Articles about the theory behind popular songs, history of theory within genres, etc.
+ Soundfly helps curious musicians meet their goals with online courses like The Creative Power of Advanced Harmony and Pop Vocal Production. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe for unlimited access. With their newly released album, 7, Baltimore dream pop outfit Beach House have reached new emotionally intoxicating heights, but with a sound that feels denser and…
Why is the beat to Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On” so infectious? Maybe it has something to do with the mysterious Phrygian scale mode it’s written in…
Like thousands of other young music fans with a penchant for the delicate beauty born through the combination of musical genius and a great deal of misery, I obsessed over Elliott Smith’s music back in college, and was affected deeply by the news of his tragic and sudden suicide in 2003. Performed on Saturday Night Live in…
Descending melodies and progressions often sound sad, but one of the most resoundingly happy songs ever, Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” begs to differ.
Alright songwriters and song-guzzlers alike, strap on your boots for a knowledge voyage with more divergent rectangles than the NYC skyline: that’s right, the top pop charters have now become 2017’s top pop graphed. The Top 40 song charters that is, but why 40? Well, besides this number’s significance in pop music as a result of…
New course announcement! Over the past few months, the most popular course on Soundfly has resoundingly been Ethan Hein’s Unlocking the Emotional Power of Chords. This 101-level harmonic theory course dives deep into the ways certain intervals and chord progressions tug at our heartstrings while others fall flat, providing the student with the newfound ability to…
This article originally appeared on The Ethan Hein Blog. I complain a lot on my blog about the traditional teaching of music theory. Fortunately, a better alternative exists: Everyday Tonality by Philip Tagg. Don’t be put off by the DIY look of the website; the book is the single best explanation I know of for how harmony works across…
The above video appears in Soundfly’s free course, How to Read Music, which is a starter companion to our mentor-driven Mainstage course, Introduction to the Composer’s Craft, offering more in-depth instruction and resources around reading and writing music. To learn about all of our other Mainstage course offerings, head over to Soundfly.com. To recap the video, when you’re reading…
Tons of hip-hop artists have come out against the actions of Donald Trump in recent months, and many have even included stings in their verses. Eminem’s turn at the wheel came earlier this week in a Detroit, garage-set freestyle that aired on television during the BET Awards. And he showed, undeniably, that even when he’s winging…
The above video appears in Soundfly’s free course, How to Read Music, which is a starter companion to our mentor-driven Mainstage course, Introduction to the Composer’s Craft, offering more in-depth instruction and resources around reading and writing music. To learn about all of our other Mainstage course offerings, head over to Soundfly.com. Dots and ties are two of…
