Piano vs. Guitar

The Am, Em, G, D progression is really in the key of A Dorian, which is related to G Major, in that it has the chords Am, Em, G, and D, but it's got a kind of jazzy minor flavor (Dorian).

Yeah it could even be both, but you over-looked one thing that infers why I called it A minor not A dorian. The G is a dominant 7 chord in the progression I wrote, that's natural in the key of A minor. In the dorian mode, D would be the dominant chord. That's probably why that chord progression sounds right because it stands alone in Dorian, but with a switch of dominants that implies Aeolian.

Very true, didn't notice the G7. That's what's cool about closely related modes. You can borrow elements from the two modes next to your scale in the circle of fifths and still get a good sound.

You're in Am, and "borrowing" the D from Em (which is equivalent A Dorian, next scale in the circle of fifths)

i dont think that it is Piano VS guitar - it should rather be piano AND guitar. i believe that for ANY musician the piano should be a MUST. there is no other instrument where music theory becomes THAT visible. a very vital tool!

Yeah, borrowing chords from neighboring keys makes progressions more interesting and avoids monotony. In a minor key, chords like the IV work great as major chords, rather than a minor chord. A common altered chord in a major key is the II to a major chord rather than minor. In the relative minor, it's the IV chord. Which was the D major alteration in the chord progression I wrote. Whats cool about these chords is they can immediately jump back to a diatonic chord without much conflict. The IV as a minor in a major key, is another good one.

Yeah I agree Az, one thing I think the piano has a reach over the guitar in theory is that the harmony, rhythm, and melody must be played simultaneously on one instrument. The guitar can still use this idea if the guitarist is a composer, and not just think of what his/her own instrument would do in a piece and but together with everything else. The piano is good because it trains this thinking from the start.

[Edited by noticingthemistake on 09-08-2003 at 04:55 PM]

What's weird is I didn't know until two days ago what the notes on a piano were. But now that I do, I think I can teach myself fairly quickly to become a decent pianist.

jazz whiz Martin Taylor says that Art Tatum is his biggest influence. Ive seem MT live and indeed his technique is very piano like. He plays sophisticated bass lines with his right thumb and plays chords and single note runs at the same time with all fingers. He even transcribes piano pieces for guitar.

what makes guitar cool and what makes paino cool are seperate things. thats why more piano players are interested in theory while guitar players are interested in speed

the piano tune at the end of 'egypt'(symphony x)is just beautiful...I can only describe it as 'waves of water' of notes if that makes any sense.

I would love to apply such feeling to my guitar playing...mabey I should buy a cheap keyboard to learn on....

I was thinking about getting a cheap key board to assist in writing ballad sections.