How to Write Call and Response Melodies With Yourself
Call and Response is a great melodic device when it comes to writing for duets, but what if you’re solo? Here are some songwriting tips.
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The Art of Showing Up
+ 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. Perhaps one of the biggest differences between a professional and an amateur musician is what I call “showing up.” Now, obviously, this can take many forms. When faced […]
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Spider Hands: Writing with a Deadly Genetic Disorder
How Marfan Syndrome killed my music career, replaced it with a writing career, and helped me see the connective tissue flowing through everything. “You have spider hands,” the doctor said. Known formally as arachnodactyly, it was the thin, elegant structure of my hands that — along with the abnormal curvature of my spine, and my generally […]
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Quick Tracks Nº 6: Write a Melody That’s a Palindrome
Welcome back to the dance floor, Quick Trackers! Once a month, we hook you up with a short production or songwriting challenge, aimed at helping to up your musicianship. To respond to the challenge, just email us, leave a comment, or post to social media with the hashtag #quicktracks and tag us @learntosoundfly. Draw, o coward! In words, […]
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How to Read Music: Counting and Clapping
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 […]
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How I’d Redesign Piano Sheet Music
TL;DR: Here’s a new method for writing sheet music for piano that makes it easier to learn to play everyday songs. Traditional sheet music relies on symbols, scales and memorization and can be difficult to learn and read, so this new notation uses visual cues by showing “fingers and hands” on keys. It’s read from top to bottom with […]
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How to Read Music: What are Dots and Ties?
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 […]
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What Makes a Great Debut Album? These 5 Classics Can Teach Us Everything
What makes a great debut album? Its reflection on its time and place in contemporary society? The hype it generates? An ethereal and indescribable showing of artistic genius and virtuosity? While there are certainly patterns and similarities within the athenaeum of commercial music — the “sophomore slump,” the “edgy cover artwork,” or the scorched-earth PR campaigns […]
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Write It Tight: Tips for Writing More Successful Notation
Your charts say a lot about you and your music. Make sure your players understand your vision with clear notation that helps everyone sound their best.
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Are There “Happy” Blue Notes? Well, Maybe…
Okay, so there’s no such thing as a “happy” blue note, I made that up. But if you’re curious as to why I did that, read on. To start, if you don’t know what a blue note is — or what the difference is between a “blue note” and a “blues scale note” — you should […]
