Yes, and also the chord progressions, what key/scale being used, the tempo, timing of phrases, and so on. However the most simplistic answer is just a mix of "tension" notes and "release" notes, the timings of it probably mimicking the timings of the interaction of two people in love (aka the courting / flirting / call and response nature of it).DaveC426913 said:Partly the key it's in.
Major keys tend to denote happy emotions; minor keys, melancholy.
mister mishka said:Yes, and also the chord progressions, what key/scale being used, the tempo, timing of phrases, and so on. However the most simplistic answer is just a mix of "tension" notes and "release" notes, the timings of it probably mimicking the timings of the interaction of two people in love (aka the courting / flirting / call and response nature of it).
mister mishka said:I originally was thinking of the context of I how play improv piano, where if I were feeling romantic, I would instinctively play as such (using a combination of various techniques). However, all music can be broken down into "tension" and "release", the timings / combinations of phrases mimicking ones emotions. Here is where it also gets subjective to some extent, for example I don't feel emotionally connected with that Titanic song, I generate more feelings of annoyance / disgust, rather than romantic. I have a different correlation with that song, where it being repeated so many times in cheesy contexts, that I simply feel more anger then love haha.
Of course I can still recognize it as a somewhat romantic love song, however complex the "groupings" are of tension / release. Do it for yourself, where do you feel there is "tension" in the song, and where do you feel it gets "released"? They can be spefic notes, groups of notes, sequences of notes, very complex compistions of rythems and sounds; but the fundamental tension / release remains the same. In romantic western music, we at least have more well defined tension / release notes that can be used more deliberately. However if using a pentatonic scale for example, there is no tonal tension or release, and thus you would have to figure out other techniques to create some sort of tension, and then release.
If you want a more detailed definition for the style of music you want to categorize as "love songs" given your 2 examples, do a search on famous chord progressions for commercial romantic music. That seems to be quite a formulated thing that they do, at least regarding the tonal qualities of the pieces.
mister mishka said:Haha the best analogy I can think of is it being like sex, I can describe it to you or you can simply do it yourself. Music is much the same, it is nice to know the theory behind it, but the real learning happens when you do it yourself. You find your own way, thus you start to feel the connection with the music and the relationship builds naturally / intuitively. Music like any art is very subjective, technically any sound can be called music (it all depends on your definition). So what do you specifically want to know? Do you want to learn an instrument? Do you want to compose / categorize / mix music?
As for how I currently "invent" a new piece on the piano, here is what I usually do:
- play some random notes / chords / sequences on the piano
- settle for one that fits my mood (that I feel connected with emotionally)
- figure out what key / scale the keys are in
- try different chord progressions and settle on one that fits my feeling
- play around with various rythems of left and right hands
- once these fundamentals are settled i now usually have enough framework / structure for me to work in that i can simply improvise on the spot / play with my feelings fluidly without thought..
This is only possible because of LOTS of practice, aka the muscel memory "knows" all these complex moves / groupings over many years of playing.
mister mishka said:It is not really about combinations being used up, but more that combinations keep coming back again and again, because they seem to be so popular with the general public. I had to google that song "A Thousand Years", it is that one from Christina Perri? I am amazed that it has half a billion views (especially after listening to it lol), but yeah it doesn't matter what I think, as long as you feel that you connect with it. From a musical point of view, it is quite a simple song to analyze / reconstruct. However, if you do not know any musical theory or play an instrument, its going to be near impossible for me to explain it to you (especially if you wish to compose music).
What I recommend is to try and learn some basic music theory, then find the music sheets of that song you like, copy it and try to play it on an instrument, then try to analyze the song (find out what key/scale it is in, the tempo and time signature, what the chord progression is, the main phrases and where it repeats). Once you know that, then it is very easy to create your own piece (with your own key/scale, tempo, timings, chord progression, etc). As you see, this will take you some time to learn, but if that passion is there, you will learn.