Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

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Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by Frank Rideau »

I came up with a chords progression, liked it and built a song around it.

It goes:

G#m - C#m - Bmaj7 - G#m - E - A - G#m

Do not want to overthink it but I was curious to understand what is the key/mode of this.

The key looks to be in G# minor, but the A major chord kind of makes it phrygian mode or something. Minor phrygian ?

The song's here
https://soundcloud.com/orgasmo-sonore/ballade-a-escondida-by-orgasmo-sonore

cheers !
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by RichardT »

Frank Rideau wrote:I came up with a chords progression, liked it and built a song around it.

It goes:

G#m - C#m - Bmaj7 - G#m - E - A - G#m

Do not want to overthink it but I was curious to understand what is the key/mode of this.

The key looks to be in G# minor, but the A major chord kind of makes it phrygian mode or something. Minor phrygian ?

The song's here
https://soundcloud.com/orgasmo-sonore/ballade-a-escondida-by-orgasmo-sonore

cheers !

Those chords are mostly compatible with G#m Phrygian - though the Bmaj7 isn’t, and it isn’t compatible with any major mode of G# given that you have A major.
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by merlyn »

All those chords except Bmaj7 are in the key of E major. If Bmaj7 was B7 then it would be in E major throughout and you're right, E major starting on G# is the phrygian mode.

It's mostly E major and the note that has changed when the chord is Bmaj7 is A has gone to A#, which is the key of B major.
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by Frank Rideau »

Thanks for your observations
There is indeed a chromatic voicing going on (G#, A, A#, B), that is why I was confused identifying the scale.
So Bmaj7 looks like the intruder if you see it from the E Major or G# phrygian scale, but as far as the first chords goes G#m - C#m - Bmaj7 - G#m, nothing let you think it's different than a G# minor scale until it hits the A chord.
Anyway, I came up with it without thinking about it, it's in the afterthought that I was trying to figure out the scale.
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by Murray B »

Hi Frank,

I can't think of any mode that has a chromatic run of three notes together in it. Those in your case being the A A# and B.

According to the clever bit of software here:

https://www.scales-chords.com/scalefinder.php

it's

E ichikosucho

Otherwise I would have gone for E with a extra note in :-)
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by Drew Stephenson »

I have zero knowledge on the theory but it is a nice tune. :)
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by Frank Rideau »

@MurrayB The chromatic run is because it's probably not one specific scale, that's what I was trying to understand. The more I think about it, it is simply G# minor modulating in the G# phrigyan.
@Blinddrew thanks !
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by manwilde »

Sorry to go off-topic but I´m listening to your "Best orgasms form 2011 to 2018" and enjoying it a lot! :clap::clap:
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by Frank Rideau »

manwilde wrote:Sorry to go off-topic but I´m listening to your "Best orgasms form 2011 to 2018" and enjoying it a lot! :clap::clap:

Off-topic comment approved :thumbup:
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by Wurlitzer »

It's in G# minor. Natural minor (aeolian), with one chromatic chord (A) towards the end. If you were improvising and thinking modally you could say that that chord puts it into the phrygian mode for a bar.

Sweet.
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by OneWorld »

manwilde wrote:Sorry to go off-topic but I´m listening to your "Best orgasms form 2011 to 2018" and enjoying it a lot! :clap::clap:

I'm inclined to agree. It is clear that Ennio Morricone is an influence and at times sounds like the background music to some 60's 'Exotic Art Movie' but hey, nothing wrong with that, it is pleasantly quirky, and most of all quite listenable.

I often struggle with deciding what key a piece of music is in, if for example I am clearly in the key of C Major, but then, for example, a chromatic shift going from

Cmaj->Gmaj->Fmaj->Emin->#Dmaj->Gmaj->Cmaj

have I stayed in C major or have I changed key and added some 'accidentals' ?
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Re: Chords progression of one of my songs - phrygian mode?

Post by RichardT »

OneWorld wrote:
manwilde wrote:Sorry to go off-topic but I´m listening to your "Best orgasms form 2011 to 2018" and enjoying it a lot! :clap::clap:

I'm inclined to agree. It is clear that Ennio Morricone is an influence and at times sounds like the background music to some 60's 'Exotic Art Movie' but hey, nothing wrong with that, it is pleasantly quirky, and most of all quite listenable.

I often struggle with deciding what key a piece of music is in, if for example I am clearly in the key of C Major, but then, for example, a chromatic shift going from

Cmaj->Gmaj->Fmaj->Emin->#Dmaj->Gmaj->Cmaj

have I stayed in C major or have I changed key and added some 'accidentals' ?

You’re still in C major. The D#maj doesn’t act as a tonic.
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