71 dB
Headphoneus Supremus
You're welcome. What you need is of course up to you.I want to try to say this: Thank you, it's true that I need to stay on track learning such things.
With composition I'm too about to learn about it. My previous view has been that I just couldn't find what would dominate the feelings of listeners when it comes to harmonies - and rythm, and tuning of instruments. I just started to make music and was convinced that there is no way to find out that some thing would lead the top causes of feelings that music triggers in listeners. Also the way that it blends into cultural preferences and early childhood learning was sometimes discouraging for me, I didn't know what I actually wanted to achieve.
The third of a scale or the middle note of a triad is generally the "feel" note. So, in (the context of) C major it would be E (happy) and in C minor it would be E♭ (sad). Using sus chord the "feeling" can be neutralised: Sus2 chords (e.g. C-D-G) sound calm/dreamy while sus4 chords (e.g. C-F-G) sound energetic.
My view today has changed in some respect. I see the impressive acomplishment that the composers of the likes of Bach have achieved. TBH I was quite often hindered by the fear that I might tarnish the fun of music making with any process that is systematic and therefore would also show me how much work is to be done, e.g. by entering all notes and pressing all buttons, all the decisions that are more the result of math-like thinking and less the result of just fun and some experiments. It's like some question .. like do you want this to be a hobby, an extensive hobby or even some sort of career. And I have not decided yet how big the hobby shall be, but I don't have to, currently. I have found some personal art form and will see what it's good for at some point in the future.
Knowing music theory is like knowing how curry, pepper and salt affect the taste of the food when cooking. Music theory doesn't tell you what to do. It illuminates the way for you so you don't stumble in the dark. A hammer doesn't force you to use nails on everything, but it is there when you need it. I know to use sus2 chords when I need calm/dreamy mood, but it is MY choice what mood I want.