The Essentials of Functional Harmony
The key concepts that are essential to understand functional harmony and how these can be used in music, no matter what genre you are working in.
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The Music Creation Process
It is safe to assume that inspiration doesn’t come out of nowhere. With that said, we need to prepare and plan for creativity, be it musical or related to any other activity.
Chromatic Mediants and Metric Modulation
An example of how chromatic mediant relationships can sound by creating unexpected harmonies and also some tips on things you can do with rhythm to surprise your listeners.
Tips to Create Chord Progressions
In this post we will be looking at some tips that you can use to create chord progressions and start making your next song. I also did a little bit of that, as you will listen throughout the post. It… Read More »Tips to Create Chord Progressions
Chords or Melody, What Comes First?
Considering that melody and chords are one of the great building blocks of songwriting, one can wonder where to start first: chords or melody? Each approach can bring something different to the table so, read on: Melody-First Approach A melody-first… Read More »Chords or Melody, What Comes First?
How to Create Tension in Music
In this post I’ll be looking at some ways that you can use to create tension in music by using harmony, rhythm or form and how controlling tension and release cycles can greatly contribute to music expressiveness. Some of them… Read More »How to Create Tension in Music
How to Use Polychords in Your Music
In this post I will be showing you different ways of using tonal and chromatic polychord structures in your music. But first, a thing or two about polychords. It consists of two or more chords played together and such chords… Read More »How to Use Polychords in Your Music
Arrangement Planning Tips For Songwriters
Knowing how to go from a melody with chords played on the guitar or piano to a full song arrangement can be daunting. How do you go about this process? In this post I will try to give you some… Read More »Arrangement Planning Tips For Songwriters
How Much Music Theory Do You Need to Start Making Music?
To start making music, you shouldn’t have to wait until you have graduated from music university and know all about music theory inside out. In fact, it is quite possible, and highly advisable, to start making your own music with… Read More »How Much Music Theory Do You Need to Start Making Music?
The Basics of Song Form
When we talk about form in music, we are referring to the song structure. Or in other words, the different sections that make up the whole song. Each section usually pertains to a moment in your storytelling and that is… Read More »The Basics of Song Form
Stimulating Your Innate Creativity
Creativity is Built-in Some people may say that they are not the creative type or that they are not “feeling it” or are “uninspired”. But what we have to come to terms with is that we are all creative. We… Read More »Stimulating Your Innate Creativity
Creative Tips For Starting to Compose Music
Making a song from scratch may sound like a daunting task if you consider all the things that go into making music. But if you follow some of the tips I will be suggesting in this post, you will find… Read More »Creative Tips For Starting to Compose Music
8 Practical Ways of Using Parallel Chord Motion in Your Music
In this post, I will be proposing eight ways that you can use this technique. Each has a different feel or vibe so, you will have to choose depending on the harmonic effect you are going for. This particular… Read More »8 Practical Ways of Using Parallel Chord Motion in Your Music
Exercises to Practice Your Music Composition Skills
Having to cope with all the new things you are learning may be challenging at times and this is why I am creating this post. In it, you will find lots of practical suggestions for short music composition studies… Read More »Exercises to Practice Your Music Composition Skills
Harmonic Ambiguity and the Flexibility of Suspended Chords
Sometimes it’s handy to have a tool that opens up your possibilities in the music composition process and this is certainly the case with harmonic ambiguity, as a compositional technique, and with suspended chords. In the case of the latter,… Read More »Harmonic Ambiguity and the Flexibility of Suspended Chords
Chromatic Harmony: Using Chromatic Mediants and Chord Transformations
In this post I will be telling you what chromatic mediants and chord transformations are and how you can use these techniques to create chromatic harmony in your music compositions. I will also be showing you some examples of these… Read More »Chromatic Harmony: Using Chromatic Mediants and Chord Transformations
Creating Contrasts for Music Expression – Using Modal Mixture, Modal Interchange and More
In this post I will be showing you the compositional elements and process behind the making of a song for the next Follow No One concept album. So, what you will be hearing here are snippets of songs that are… Read More »Creating Contrasts for Music Expression – Using Modal Mixture, Modal Interchange and More
Where Do Musical Ideas Come From?
This is probably a question that will always be open for debate as each and every one of us listens to and thinks about music differently. Nonetheless, all boils down to a musician’s ability of hearing sounds in its head.… Read More »Where Do Musical Ideas Come From?
What to do with Modal Interchange
In this post we will be looking at some practical uses for modal interchange. First of all, what is it? This is a technique that consists in temporarily borrowing chords from a parallel tonality or mode that shares the same… Read More »What to do with Modal Interchange
How to Use Quartal Harmony in Your Music
In this post, I will be telling you what quartal harmony is and how you can use it in your music. I will also be looking at the harmonization process using these chords and explore some ideas for it. Let’s… Read More »How to Use Quartal Harmony in Your Music