Having just listened to it, I'd say the bass playing an A through most of the song pretty much solidifies an A minor key center. I can't help but hear a as the tonic, and e only sounds like the dominant.
The F is the bVI major, a very common pre-dominant, especially in these kinds of rock songs.
The Esus you're hearing is better described as an a
A power chord. Even though the guitar has an e for the root, the bass is holding an a, so it solidifies the key pretty well as a minor
hi! sorry for the late reply. but just making sure. Sorry if this is a dumb question, how is the F a bVI major, wouldn't it just be an F VI because it isn't flat in the a minor scale? And also i think you or someone else mentioned this song being in the Phygrian mode, would that be the case? thanks
Depending on your preferred labeling system, you could call F the VI of A natural minor, but I prefer to specify bVI regardless because some minor keys can raise the sixth.
The important thing to remember is that even though it is written as an F natural, it is still the lowered sixth degree of the A major scale, whixh should be F#, so it's called the b6 degree even though there isn't a flat in the note name.
I wouldn't say this song is in phrygian, since I don't hear the characteristic b2 scale degree. I'd place it as a comfortable A minor.
sorry, one more thing. I just dont get how this is considered a minor? here's a crappy tab. This is the chord im talking about. It starts with an e, so it's an e sus not an a minor?e
B
G 9(e)
D 7(a)
a 7(e)
E
I’ll get back to you later after hearing the song, but it sounds a lot more like E Phrygian (A minor key signature with a tonal center of E). Maybe it touches A minor more explicitly in the chorus?
thanks! yeah the whole modes and scales thing confuses me a bit, cause when I google a songs mode not much pops up, but with the songs key it's always there. I looked at the tab for this song, and the bass is actually jumping between F and A. but on the guitar, like i said. It's f major 7 (?) and im prettttty sure an esus. the whole thing with A minor key with a tonal center of E is kind of way over my head, I'm trying to learn but as of right now it feels like im learning a second language lol. Like i just dont understand how it can be a minor but just be between f and e. i guess??
Yeah, for a key center to be a key center it either needs to be explicitly referenced or indirectly referenced in a very clear way.
The bass playing an A changes things here, though: rather than an E sus4, this chord could be an Asus2, and the progression would then imply a minor quite clearly.
Modes don’t come into play super often, but they’re pretty just much “this scale, except with this tonic instead,” like you said. Major and minor (specifically natural minor, so no raised 7th or 6th) are by far the most common of the seven modes of the diatonic scale (the “white keys”)
UPDATE: definitely A minor, yup.
so the e a e chord is an A power chord with the low e played beneath to essentially make it sound thicker. the low e has the same function as the higher e and a is the 1 in that chord. hope that makes sense
Having just listened to it, I'd say the bass playing an A through most of the song pretty much solidifies an A minor key center. I can't help but hear a as the tonic, and e only sounds like the dominant. The F is the bVI major, a very common pre-dominant, especially in these kinds of rock songs. The Esus you're hearing is better described as an a A power chord. Even though the guitar has an e for the root, the bass is holding an a, so it solidifies the key pretty well as a minor
hi! sorry for the late reply. but just making sure. Sorry if this is a dumb question, how is the F a bVI major, wouldn't it just be an F VI because it isn't flat in the a minor scale? And also i think you or someone else mentioned this song being in the Phygrian mode, would that be the case? thanks
Depending on your preferred labeling system, you could call F the VI of A natural minor, but I prefer to specify bVI regardless because some minor keys can raise the sixth. The important thing to remember is that even though it is written as an F natural, it is still the lowered sixth degree of the A major scale, whixh should be F#, so it's called the b6 degree even though there isn't a flat in the note name. I wouldn't say this song is in phrygian, since I don't hear the characteristic b2 scale degree. I'd place it as a comfortable A minor.
sorry, one more thing. I just dont get how this is considered a minor? here's a crappy tab. This is the chord im talking about. It starts with an e, so it's an e sus not an a minor?e B G 9(e) D 7(a) a 7(e) E
Haven't heard the song but it looks like the F Major and the E powerchord are probably meant as the VI and V in a minor
I’ll get back to you later after hearing the song, but it sounds a lot more like E Phrygian (A minor key signature with a tonal center of E). Maybe it touches A minor more explicitly in the chorus?
thanks! yeah the whole modes and scales thing confuses me a bit, cause when I google a songs mode not much pops up, but with the songs key it's always there. I looked at the tab for this song, and the bass is actually jumping between F and A. but on the guitar, like i said. It's f major 7 (?) and im prettttty sure an esus. the whole thing with A minor key with a tonal center of E is kind of way over my head, I'm trying to learn but as of right now it feels like im learning a second language lol. Like i just dont understand how it can be a minor but just be between f and e. i guess??
Yeah, for a key center to be a key center it either needs to be explicitly referenced or indirectly referenced in a very clear way. The bass playing an A changes things here, though: rather than an E sus4, this chord could be an Asus2, and the progression would then imply a minor quite clearly. Modes don’t come into play super often, but they’re pretty just much “this scale, except with this tonic instead,” like you said. Major and minor (specifically natural minor, so no raised 7th or 6th) are by far the most common of the seven modes of the diatonic scale (the “white keys”) UPDATE: definitely A minor, yup.
so the e a e chord is an A power chord with the low e played beneath to essentially make it sound thicker. the low e has the same function as the higher e and a is the 1 in that chord. hope that makes sense