Quote:
Originally Posted by Grump
1) Is it correct to say that, if I study scales in regard to chords, the benefits will be a) figuring out chords in a song (if I recognize the key), and b) constructing a song if I start writing those things?
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I guess it depends on the situation. If you're trying to stick to the major scale (or minor scale), then yes starting with that can help you figure out what chords to play to stay within the realms of that key. This can really help when creating extended chords (7ths, 9ths, etc) as you can see by building chords off the major scale what these intervals should be. This can be very beneficial when writing songs. It may or may not work when learning songs because the song you are trying to figure out may or may not follow the scale exactly. So going from scales to chords I would say is most helpful when writing songs unless you know that the song follows a particular scale.
But, you don't have to "lock" yourself into a certain scale or key when writing either. In fact you can just let your ears guide you completely without paying any attention to any kind of musical theory. If it sounds good to you, then it is good. However, the major and minor scales are a "standard" that contain chords that work well together. So it can be beneficial to start with the standards and learn the guidelines to train your ear before breaking them.
solidwalnut,
I love the way you created a separate Lesson Guide to organize your lessons..... Hope you don't mind me stealing that from you.
-tkr