Markrs
Complete Beginner
I have been watching and reading a lot of music theory and composition recently. Trying to understand things like modulation, chord substitutions, 7th, 9th, 11th chords, etc. How they bring movement and life to a piece. It makes totally sense and I love how effective these can be.
However, at the same time I can love a song like Iron and Wine's Trapeze Swinger which never moves off the verse, as well as staying on 4 chords (I - V - IV - VI) with the same melody and rhythm for 8 minutes. The only thing that really changes beyond the lyrics is the instrumentation and yet it works really well. I think the key is the simple melody and chords.
However, at the same time I can love a song like Iron and Wine's Trapeze Swinger which never moves off the verse, as well as staying on 4 chords (I - V - IV - VI) with the same melody and rhythm for 8 minutes. The only thing that really changes beyond the lyrics is the instrumentation and yet it works really well. I think the key is the simple melody and chords.