What Does “Diatonic” Actually Mean?
Are all major and minor scales diatonic? Did Pythagoras invent chromaticism? What’s up and what’s down with diatonicism… Find out here!
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All (Human) Music Is Repetition — Let’s Talk About That.
Because our brains are constantly seeking out patterns, all the music we create can be plotted somewhere along the grid of repetition.
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How Portishead Uses Chromatic Voice Leading in “Glory Box”
In this lesson plucked from Soundfly’s The Creative Power of Advanced Harmony course, we go over the chromatic device in Portishead’s melodic writing.
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Beat Makers, Try Thinking About Chords and Melody First
You might be an expert at programming drum beats, but if you think back on your favorite songs, they all probably have much stronger melodies and chords.
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How John Williams Implies Modality Within Diatonic Harmony in “Yoda’s Theme”
Learn how composer John Williams is able to transform the notes of his Yoda leitmotif into a colorful tapestry using themes of elevation, mystique, and uncertainty.
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György Ligeti’s ‘Musica Ricercata’: Is It Possible to Compose with Just One Note?
We look at Ligeti’s famous composition in order to decide how much, or how little, the use of music’s foundational parameters really matter in composing.
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What the “Tristan Chord” Is and How to Use It
An in-depth exploration of one of the most storied chords in opera, what makes it so influential, and how to use it yourself in your compositions.
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On Alban Berg’s Great Musical Palindrome
Hidden in plain sight in a second act interlude of Berg’s monumental Lulu, sits a full orchestra musical palindrome unlike anything in music history.
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Teaching Myself the Bach Chaconne With Ableton Live
From a South American dance to a romantically rubato performance piece, Bach’s Violin Partita in D minor has some funky rhythms and bizarre chromaticism!
