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!
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“Drivers License:” How Olivia Rodrigo Uses Much More Than Lyrics to Tell Her Story
Today we break down Olivia Rodrigo’s smash hit “Drivers License” to show how she uses much more than lyrics to tell her heartbreak story.
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How to Use Borrowed Chords
A handy guide for using borrowed chords in parallel scales and modes, to make your chord progressions more refreshing and unpredictable.
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How Secondary Dominants Can Make Your Chord Progressions Less Boring
It’s not hard to break out of predictable chord patterns with a new mindset on harmony, and a bit of easy help from secondary dominants, too.
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How to Make Chords From Scales
Learning to read or write music? Here’s a quick guide to making chords within the various scales and modes you might encounter in music theory.
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How Do Key Signatures Work?
Learning to read or write music? Here’s a quick-yet-deep primer on how key signatures work across major, minor, modal, blues and other tonalities.
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4 Ways to Develop Your Musical Idea Into a Full Arrangement
Got a great melodic motif that you don’t know how to develop? Here are four easy and creative ways to flesh it out into a full musical arrangement.
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3 Scale Modes That Will Deepen the Emotions of Your Pop Song
If you’re looking to impart a sinister, mysterious, bittersweet, or jazzy quality into your songwriting, do it using scale modes! Here’s how.
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Scale Mode Cheat Sheet: How to Remember Each and Every Mode
Modes and Key Signatures have a variety of different characteristics and are great for outside-the-box songwriting. Here’s a cheat sheet to remember them!
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Bach’s Worldview Was Way Different from Ours – On “Musical Theology”
In Bach’s pre-Enlightenment time, understanding how and why he composed his music might lead contemporary composers to new and exciting areas. Learn more.
