What you need to know already
In order for you to get the most from this page it is recommended that you have a basic understanding of musical keys, chord progressions using roman numerals and transposing (changing keys). If you are so far unfamiliar with these terms then please head to my page on Chord Theory Essentials
In this page I want to explore the very basics of Mash-ups and Medleys to help you make some choices to create your own.
In this page I want to explore the very basics of Mash-ups and Medleys to help you make some choices to create your own.
What is a Mash-Up?
The first mashup I ever remember hearing is called Stroke of Genie-us featuring The Strokes' Hard To Explain and Christina Aguilera's Genie In A Bottle. Check it out for yourself below. It must have been around 2002 when it was playing over the speakers of Hollywood Bowl in Taunton, Somerset where I would spend some of my youth. I was very new to the idea of music theory and it just intrigued me how they could fit together so well.
A mashup is a musical track comprising the vocals of one recording placed over the instrumental backing of another. Usually two different songs played together or overlapping that work generally based on having complimentary if not exactly matching chord progressions. Hard To Explain by the Strokes is originally in the key of G at 165bpm and Genie In A Bottle by Christina Aguilera is originally in the key of Fm at 175 bpm... So how did the producer get them to fit together? Well there's actually more to it than just putting one song on top of the other. There needs to be some manipulation and editing
Comparing the vocals from the original and the mash-up I can hear that they have been dropped by 1 semitone which puts the vocals now in the key of Em which is the relative minor of G major (both keys contain the same set of notes). This was probably achieved by using a computer program called NEWTONE. Also the bpm has been changed from 175 to 165 to match the tempo of the instrumental track
The instrumental track has also been manipulated in a way to better suit the vocals. The verse stays using the same 1 chord of G major which the vocals would sit very comfortably over. When the bridge comes in the chords used are G / Em / Am7 and the chorus is just C / Am. Compare that to the chords in the original recording of Genie In A Bottle. (Allowing for the key change) The whole song uses these 4 chords Em / D / C / B7
The most notable chord in this sequence is B7; normally in the key of G major and E minor the chord should really be a Bm but it is very common to exchange the iv minor chord in a key to a dominant IV7 for a more pleasing resolution back to the i chord
A mashup is a musical track comprising the vocals of one recording placed over the instrumental backing of another. Usually two different songs played together or overlapping that work generally based on having complimentary if not exactly matching chord progressions. Hard To Explain by the Strokes is originally in the key of G at 165bpm and Genie In A Bottle by Christina Aguilera is originally in the key of Fm at 175 bpm... So how did the producer get them to fit together? Well there's actually more to it than just putting one song on top of the other. There needs to be some manipulation and editing
Comparing the vocals from the original and the mash-up I can hear that they have been dropped by 1 semitone which puts the vocals now in the key of Em which is the relative minor of G major (both keys contain the same set of notes). This was probably achieved by using a computer program called NEWTONE. Also the bpm has been changed from 175 to 165 to match the tempo of the instrumental track
The instrumental track has also been manipulated in a way to better suit the vocals. The verse stays using the same 1 chord of G major which the vocals would sit very comfortably over. When the bridge comes in the chords used are G / Em / Am7 and the chorus is just C / Am. Compare that to the chords in the original recording of Genie In A Bottle. (Allowing for the key change) The whole song uses these 4 chords Em / D / C / B7
The most notable chord in this sequence is B7; normally in the key of G major and E minor the chord should really be a Bm but it is very common to exchange the iv minor chord in a key to a dominant IV7 for a more pleasing resolution back to the i chord
Here are links to the original versions of each song
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What is a Medley?
A medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. Simply put, one song moving seamlessly into the next. They don’t necessarily have to follow the same chord progression but can join together by another common theme such as rhythm, tempo or genre. For example; It could be enough that the last chord of the first song could be the first chord of the next creating a simple segue (pronounced seg-way)
A perfect example of a simple medley would be La Bamba transitioning to Twist & Shout. Check out this version from Absolute5. The transition itself comes in at 1:48
A perfect example of a simple medley would be La Bamba transitioning to Twist & Shout. Check out this version from Absolute5. The transition itself comes in at 1:48
Here are links to the original versions of each song
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The Art of Transposing
The original key of La Bamba is C Major (although in the video above it seems to be in C# major, The original key of Twist & Shout is D major
They are not in the same key but they both use the same chord progression of I IV V so if you simply play them both in the same key as each other you can easily make a medley like the one above. They put both songs in the key of C major. The main reason you would transpose a song is to better suit your vocal range, making it higher or lower depending on what suits the singer best.
They are not in the same key but they both use the same chord progression of I IV V so if you simply play them both in the same key as each other you can easily make a medley like the one above. They put both songs in the key of C major. The main reason you would transpose a song is to better suit your vocal range, making it higher or lower depending on what suits the singer best.
Make your own simple medley
To get started I recommend taking the songs you already know and write down what their starting chord is. Find songs that start with the same chord and group them together.
For example here are a few songs I play that start with Am (but with a capo on fret 2 to suit my voice). Whenever you land on an Am chord you can just start playing the next song in the sequence or in any order you want because you know they will all work. They don't necessarily have matching chord progressions or rhythms but you can adjust them to make it work for you. Watch the video below as I demonstrate joining these songs together.
For example here are a few songs I play that start with Am (but with a capo on fret 2 to suit my voice). Whenever you land on an Am chord you can just start playing the next song in the sequence or in any order you want because you know they will all work. They don't necessarily have matching chord progressions or rhythms but you can adjust them to make it work for you. Watch the video below as I demonstrate joining these songs together.
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Make your own simple mash-up
Now we are going to do the same thing again but with an emphasis on making sure the chord progressions are exactly the same. Choose a song to get you started. I'm going to choose Wonderwall by Oasis. I know the basic chords for the verse are Em / G / D / A (or i / III / VII / IV if written out in numerals) with a capo on fret 2
Now I need to find some other songs that use the same progression. You can use great HOOKTHEORY website to help you
Here is a short list I have found. They are all in different keys but I can just bring them all into the same key by just keeping my capo on the same fret
Wonderwall - Oasis (Capo 2)
Old Town Road - Lil Nas X (Capo 4)
Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz (Capo 5)
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day (Capo 1)
Radioactive - Imagine Dragons (Capo 7)
Now I need to find some other songs that use the same progression. You can use great HOOKTHEORY website to help you
Here is a short list I have found. They are all in different keys but I can just bring them all into the same key by just keeping my capo on the same fret
Wonderwall - Oasis (Capo 2)
Old Town Road - Lil Nas X (Capo 4)
Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz (Capo 5)
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day (Capo 1)
Radioactive - Imagine Dragons (Capo 7)
| Wonderwall Songsheet |
Check out these other Mash-ups to give you some more ideas
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Check out this huge medley of songs from Axis Of Awesome
All of these songs use the progression I / V / vi / IV