Crying in the Club: Songs Within Songs and Intertextuality in Pop Music
A lengthy, in-depth look at the self-referential nature of pop music and what that means for legality and creativity in music.
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A Beginner’s Guide to Using Dissonance for a Bigger, More Joyful Resolution
New to songwriting? It always helps to create pull for your listener using harmony. Here are some chord options for resolving tension!
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Why Joker’s Score Makes It a Prequel
An analysis of how Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score for Joker helps anchor the narrative and characters in both their story and their timeline.
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Isn’t It Iconic? (Nirvana, That Is.)
What happens when a computer decides what makes popular songs formulaic versus iconic? Total controversy. But let’s take a deeper look…
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Thundercat Chord Theory
In this post, courtesy of Reverb Machine’s Dan Carr, we break down the chord progressions of Thundercat’s most beloved jazz-inspired songs.
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10 Classic Songs in 5/4 and 5/8 Time
Writing and playing in irregular time signatures is tough, but here are ten great songs with grooves that sound effortless and infectious!
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On Chord Fragments and Nuanced Embellishments in Talking Heads’ “Slippery People”
A quick and fun breakdown of one of David Byrne’s most slippery songs from the Talking Heads catalog, and why it works so well…
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An Intermediate Guide to Chord Tones and Tensions
Thinking about how chords relate to the notes in your melody is an important aspect of voice leading with intention — here’s a quick guide.
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Hidden In Plain Sight: The Greatest Musical Easter Egg Ever
Discover the hidden music theory gem holding together one of the greatest TV theme songs of all time, and who gets the last laugh about it.
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A Beginner’s Guide to Chords and Modal Interchange
Making chords from the scale you’re in is fine, but borrowing notes and bringing them in from other scales and modes, now that’s fun!
