Tag: unlocking the emotional power of chords

  • How Blood Orange Uses Chasms of Harmonic Ambiguity on “Negro Swan”

    How Blood Orange Uses Chasms of Harmonic Ambiguity on “Negro Swan”

    + Bridge the worlds of theory, improvisation, and jazzy hip-hop, and improve your piano chops with Grammy-winner Kiefer in his course, Kiefer: Keys, Chords, & Beats. When it comes to music, balancing invention and convention is like baking the perfect cake. Artists that deviate too far from an already established sound run the risk of becoming…

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  • How Thomas Newman’s “American Beauty” Score Flipped the Script on Film Music

    How Thomas Newman’s “American Beauty” Score Flipped the Script on Film Music

    Almost 20 years later, Thomas Newman’s score to “American Beauty” still enchants us with its refreshing approach and seductive sonics. Here’s why.

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  • Why Ariana Grande’s “no tears left to cry” Is So Uplifting, Even in a Minor Key

    Why Ariana Grande’s “no tears left to cry” Is So Uplifting, Even in a Minor Key

    + Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. Last week I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with super-knowledgeable music theory super-nerds Dean Olivet and K Marie Kim, and picking their brains about a…

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  • On Voice Leading and Tresillo in Troye Sivan & Ariana Grande’s “Dance to This”

    On Voice Leading and Tresillo in Troye Sivan & Ariana Grande’s “Dance to This”

    + Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. YouTube sensation and new-heartthrob-on-the-block Troye Sivan just dropped his new single, “Dance to This,” which features guest vocals by Ariana Grande. Yes, this song is destined to be…

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  • What Is a Leading Tone?

    What Is a Leading Tone?

    + Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. In the above video, courtesy of Soundfly’s very popular online course, Unlocking the Emotional Power of Chords, NYU and Montclair State University adjunct professor of music technology, Ethan…

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  • How to Use 7th Chords in Indie Pop Music

    How to Use 7th Chords in Indie Pop Music

    What may be institutionally indefinable, the obscure genre term “indie pop” is considered an umbrella for most of the accessible-yet-alternative pop music being made today by predominantly young, western songwriters. Indie pop is hard to define because it covers an enormous range of sounds, from electronic synth-driven voyages to jangly and reverby guitar-based music, to warm harmonies…

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  • What Are Chord Pizzas?

    What Are Chord Pizzas?

    + Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. This article originally appeared on Ethan Hein’s blog. The Groove Pizza uses geometry to help visualize rhythms. The NYU MusEDLab (who we partnered with to create our free Theory…

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  • Finish What You Started! Using Cadences in Composition (Video)

    Finish What You Started! Using Cadences in Composition (Video)

    Though it may seem daunting from afar, venturing into the world of music theory doesn’t require an IQ of 160 or even a teacher in a classroom. In fact, just a little familiarity with some key harmonic concepts can provide any composer, producer, or songwriter with the tools to create more emotionally impactful music. And…

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  • How to Create Bigger Sounding Chords with Open-Voiced Sevenths (Like Björk)

    How to Create Bigger Sounding Chords with Open-Voiced Sevenths (Like Björk)

    In this article, we’re going to be exploring how to use different voicings of seventh chords to create progressions that sound bigger, wider, and more complex than your average pop chord structure. If you need a refresher on how to build a basic seventh chord, read this article or watch the video below. (For all you electronic…

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  • Scaffolding: How to Use Structure to Map Out the Energy Flow of Your Song

    Scaffolding: How to Use Structure to Map Out the Energy Flow of Your Song

    + Improve your songwriting with Soundfly! Explore our range of courses on emotional chord progressions, basic songwriting technique, songwriting for producers, and many more. Subscribe for unlimited access here. Songs are almost always built from sections that will feel very familiar, and yet they still have the power to bring us delightful surprises. How songs are put together has varied over the…

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Advanced Synths and Patch Design for Producers