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Hoots : Make Songs from Major Scale sound like Romany/Balkan/Hindi We are trying to make songs sound "gypsy". We tried using double harmonic scale, but we're not sure how are we gonna make the chords fit the scale. Most of the songs - freshhoot.com

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Make Songs from Major Scale sound like Romany/Balkan/Hindi
We are trying to make songs sound "gypsy". We tried using double harmonic scale, but we're not sure how are we gonna make the chords fit the scale. Most of the songs we play are on major scale.

Anyone here knows how should we change the chords to make it sound gypsy?


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The common way to create chords that fit the scale is simply to stack thirds above each scale pitch using only pitches from the scale.

In other words, let's say you're using the double harmonic scale based on C:

Let's just use those seven pitches to create triadic structures above each scale tone:

Playing around with these chords should automatically start to create the effect you're seeking.

But perhaps more importantly, you'll want to mimic Eastern progressions and melodic tropes in order to really get the sound you're looking for. A V–I progression won't really work with this scale, since the V triad isn't even a triad (nor is the vii chord). Instead you'll want to use something like ?II–I at cadences (in this case, D? major moving to C major), which is a really common phrase ending in this style of music.

In addition to the V and vii chords not being true triads, you may want to stay away from the augmented ?VI chord. As such, try initially limiting yourself to just I, ?II, iii, and iv—C, D?, Em, and Fm—and see if you're on the right track.


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