Why Learn the Melody and Chord Progression? One of the best ways to master composition is to memorize the musical meaning of a passage, and be able to use it in a different way. Memorization, …
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Episode 10 of the Art of Composing Podcast. In this episode, you'll get a good grasp of what harmony is and why harmony works the way it does. If you've ever wanted to know how to create a chord …
I often think about what it takes to truly master the subject of composition. It can be frustrating from the standpoint of student, finding yourself writing pieces that you have written before… just …
Continue Reading about The Art of Counterpoint Part 3: On the Musical Education of a Child Prodigy →
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 stumbling block. In this post, we will examine how Bach …
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I've often taken a survey of my own compositional capabilities, and come to the conclusion I have one truly great weakness. That weakness: Counterpoint. I Can Do Some Counterpoint I am like many …
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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 going to be taking a look at technique used by composers …
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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 about having him join the Art of Composing team, which at …
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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 to give it a try. The book is Modal Counterpoint: …
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Voice leading is important. There is no doubt about it. But why? Why should we spend the time to become familiar with this seemingly unconnected side of theory? How many people have come out of …
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 are: Am I creating music that is meaningful? Will anyone …
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The Frustration of Learning Counterpoint This article talks about: My frustrations with learning counterpoint on my own from books Some facts and assumptions about learning counterpoint My …
Functional harmony is a way of thinking about composing harmony with direction. Harmony Basics So lets take a real quick look at what harmony is. You can look at harmony with two lenses. The …
Do you feel like your understanding of diatonic harmony is missing something? On one hand, it makes sense. I mean, it's only seven chords... right? On the other hand, some composers seem to be …
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Completing the Musical Form Puzzle - Small Binary Form The small binary form is another one of those musical forms that is heard all over the place. Used for hundreds of years and still in use today, …
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Musical Periods Like me, you have probably been frustrated composing phrases that sound "off". Maybe they feel like they ended too soon, or don't sound complete. If this has happened to you, keep …