4.8 /5
(251)

30
Fundamental Concepts of Composition
History: How We Got To Tonality
Theory: The Major-Minor System
What Makes a Decent Melody
Practical: Composing a Basic Melody
Download: Basic Melody Worksheet
Guided Exercise #1: Compose a Melody
Guided Exercise #2: Compose Another Melody
Set some goals, and help me craft a better course
You Thought You Knew C Major
C Major Worksheet v4
Learning Chord Progressions for Composers
Download: Connecting the Chord Tones Worksheet
Connecting the Chord Tones
Limitations and Creativity
Guided Exercises #3: Connecting the Chord Tones
Guided Exercise #4: Connecting the Chord Tones
Intervals
Download: Worksheets for Understanding the Essentials of Harmony
Making Intervals Intuitive
Making Chromatic Intervals Intuitive
Interval Workout
Triads and Inversions
Making Triads Intuitive
Seventh Chords
Making Dominant 7th Chords Intuitive
Basic Chord Progression No. 1
You're ready for the next step!
Live Composing Session: How it All Comes Together
Complete Course Workbook: Fundamentals of Musical Composition

instructor

4.8 /5
(251)

  • Avatar
    Wellington
    (5)
    Perfect

  • Avatar
    Tomáš
    (5)
    Gr8

  • Avatar
    jayakumar
    (5)
    awesome

    awesome

  • Avatar
    Marvic
    (5)
    Agree

    very informative

  • Avatar
    Joseph
    (4)
    Lessons are very good

    Very good

  • Avatar
    Blueink-sa
    (5)
    BlueInk-sa

    Is an South African rapper

  • Avatar
    Kevin
    (5)
    Very Informative

    As above

  • Avatar
    dorothy
    (5)
    I don't know what is required here.

    Your teaching style is amazing, simple, clear and addictive. It is definitely the best I have ever encountered in my lifetime. How do I move on to the next level?

  • Avatar
    Lance
    (5)
    Great focused lesson

  • Avatar
    Ricardo
    (5)
    A breath of fresh air

    An excellent course which gave me a second wind not only in my motivation to compose but to stay on the my musical path wholesale.

  • Avatar
    Matthew
    (5)
    Awesome!

    The best composition lesson in the world. It is definitely better than the old, dried up, "couldn't teach someone how to get out of a box" jacked up music professors I had in college!

  • Avatar
    Steve
    (4)
    Good for absolute basics

    This is useful for beginners getting the absolute basics.

  • Avatar
    Simon
    (5)
    Well worth it!

    I studied music in university years ago and realized there were quite a few gaps in my memory. This course has helped to re-establish the fundamentals.

  • Avatar
    Andre
    (5)
    Vocabulary of Composition

  • Avatar
    SAM
    (5)
    5STARS

    5STARS

  • Avatar
    Jonathan
    (5)
    amazing

    amazing

  • Avatar
    Michael
    (5)
    5 stars

    5 stars

  • Avatar
    JESUS
    (5)
    EL TITULO ESTA BIEN

    LOS TEXTOS ME PARECEN MAGNIFICOS Y SIBRE TODO MUY PRACTICOS. ESPERO PODER APROVECHARLO DE LA MEJOR MANERA.

  • Avatar
    Sergei
    (5)
    Awesome!

  • Avatar
    Young
    (5)
    Understand able and engaging

    Good to follow

  • Avatar
    Charles
    (5)
    Good for beginnners

  • Avatar
    angelos
    (5)
    helpful

    really helpful

  • Avatar
    Des
    (5)
    Not too advanced. It suited my needs.

    Efficient

  • Avatar
    Michelle
    (5)
    appropriate

    good learning

  • Avatar
    Martin
    (5)
    Excellent!

  • Avatar
    Raul
    (5)
    Major scale triads

    Wonderful explanation.

  • Avatar
    Brandon
    (5)
    Harmony

    extremely good

  • Avatar
    Mirjam
    (5)
    Thank you!

    Thank you so much for giving me the fundamentals I needed to get started composing!

  • Avatar
    Peter
    (5)
    A practical start-up kit

    A very useful and practical introduction that has already got me composing short melodies. I particularly like the advice to apply limitations - this simple advice overcomes the problem I had of being overwhelmed by endless possibilities and not getting anywhere. Now I start with something very simple and then embellish.

  • Avatar
    Neil
    (5)
    Title accurately lets us know what is in this section.

    Explanations are excellent and paced well for someone who has basic understanding of tonal music, has started composing with underwhelming results, and would like to know how to progress.

  • Avatar
    Irfan
    (5)
    Great Course! I would highly reccomend it.

    I finally understood that music is basically a language that has it's own vocabulary, phrases etc.

  • Avatar
    Kwnstantinos
    (5)
    Perfect

    Excellent course for music theory. Very professional and academic style

  • Avatar
    Geoffrey
    (5)
    Great!

    Jon makes it so easy to learn. Really good stuff!

  • Avatar
    Claude
    (5)
    Easy and fun.

    The course is enjoyable and easy to understand.

  • Avatar
    Aaron
    (5)
    Fantastico!

  • Avatar
    Donny
    (5)
    Lovely

    I love it. I hope I can succeed in the near future.

  • Avatar
    Ron
    (5)
    Great content taught by a great teacher

    Great content. You will learn something regardless of how much you may already know or think you know. Some parts are a bit dry but that is no fault of the instructors. There are parts of music theory that are just dry and no amount of dressing it up can change that fact.

  • Avatar
    Daniel
    (5)
    Awesome introduction to music composition

    As a piano student for only 2 years, i could learn a lot about the basics of composing music. The instructor is very nice and make everything easier to understand. Highly recommended !

  • Avatar
    José Luis
    (5)
    Excellent!

    Definitely an improvement to the previous courses!

  • Avatar
    Jerilynn
    (5)
    Build Your Composition Vocabulary

    Very helpful and interesting information. A good introduction.

  • Avatar
    Naomi
    (5)
    Rudiments of composition course

    This is the best course I've ever seen of its kind. I can't thank you enough. Everything you said spoke directly to my needs: feeling lost, disorientated and unable to design a systematic method to follow to actually progress in my songwriting. Thank you so much.

  • Avatar
    Robert
    (5)
    Excellent

    Great content, well presented and though.

  • Avatar
    Fullfill A
    (5)
    The lessons are...

    The lessons are very easy to grasp. In a sequential order of grade, very precise and interesting.

  • Avatar
    Antonio
    (5)
    Taught me a lot...

    i learned very much at this course. Recommended

  • Avatar
    R. Prem
    (5)
    Excellent

  • Avatar
    Nemanja
    (5)
    Fundamentals of the music theory

    I am satisfied with this mini course about fundamentals. I did finish music school many years ago, so I just needed to recapitulate at least fundamentals. The tutor is excellent, and also I found out little stuff I forgot, but essential for composing.

  • Avatar
    Kim
    (5)
    Very insightful and easy to follow.

    My problem with most courses is that you're given so much information in so little time and you have no idea what to do with them. I'm so glad this course has guided exercises that helps you put theory into practice. I'm looking forward to the rest of the course!

  • Avatar
    John
    (5)
    Mind blown.

    Amazed at how a simple chord progression can be made into a lovely piano piece.

  • Avatar
    Alex
    (5)
    Start to composing )

    It's great! Thank you!

  • Avatar
    Brian
    (5)
    Building Knowledge & Understanding, step-by-step !

    Very well organized and thorough approach with brief sharing of well know authors statements and definitions of critical concepts, like Creativity !

  • Avatar
    Alan
    (4)
    Great for Vocab

    This course is excellent for developing vocabulary and practicing composition, but for me it falls short because there is limited opportunity for having each compositional attempt critiqued and for advice on what to do and to not do in the future, based on my work.

  • Avatar
    Stephen
    (5)
    good basic course

    a good basic intro - establishes principles of composition - I like the pace of the course - Jon teaches well. I am tempted to do more - money permitting.

  • Avatar
    Thomas
    (5)
    High Quality Presentation

    I've been searching around for online resources to help me learn more about music composition and thanks to all the free content available on YouTube and various educational sites I've kept my purchases to a minimum. But I guess as they say, you get what you pay for! In contrast, I found your free introduction or teaser to be a surprisingly good balance of useful information for a wide variety of skill levels while still maintaining a clear and rapid path toward a comprehensive understanding. I guess what i'm trying to say is that much of what I learned for free on the internet is tastefully compressed into your teaser while also including advanced elements that I have yet to see anywhere else. Obviously I'm pretty intrigued. I just finished your introduction when this chance to review popped up. I don't know how much your course costs but judging from the intro I bet it's worth it.

  • Avatar
    Luis D
    (5)
    Excellent course

    This course is truly outstanding. The concepts come together naturally. I have been an amateur musician for over 50 years, but have played guitar and bass. The keyboard has taken me some time to get acquainted with, but with Jon’s lucid explanations, it really helps to appreciate musical relationships between notes. I really look forward to continuing this course and improving my understanding of music. I love the guitar but it does not provide the clarity afforded by a keyboard. I will continue learning to work with the keyboard, in addition to learning composition.

  • Avatar
    Laura
    (5)
    Thank you!

    I came from having really basic knowledge about music, to have a good foundation. The course is very well made and understandable, also very professional. thank you very much. This is too good to be free.

  • Avatar
    Ashwin Deepak
    (5)
    It's a very well course.

    After the completion, I know many things which is essential and requires the composition. I love the Mr. Jon teaching style. Also I like the workbook which is very helpful resource to understand the composition. This course module is well and structured. It's a very helpful to composers.

  • Avatar
    Kennithson M.
    (5)
    best site which provide free for Creation of melody

    Very interesting helpful for the beginers. yes not only for the beginers but also all who loves music

  • Avatar
    Stephen
    (5)
    Enlightening Course

    This course helped get me out of a "rut" I had unwittingly formed around the piano, which consisted of "listen, read, memorize, move on". I have played with the idea of improv, but it rarely moved beyond finding obvious chord progressions to popular melodies. The principles of this course, consistently practiced, will revolutionize my fundamental attitude toward the piano and composing. I can only imagine what the full course is like... and I will certainly recommend this website to anyone I know who wants to learn to compose!

  • Avatar
    Melody
    (5)
    Fantastic

    I've been composing for many years but this course took me back to basics and served as a reminder of the fundamental building blocks in composition. I feel like it has refocused my approach to composing. Jon explains everything very clearly and I'm sure I will revisit this course again in future.

  • Avatar
    Damien
    (5)
    Awesome!

    It really doesn’t get much better than this, a 100% free course to build up composition skills. Whether you know absolutely nothing, or you just want to refine your knowledge, there really is nothing to loose with this course. I highly recommend taking your time to complete it.

  • Avatar
    Eduardo Alejandro
    (5)
    It is still a great course

    I once took the older version of the course; I left halfway not because of lack of interest but rather because I felt unable to approach the content with what I consider required intuitiveness. Since then I have set a goal of recording an improvisation daily (though some days there are quite a few more). I am a little saddened that the scope was reduced, but I can say that the material present is of the highest possible quality.

  • Avatar
    Roger
    (5)
    The Vocabulary of Composition

    Very easy to follow and learn in a step-by-step manner. This is great!

  • Avatar
    K
    (5)
    Worth money on its own

    With a 'minor' exception of piano shots too fast or not optimized for visual comm this stuff is a mind opener to say the LEAST. I discovered two or three words the meanings of which I had completely wrong until today. It also clarifies why it's a must to understand what some expressions like intervals mean ...because in music they mean more than just one thing i.e. either a distance or a spectrum within it that is not necessarily the congruent spectrum for a same distance elsewhere etc.

  • Avatar
    Dorothy
    (4)
    Nice and clear

    Concepts were explained very clearly in manageable-sized pieces. A good introduction to composing.

  • Avatar
    terrance
    (5)
    Composing a basic melody

    Very practical, I have learnt how to compose from this module thank you very much. please keep up the good work

  • Avatar
    Benjamin
    (5)
    I am so glad I found this course.

    Jon is a great teacher. This is a great method that gets to the actual writing very quickly. I like the limitations concept, and I think he uses the right balance of options and limits.

  • Avatar
    Hieu
    (5)
    Outstanding course

  • Avatar
    Siamak
    (5)
    Really amazing

    It is amazing to see how he simplifies things.

  • Avatar
    Mitch
    (5)
    Excellent. Even someone without much musical background would find this informative and interesting.

    Easy to follow and understand

  • Avatar
    Sergei
    (5)
    Awesome!

  • Avatar
    Neil
    (5)
    Wonderful

    Perfect first steps

  • Avatar
    philip
    (5)
    accurate

    very helpful and clear

  • Avatar
    Miriam
    (5)
    Valuable for Improv

    I do quite a bit of improvisational worship singing and have enjoyed getting these lessons on the structure of melody. I find it adds a freshness and creativity to my singing. Really enjoy the teacher's presentation.

  • Avatar
    Eduardo
    (5)
    Learned Lots

    This course was pretty interesting. I learned lots of technical music stuff and am very excited to learn more! Building Your Composition Vocabulary will be very helpful in the future.

  • Avatar
    Nick
    (5)
    Great

    a lot of useful information

  • Avatar
    Adrian
    (4)
    From simple to advanced with great explanations

  • Avatar
    Martin
    (5)
    The Vocabulary of Composition

    Brilliant!

  • Avatar
    Boris
    (5)
    Great Start

    KISS - Keep it simple & straightforward, is exactly what Jon has done here. Great for the experienced musician but novice composer. Probably quite challenging for a newbie, but worth persevering.

  • Avatar
    Wim
    (5)
    Very clear

    The course is a very good start. It makes clear how easy it can be to get result simply working with basic tools and setting limits.

  • Avatar
    Kathryn
    (5)
    I strongly recommend this course to everyone!!!

    I loved this course!!! The lessons were very informative and easy-to-understand. The Vocabulary of Composition helped me realize how much I enjoy composing, and taught me how to do it well and effectively. Thank you so much for creating this course and making it free so that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy it!

  • Avatar
    Laurie
    (5)
    Outstanding

    I have played the piano since the second grade and currently direct the choir and the music program at my church. I did not, however, major in music in college (I was also a science geek). Recently, I have become interested in writing my own hymns and musical settings for them. This course was just right to take me from a general understanding of music and notation to a basic understanding of the requirements of composition. Jon is a very able educator and, in time, I plan to take every class that he has to offer. Bring on more, Jon!

  • Avatar
    Robyn
    (5)
    Off and running

    Several key points were touched on, as well as the overt "constraint is a GOOD thing" theme, such as shape, motif, speeding up and slowing... all ideas on how a melody might take shape. At this point, following is exciting and the urge to experiment irresistible.

  • Avatar
    Mike
    (5)
    Very professionally done I dont recall receiving this in depth information from previous courses

    Excellant

  • Avatar
    Michael
    (5)
    The title provided a perfect description of the course and served to set my focus and expectation at the correct level.

    Everything was explained clearly so that following the instructions and doing the exercises opened up the vocabulary of composition.

  • Avatar
    sal
    (5)
    Intro Course

    Excellent intro/review focussed on building blocks of composing, with specific targeted exercises to work on. Based in tonal/classical model.

  • Avatar
    Kwadwo
    (5)
    Fantastic Teaching

    You make the subject so easy to understand and to remember.

  • Avatar
    Dustin
    (5)
    Complete success

    This course is an absolute necessity for any aspiring musicians, instrumentalists, composers or anyone with a serious interest in understanding musical composition. Thank you for all that you contribute, and for the certificate.

  • Avatar
    Tancred
    (5)
    Interesting

    very helpful and well explained.

  • Avatar
    howard
    (5)
    learn music

    i learned it

  • Avatar
    Omar
    (4)
    very good

    very good

  • Avatar
    robin
    (5)
    What a improvement!

    I am really happy with the new platform, the history you added to the course also makes it a lot more interesting and understandable. You seem to really improve, and so did I because of it!

  • Avatar
    Bob
    (5)
    excellent

    very good

  • Avatar
    Belle
    (5)
    Pedagogically sound, pragmatically brilliant

    John Bratigan has mastered the fundamentals of this craft and developed a very sound method for getting people involved with composing music quickly and efficiently. I recommend this course for anyone looking to develop or improve their compositional skills.

  • Avatar
    ken
    (5)
    creating melody

  • Avatar
    Lance
    (5)
    Great focused lesson

  • Avatar
    maxie
    (5)
    Very appropriate

    Straightforward and interesting

  • Avatar
    Ning
    (5)
    0

    hbj

  • Avatar
    Augusto
    (5)
    Extremely helpful!

  • Avatar
    Andres
    (5)
    really easy to understand

  • Avatar
    Linda
    (5)
    Fundamentals Preview and composition vocabulary

    Very clear, logical and easy to follow

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