Shifts in the Diatonic Chord Progression
From “The Ripple Effect¨ in Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers
When referring to how the diatonic chord progression works, what is being referred to is a set of basic features of such a progression (refer to 20240927133630-What_is_a_Diatonic_Chord_Progression):
- That of being a temporal sequence of chords (refer to 20240904095922-Chords)–usually triads (refer to 20240924121346-What_Chords_Are)—that share the same scale based on their (chord) root
- That of having a pattern or order for the qualities of those chords (refer to 20240901171406-Musical_Intervals & Chromatic Interval Variability of Diatonic Chords), due to building the chords by sequentially and consistently applying the given interval pattern up the degrees of the given musical scale (refer to Scale Degrees and Triadic Chord Construction & 20240904131349-Scale_Degrees).
What is being alleged, then, is that when one note / (mechanical) key / pitch in a scale is altered, such that it is either a different scale or no longer a scale at all (refer to 20240904103821-Musical_Scale_and_Key_Patterns), this will affect at least 3 different chords in the original diatonic progression, thereby having either shifted that diatonic progression to a new one or annihilated it altogether (Allen 2018, 131). Hence:
From “The Ripple Effect¨ in Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers
[…] we need to re-look at the entire diatonic chord progression whenever we are changing even a single note in a scale.
This is because, given the features previously enlisted for diatonic chord progressions, a change in the musical scale means that the roots of the chords used from following the scale degree will be different and thus also possibly of a different quality than otherwise.
Relative scales and shifts in diatonic chord progression
It is easy to see the relationship between note / (mechanical) key / pitch changes in a musical scale and shifts in its diatonic chord progression when looking at the A (natural) minor scale and the C (natural) major scale, which are relative scales (see 20240904103821-Musical_Scale_and_Key_Patterns, 20241026172059-The_Minor_Scale & 20241026193255-What_are_Relative_Scales). The diatonic chord progression pattern qua chord quality for those two relative scales are the same so long as we acknowledge they start at different positions in the pattern as one “loops¨ that pattern around (Allen 2018, 123). Just as was true with the interval pattern comprising each of those scales.
diatonic_chord_progression diatonic_chord_progression_pattern triad keys pitches musical_scale chord_quality chord_root chord_progression loop scale_degree scale_degrees relative_scale music_theory
bibliography
- “The Ripple Effect.” In Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers: The Producer’s Guide to Harmony, Chord Progressions, and Song Structure in the MIDI Grid., 1st ed., 131. Minneapolis, MN: Slam Academy, 2018.
- “Minor Diatonic Chord Progressions.” In Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers: The Producer’s Guide to Harmony, Chord Progressions, and Song Structure in the MIDI Grid., 1st ed., 123. Minneapolis, MN: Slam Academy, 2018.