Why Learn the Melody and Chord Progression? One of the best ways to master composition is to memorize the musical meaning of a passage, …
Harmony
The Art of Counterpoint Part 3: On the Musical Education of a Child Prodigy
I often think about what it takes to truly master the subject of composition. It can be frustrating from the standpoint of student, finding …
Counterpoint Part 2: The Art of Counterpoint
So where to begin the study of counterpoint? This is a dilemma that I have faced in the past, and for the most part, has been the biggest …
Counterpoint Part 1: Because Counterpoint.
I've often taken a survey of my own compositional capabilities, and come to the conclusion I have one truly great weakness. That weakness: …
The Art of Modulation, Part 2: Common Chord Modulation
Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the last discussion on direct modulation. If you haven’t seen it you can check it out here. Today we’re …
The Art of Modulation, Part 1: Direct Modulation
Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Beau Simpson. Beau is a film composer out here in Hollywood, and we've been talking for quite a while …
Cool Videos About Improvising a Canon
I found these and thought they were pretty cool. Peter Schubert wrote a book on counterpoint, and after watching this, I decided to order it …
Voice Leading and Counterpoint
Voice leading is important. There is no doubt about it. But why? Why should we spend the time to become familiar with this seemingly …
Re-engaging Counterpoint – Once and For All
A New Beginning... Every once and a while, I sit back an try to examine who I am as a composer. Some of the questions I may ask myself …
Learning Counterpoint On Your Own
The Frustration of Learning Counterpoint This article talks about: My frustrations with learning counterpoint on my own from …
Simple Functional Harmony
There are only a few things that you need to learn about harmony before you can really start composing with direction. I say composing with …
Unlocking the Mysteries of Diatonic Harmony
Diatonic Harmony - A Game of Chance? Do you feel like your understanding of diatonic harmony is missing something? On one hand, it makes …
Completing the Musical Form Puzzle – The Small Binary Form
Completing the Musical Form Puzzle - Small Binary Form The small binary form is another one of those musical forms that is heard all over …
Musical Periods Unleashed!
Musical Periods Like me, you have probably been frustrated composing phrases that sound "off". Maybe they feel like they ended too soon, or …
Musical Phrases Unleashead
Musical Phrases - The Big Picture "Man that was a great two bar continuation phrase, with awesome fragmentation and melodic …
Warning: The Composing Secret Mozart Didn’t Want You To Know
Musical Sketches - Mozart's Dirty Little Secret Mahler did it. Beethoven did it. Even... gasp... Mozart did it. What am I talking about? …
How to Compose Music, Part 3: Melody or Harmony First?
Should I Start With the Melody or the Harmony? This is a common question when learning to compose music. The answer is a simple one. You …