
They need to expand guitar chords.
@@montazownianr1 Like how?
I agree. Scaler 2 is ridiculously underpriced for everything it does.
Inspiration doesn't come from letting a piece of software do your thinking, or listening for you. It comes from a place most humans have no idea how to reach. If you're afraid to do the hard work, your final result is likely to be commonplace.
This a solid tool to have at the ready! With a voice like yours i'd be doing cinema trailers all day. To be honest. I already do.. It's how I speak to my cat :-)
How do you download it?
Badass Multi-Genre Montage @7:00
Got a thumbs up, subscribe, and comment for the Spinal Tap reference.
Once d came up, I was like -- if he doesn't make the Spinal Tap reference, I will be very sad... but he did, and it was awesome.
You could easily do music for a TV detective series 💖
Oh no, you're telling everyone the secret weapon again!
Producers hate him.
You won't believe #7!
Once again, you are someone of culture 😁 #ProLevelChords
Also nice Nigel Tufnel nod *and* AudioPilz (bka Bad Gear). Talk about ticking all the boxes.
I am stealing that chord progression..thought you should know :)
Feel free! Go make some Redbull Step or something haha
Finally, a tool for people who hate writing songs
"poppy and gross!" lmao =))
Does it do modal mixture?
Hi... In your Awesome Partners you mention REASON & BITWIG... is one of them used in this video? Thx.
Late to the party but it's definitely Bitwig Studio.
What software you use aside from Hooktheory
It's updated. Now you can pick minor, Locrian, etc...
How do you download this?
Hey big fan. If you knew a little bit of theory and had a little bit of money and could pick only one of these which would you spend your money on. Captain plug-ins or Hook theory and Why
Thanks for your consideration
Would love to see you work on the strings a bit for this track. Good Shit
Might revisit it on a stream or something!
Nearly choked on my dinner when you said "The saddest key of all" !!
Can't beat a Mach piece
So glad people caught the reference haha
@@VenusTheory Too well !! Excellent video, thank you, I'll be giving your ideas a spin :-)
Lmfao Whoopi Goldberg’s big night out. Had me going bro omg
Do you do Trailer _Park_ music? wonder what that would sound like 😎
Great video, though it hurt when you went to F and I thought that sounds great and you said "Gross" ... ;)
Is. it for the mac or just for windows?
Hooktheory is web-based so it works for everyone! You can check it out at hooktheory.com or use my affiliate link if you want to check out the full version with the books and added tools!
Their paid product, Hookpad, looks interesting too. Too expensive for me though. Do they have sales sometimes?
guys help me end this progression!
Em7 - Am - Gmaj7
I'm doing it on ukulele, so a cmaj(7) sounds a little lackluster lol
Try a Gmaj7sus2 (D F# G A) maybe.
Try some of these.
Gmaj7 > Gbdim (or Gbdim7) > Cmajsus4 > Cmaj
Gmaj6 > D#maj6sus4 > Ddim > Cmaj
A lot of these use a lot of inversions, but hopefully transferable to Ukulele.
Try a B major or B minor chord (or some variation--a 7th, sus etc). That's the 5
try smashing your ukelele like at the end of a punk band concert.
@@HermanvanGelder except of course before he starts playing.
Imagine a world where basic western music theory was just as common knowledge as Pythagorean theorem 😁 Ever kid learned the basics in grade 6, just like learning times tables 😘
5th this time, dinner time when the message popped in dc
Did this stop being free? When I click the link it takes me to a product matching this video's description, but costing over a hundred dollars.
I think that must be the case, Kris. I did the same. Did you ever buy it?
@@jmproductions59 No, I am a man of little means.
Do you have a microphone built into your mouth? Or how the heck can you sound so dry and close without any mics visible??
From the makers of saving private Ryan and Bambi lol 🤣
Hello Cubase
I think I misunderstood… it’s an online tool, right? Thanks for the info :)
Correct! Hooktheory is all online based - I've been begging them for a plugin, but given how it works and everything it would do I don't think it'd translate well to plugin format. Super cool tools though - there's a lot beyond what this video covers and most of it is free!
"Dm is the saddest key of all" = SUBSCRIBED 😂🤣
D minor is the saddest key. This one's called "lick my love pump."
-Nigel Tufnel
Jupp, ziemlich Venus theoretisch.
6:33 "For the sake of copyright I obviously can't play this" you can play a few seconds and not getting any copyright strikes, can't you? I see other music youtubers doing this all the time.
Frankly, from a non theory musician which has tried endlessly to learn basic theory, my brain does not grasp that concept and for me makes the creation process boring, should we be thinking so much when we're just expressing feelings, after all music is an extension of our feelings.
What free tool?
The link directs me to a site where I can buy it for $149, which is not "free" as far as I'm concerned.
Yep my thought exactly
That same page has a button for “try for free” that opens it in the web browser. Some functions are locked but everything he used in the vid and a lot more are in the free version.
Seriously cool...!
And for all you math geek / comp sci nerd / digital music producer wannabees... _this_, dear child, is a reincarnation of Markov chains.
All the Good Things in Life come from maths.
God bless Andrey Markov.
Many thanks for another great video!
Cheers, mate!
Him: this chord is too poppy. ew. Gross
Me: 👁️👄👁️
Maybe I’m still too new to see the real value here but I’m not sure how this is any different than just noodling around on the keyboard playing chords in whatever key you’re in. This actually seemed like maybe more work and less of an organic process. Could someone maybe set me straight?
Suppose the value being removing the guesswork to quicky gather ideas and then build on them. Especially useful for those who don't know how to find the chords in the key as well!
@@VenusTheory thanks for responding, but I’m just not seeing it. You can pull up a simple chart on a website for free that lists the seven three-finger chords in a given key. Just seems so much easier to just look at those and play them yourself and find your progression that way, not to mention it’s free. This just feels like a lot of extra tooling for a relatively simple job.
7:05 😂
Now tell me what frames you wear, dammit!
Haha must have missed the other comments - bit hard to keep up with them these days.
Not sure of the brand offhand but I found them on Amazon - just some blue light blocking glasses that come in a two pack haha. I think it was something that started with a K - will have to look it up later if I get a minute and remember to do so!
@@VenusTheory Thanks man, I'll start some detective work myself. :)
so in fact a web based scaler
More or less yes, but with a LOT more features. Hooktheory has a ton of stuff that you can check out like the key cheat sheets, the hookpad tool, and a whole mess of other things that make life easier.
Great, it automatically shows you who might copyright strike you! /s
I mean, yeah... but why not do the... fuck it.
You could just punch away at shit until it sounds right.
Worked for me and the amount of time I spent doing that probably worked out less than learning the scales.
However, you can sometimes hit a wall with that approach. Tools like this can be helpful for those cases or when you just have outright writers block, or especially when you're writing something on a deadline!
@@VenusTheory You're right on a lot of stuff there. I've not really been in a "create or else" situation so I've been very lucky so far.
I was hoping this would be a new GPT-3 machine learning tool. Meh, I'm already familiar with hook theory.
But! Are they *Pro-level chords* ?
Not just any pro-level chords - these are
🍬 🎀 𝒶𝒹𝓋𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒𝒹 𝓅𝓇☯ 𝓁𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓁 𝒸𝒽❀𝓇𝒹𝓈 🎀 🍬
So one could make 10 hours of, say, procedurally generated djent?
Major cords?!?! EEEEEEEEEEEEWWWW!!!!
Also: YOU FORGOT TO CHARGE US 19.99USD IN 3 EASY PAYMENTS!
and not once did you say "BOOM ... just like that ... MIDI CHORD PACK"
So this video is not sponsored.......Nice, but how come you have an affiliate link then?
Because I'm part of their affiliate program..................?
@@VenusTheory Yeah, just realized sponsorship and affiliate programs are two different things....
WAVE > HARDWAVE
Always 🌊
Sadly, it's only free to try out..
So it's $149 which seems a bit more than free.
Everything shown in the video can be used for free! Most of Hooktheorys tools can be used for free and don't even require an account.
The paid version is paid (obviously) and just unlocks some extra features and gives you access to the books as well if you do the full bundle