Not a comprehensive list, but understanding these elements (many covered in the Popular Music Harmony documents already posted) can really help understand the use of harmony is wide range of pieces in the jazz, rock, funk, blues, metal and pop idioms. In the future I’ll post some analyses of a range of tunes and show how this wide knowledge is needed to really understand what’s going on in contemporary popular music.
Simple? No. Don’t confuse accessible with simple. To really appreciate the harmony of the Beatles, Beck, Hancock, Gershwin and Stevie Wonder one needs as much understanding as that of ‘classical’ music harmony.

 

QED

Many thanks for taking part!

 

Your mission.

 

200bpm

 

A=440Hz

 

Pick any part(s) you like and any number of 8-bar section(s) of that part you like and

record as cleanly as possible and select your best take. Record to click!

Aif/wav 24bit/44.1kHz please of just your instrument-no click but have the file start on a downbeat.

There is a rough mp3 version in your pack to get an idea of the vibe (Baroque retro-futurism)

You’ll see that the following score covers the outer sections of the theme.

 

Transpose/adapt for your instrument. There is a sibelius file of this in your pack so you can transpose,

or let me know and I can easily do it for you. If you want to improvise over the chord sequence that would be great,

any style from Django, Yngwie, Miles, Oscar Peterson and anything inbetween.

 

The idea is that it covers the history of science from Newton to the latest Dr. Who episode.

There is a similar – and non-purist – evolution from harpsicords to strings to pianos to electronic and

electric instruments so any instrument/vocal from any era or genre is great. The more eclectic the better.

 

If you prefer not to play/read any of this you can play what you like using the track as a backing and send me your

instrument with no click or backing. OR you can record and film yourself doing anything ‘sciency’ that

makes a noise and I’ll adapt it into the percussion track.

 

If possible, please record a short video clip of you playing with an audio guide if you’d like to be on the video.

You can mime to your prerecorded file if more convenient-audio is just for reference.

 

Send me all media – together with how you’d like to be credited (Name and’occupation’)

and any notes that will help me understand the content via yousendit (or similar) not direct to email.

Need stuff by about 22 Jan ideally.

 

direct the links to miltonline@me.com

 

If you know someone who loves science and music and wants to be involved- please pass this on.

 

Hopefully this will make a nice video and track for presentation at the QED conference and beyond.

 

Thanks so much for being part of this project – experiment – I really appreciate it.

 

Milton x